Nationalism as Imperialism in Disguise: Re‐Examining Global Citizenship and Chinese Identity in Hong Kong

ABSTRACT This Research Note responds to Yang's (2026) study of global citizenship and Chinese identity in Hong Kong by advancing three interrelated critiques. First, we argue that globalism and nationalism in Hong Kong are historically co‐constituted. Yang's interpretation places global citizenship, Chinese identity and Hong Kong identity within a global, national and subnational hierarchy without sufficiently examining the historical relationship among them. Second, we propose that the state‐led project labelled ‘Chinese nationalism’ in Hong Kong may be understood as imperial governance pursued through the language of national belonging. Secondary analysis of longitudinal survey data (HKPORI, 2007–2022) supports this reframing, revealing that the expansion of ‘glocal’ identification resulted mainly from declining Chinese identification rather than a comparable rise in global identification. Third, we contend that coding Hong Kong nationalism as local or subnational identity creates a blind spot that obscures a documented form of stateless nationhood. Together, these interventions call for a more historically grounded and conceptually critical engagement with nationalism in contested Chinese contexts.