Abstract
Because of enduring cultural differences between Hong Kong and Mainland China, the development of Hong Kong peoples’ national identification since the handover has not been a straightforward process. Under this situation, sport becomes an important arena in which Hong Kong people negotiate their preferred understandings of nationalism and national identification. This essay argues that the values and ideals of modern sport constitute resources for Hong Kong people to construct normative conceptions of sporting nationalism, in which local values and general understandings of nationalism are embedded. Empirically, the essay examines an online discussion following a prominent soccer match between China and Japan in 2004. Online discussants constructed a vision of civilized sporting nationalism to critique the behaviour of the ‘nationalistic’ Chinese fans. But this vision was also contested by others. The implications of the findings on national identities in Hong Kong and the relationship between sports and nationalism are discussed.
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