> The people of Hong Kong were as much Chinese IMO as the Californians are Spanish.
This is plainly wrong. The population distribution of Cantonese speakers shows that Hong Kong is only a small part of the Cantonese speaking region. [1]
And although the situation apparently has changed, at 1997, 40 percent of Hong Kong people identified themselves as "Hong Konger and Chinese", together with the 20 percent identifying themselves solely as Chinese, makes up the majority. [2] I would think that at 1997, there were far less than 60 percent of Californian consider themselves as Spaniard at all.
The data from a 2001 census shows that 94.9% of the population was ethnic Chinese. This ethnic classification may give you a different perspective, as this is not influenced by different political views.
This is plainly wrong. The population distribution of Cantonese speakers shows that Hong Kong is only a small part of the Cantonese speaking region. [1]
And although the situation apparently has changed, at 1997, 40 percent of Hong Kong people identified themselves as "Hong Konger and Chinese", together with the 20 percent identifying themselves solely as Chinese, makes up the majority. [2] I would think that at 1997, there were far less than 60 percent of Californian consider themselves as Spaniard at all.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantonese#/media/File:Ping_and...
[2] https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/08/26/almost-n...