After the Dust Settled: Online Participation and Adaptation in Hong Kong

Online messages reflect not only citizens’ policy preference but also their adaptation to a changing environment. In June 2020, when the Chinese government was considering the enactment of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, according to our data, supportive and neutral messages concerning the law accounted for over 70% of the messages posted online, far outnumbering negative ones. This pattern was observed regardless of whether a social media platform allowed for anonymity or not. By examining online messages both before and after the law took effect, this study finds that positive and neutral messages further outnumbered negative messages after the law took effect. This finding can be attributed to the presence of supporters of the law and to the Internet users’ shifting their attention away from the discussion of the law after the dust settled. Online reactions reflected the residents’ adaptation to the changing environment.