The Lennon Walls as a Search for Expression of Hongkongese Identity During the 2019 Social Movement

Abstract

This article examines Hong Kong’s 2019 social movement concerning the spontaneous and collective forms of expression that sparked throughout the city, known as Lennon Walls. Based on the premise that national identity is an imagined social construct, this article explores the link between the construction of a Hongkongese identity differentiated from a Chinese identity and the way this distinction is translated into more than a hundred public spaces. These sites became peaceful demonstrations of resistance around Hong Kong. This article discusses the relationship between democracy, social movements, and the search for a Hong Kong identity to further address the characteristics and ongoing demands of 2019’s social protests. Moreover, Lennon Walls will be analyzed as public forms of expression of Hong Kong’s identity based on the search for democracy. Lastly, the article concluded that due to this sense of national identity, Lennon Walls are just one more link in the chain that implies a complex balance for Hong Kong’s citizens to be part of a broader State such as China.