The Flag that is Truly Ours – A Cultural Redefinition of the Dragon-And-Lion Emblem of Hong Kong
The Chinese Dragon and the English Lion join hands to guard the Citadel – That is the flag of the Hong Kong City-State Autonomy Movement (HKAM). The Dragon-And-Lion Emblem effervesces the Anglo-Chinese soul of Hong Kong, telling our story, and guarding the City-State. This flag, complete with the Chinese name「香港」, is derived from the colonial Hong Kong flag. The royal blue background represents freedom and nobleness, signifying that Hong Kong is our Land and our home, and we shall reign.
The Chinese Dragon gallops on high, and the English Lion strides the field. When they become one, the Dragon walks the Earth, and the Lion ascends to Heaven. Hong Kongers are Sons of the Dragon and the Lion. We are Lions galloping the clouds. We are tigers with wings.
Thus Hong Kongers are not lambs to the Chinese communist wolves, and we are mighty. The wolves are not us, and they can't board with us.
Our flag, familiar to Hong Kongers, is a slight modification of the Coat of Arms of Hong Kong, which was designed by the College of Arms and represented Hong Kong from 1959 to 1997. It is noble and elegant, and balanced and dignified. It is imbued with the history and culture of Hong Kong. The King Man of Chow (周文王) said, “Be Chow an old state, our mandate is yet new. ” We the HKAM redefine the flag as follows:
The Dragon in the Chinese tradition represents viability and flexibility, and Hong Kong keeps and guards the Chinese Civilisation. The Lion in the English tradition represents justice and bravery, and Hong Kong succeeds and magnify it. Hong Kongers are Sons of the Dragon and the Lion, and we inherit the Chinese Civilisation and the English Culture. The Dragon stand with the Lion on Hong Kong Land, and the shield they uphold represents the civilised Hong Kong. The fort on the shield represents the Hong Kong City-State, or Polis, crowned by the cultural legitimacy it inherits. The junk at sea represents the history of trade in Hong Kong, and also the enterprise of the seafarers. The Large Lion's Crown represents the British Crown that once ruled Hong Kong, and the Little Lion with the Dragon's Pearl represents the Sovereign of Hong Kong Polis. The Autonomy Movement keeps the Crowns to pass on the British traditions, and to stand and be King, to magnify the King's Way, to govern with Yan (仁) and Righteousness(義).
Nota Bene：There were few debates on Hong Kong City-State Autonomy before 1997, and so far we have hardly any symbols to work with. The Dragon-And-Lion Emblem is a familiar sight to Hong Konger, and we give it a new definition, since most Hong Kongers had hardly given much thoughts to the meanings behind the original. Some leftists in Hong Kong cannot bear with any of the colonial symbolisms. They advocate a complete “decolonization”, which shall bring us back to the shackle-free “primal state”, before rejoining the battle with Chinese and Hong Kong communist tyrannies. This is a pipe dream. After all we can’t return to the primal state, and any such efforts shall fail. That’s why the Chinese communists will let it happen. We are fighting the tyrannies, our new colonial masters, and we need all the cards in our hands, albeit from our old colonial boss. We can’t fight without our familiar arms.
