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Shirley Lo, PsyD, is a 2026 graduate of the PsyD program in Clinical Psychology  at  Antioch University, Seattle.

Dissertation Committee:

Jude Bergkamp, PsyD, Committee Chair

Melissa Kennedy, PhD, Committee Member

Shui-yin Sharon Yam, PhD, Committee Member

Keywords

Coloniality, decolonization, anticolonialism, Hong Kongers, meaning-making process, grounded theory, qualitative

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

Hong Kong, a British colony for over a century, was returned to China in 1997. In 2019, the proposal of an extradition bill sparked widespread outrage, leading to a year of unprecedented social unrest. The protests eventually dissipated with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Chinese central government’s tightening controls. Although the state characterized its interventions as decolonization, a significant wave of Hong Kongers responded by leaving their homeland to cultivate new lives in the “Western world,” including Britain. How does a colonized population willingly return to their colonizer after decolonization? This study sets out to search for potential answers using constructivist grounded theory. Nineteen Hong Kongers shared rich narratives about their experiences of the 2019 movement and their ultimate departure. The findings demonstrate a profound rejection of the state’s definition of decolonization, highlighting the participants’ active reconceptualization of the geopolitical triad. The emergent grounded theory offers an alternative framework for understanding Hong Kongers’ relocation, framing the action as an active, pragmatic act of self-preservation within a complex intersectional space of multiple cultures and histories, ultimately cultivating an intricate and evolving identity. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

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Shirley Lo, PsyD, 2026
ORCID iD 0009-0008-8986-7941

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