The utopian homeland: new left internationalism, diasporic Chinese nationalism, and anarchism in Hong Kong, 1969–1973

Focusing on Ng Chung-yin’s (1946–1994) anarchism in early 1970s Hong Kong, this study explores the interplay between New Left internationalism and national experiences. Contrary to the existing scholarship, which holds that New Left internationalism requires nationalization for implementation, this study illustrates the opposite, showing how national experiences are reinterpreted, reshaped, and rearticulated through the lens of New Left internationalism. The analysis begins by debunking the diverse imaginings of China during the 1950s and 1960s as offered by New Left internationalism and diasporic Chinese nationalism. This multiplicity of China’s representations contributed to the emergence of the anarchist movement in early 1970s Hong Kong. This study also undertakes a critical reading of Ng’s revolutionary proposal, “The Third Revolution.” This proposal envisions the ancestral national homeland as a futuristic internationalist utopia, demonstrating how diasporic Chinese nationalism is rearticulated using the language of internationalism. Concluding with David Scott’s notion of “futures past,” the study argues that New Left internationalism offers powerful utopian expectations of the future, based on which diverse national pasts are subject to revision. By examining the ideological backbones and politics of the anarchist movement in early 1970s Hong Kong, the study aims to contribute to understanding the dynamics between New Left internationalist politics and national experiences during the global Sixties.