In Search of the King of Kowloon; Hong Kong’s Identity Crisis and the Media Creation of an Icon

Abstract

This PhD thesis provides new insights into the role of Hong Kong journalists and columnists in building identity through the case study of “the King of Kowloon”, the self-appointed title adopted by Tsang Tsou-choi, a penniless trash collector who carried out a half-century-long graffiti campaign claiming ownership over the Kowloon peninsula. This thesis argues that the King’s emergence and evolution reflects the growing identity consciousness of Hong Kong people around and after the city’s 1997 transition to Chinese sovereignty. It explores the mechanics of icon creation by examining how and why journalists built and bolstered Tsang’s reputation as the King of Kowloon, a local icon symbolisi..