Periscope

In 1997, the government announced a dramatic shift in education policy, replacing English with Chinese as the medium of instruction in Hong Kong schools. Not long afterwards it said it was making the teaching of Chinese in Putonghua a long-term goal. These were just some of the big education reforms that have been instituted in the last 20 years, which have left teachers scrambling to adapt and keep up, and students struggling under heavy workloads.

Hongkonger's sense of identity and the extent to which they consider themselves to be Chinese have changed in the 20 years since the handover. We talk to those born at pivotal moments in Hong Kong's recent history - 1967, 1984 and 1997 - and ask how the experiences of their formative years have affected how they see China.

At home and in the world at large, societies seem to be getting more polarised and many are seeing a pushback against globalisation. Boundaries are becoming more apparent. In this issue's Periscope, Varsity looks at the boundaries and divisions between different groups of people in Hong Kong society.

Conflict between the young and the old has greatly escalated since the Umbrella Movement in 2014. They label each other as “useless youths” and “fogeys” respectively, blaming each other for causing problems in society. Varsity talks to both sides and explores what drives their hostility.

Hong Kong brands itself as an international city, but there is little doubt that race draws lines between people in our city. Varsity talks to people of non-Chinese ethnicity in Hong Kong and learn about the racism and microagressions they encounter, why it happens and how they think it can be tackled.

Traditional life in Hong Kong's indigenous villages has changed over the years as indigenous villagers move out and outsiders move in. How do these groups get along with one another and how does that compare with the unspoken rules villagers have always used to maintain relations?

In this issue's Periscope, we look at Hong Kong "localisms" because we thing it's misleading to think about localism as a single, unified ideology or movement.

"Localists" is an all-embracing term used to describe non-establishment people from outside the traditional pan-democratic camp, but it hides significant ideological differences among those who have been grouped under the label. Varsity takes a deeper look at what divides them.

Today's common perception of localism looks very different to the post-handover movement that emerged to preserve Hong Kong's heritage and culture and sought to strengthen the idea of a local identity. Varsity talks to some of the core members of that movement and asks them how they think localism has changed.

Almost 70 per cent of young Hongkongers support the localists, our survey finds. We look at how Secondary School students view the localists, and why they think localism is the way out for Hong Kong.