Paper short abstract:

Through an ethnographic study of "green living" in post-colonial Hong Kong, this paper hopes to illuminate how discourses and practices of "sustainability" are appropriated by people in various contexts to think and to talk about a socio-political "otherwise".

Paper long abstract:

In Hong Kong, "Green living" is an umbrella term used by individuals, NGOs, and the government to refer to a way of living that is perceived to be good to the Earth and good to the people. It is also a social movement that take personal responsibility for the environment and the society at large. Although the green living movement in Hong Kong is influenced by the global appeal to environmental protection and sustainable development, the specificities of the movement are shaped by Hong Kong's unique historical conjuncture and the socio-political climate after the former British colony shifted to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. In light of this background, I argue that what the Hong Kong people want to sustain is not just the natural environment, but also the social norms and ways of living that are thought to distinguish them from their counterparts in China. In this sense, green living in HK is best understood as a form of everyday activism through which the politics of hope is enacted to resist the "politics of endangerment" (Choy 2011). This ethnographic study hopes to illuminate the ways discourses and practices of "sustainability" are appropriated by people in various contexts to think and to talk about a social and political "otherwise". I show that it is its potentiality for self-transformation and the power to generate hope and solidarity that make sustainability so attractive in post-colonial Hong Kong.