The politicization of everyday life: understanding the impact of the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Protests on pro-democracy protesters’ political participation in Hong Kong

Abstract

ABSTRACT The 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill protests in Hong Kong culminated in diverse forms of political participation, but as yet little attention has been paid to the impact on the pro-democracy movement at the micro-level. This paper explores pro-democracy protesters’ evolving views of politics and their new modes of political participation during and after the protests. Using interview data, this paper shows that participants in the pro-democracy movement have increasingly recognized the inseparable relationship between everyday life and political life. This paper examines two forms of everyday political participation – political consumption and digital activism – that have been widely deployed by protesters to express political claims, circulate political information, and garner support from local and international audiences. While the politicization of everyday life provided impetus to street demonstrations in 2019, it has continued despite the adoption of a wider scope of repressive measures by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments after the protests. Through the case of Hong Kong, this paper demonstrates how, in an authoritarian context, everyday resistance is applied to struggle for regime change and democratization.