ABSTRACT
To comprehend the ideology embedded in Hong Kong’s recent Taiwan fever and the concomitant people flow such affection entails, this chapter traces the geopolitical connections between Hong Kong and Taiwan by contextualizing the politics of emotions found in the narratives of lifestyle migrants in Taiwan. These emerging Taiwan narratives are not only effects of the geopolitical relationships between Hong Kong, Taiwan and China but also a shorthand for the people of Hong Kong to express affection for their home city as well as discontent toward developments after the transfer of sovereignty, which drastically changed the everyday experience of the people of Hong Kong and the city’s landscape. This chapter further argues that so-called Taiwan fever can be characterized as the way Hong Kong people project their desire for a good life amid socio-political turmoil onto the idyllic landscape and “small-pleasure” lifestyle of Taiwan. Taiwan’s ‘culture of smallness’ – a hodgepodge of ‘small pleasures,’ ‘little freshness,’ ‘petty-bourgeoisie life’ and ‘small business’ – allows middle-aged, middle-class Hong Kong people to imagine Taiwan as the ideal place for a slow-paced life and motivates the young generation to pursue alternatives to going north.
