Umbrella Revolution chapter by Gilmore published in Communication Convergence in Contemporary China
“Convergence and Governmentality in the Umbrella Revolution: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Mainlandization of Hong Kong,” by doctoral candidate Andrew Gilmore has been published as a chapter in Communication Convergence in Contemporary China: International Perspectives on Politics, Platforms, and Participation, edited by Patrick Shaou-Whea Dodge.
Abstract
Although most Western and local news coverage of the Umbrella Revolution focused on Hong Kong’s desire for democracy and genuine universal suffrage, a return trip I took to Hong Kong (where I had previously lived for three years) six-months after the end of the occupation of city’s streets revealed that, for some, electoral restrictions are, in fact, not the main root of dissatisfaction in Hong Kong. Rather, as will be explored throughout this chapter, the combination of rising rent prices, CPC controls on free speech, a wide-spread clampdown on universities, run-away consumerism fueled by Chinese shoppers from the mainland, concerns over health care, and more, have led to deep anger, frustration, and resentment among the city’s seven million residents. Throughout this chapter, I refer to these complicated and overlapping causes for political anger under the notion of “mainlandization,” which suggests that Hong Kong’s long-standing sense of itself as an independent entity is now threatened by encroachments from China and its governance of the city.
Citation:
Gilmore, Andrew. “Convergence and Governmentality in the Umbrella Revolution: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Mainlandization of Hong Kong.” In Communication and Convergence in the New China: Platforms, Politics, and Participation, edited by Patrick Shaou-Whea Dodge. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2020.
- Image: communicating convergence
- Tags: chapter, graduate, rhetoric
- Date: November 1, 2020