Cantonese nationalism is the notion that the Cantonese people are a distinct nation with their own unique culture, history and identity, and should therefore have an independent or autonomous homeland based on the provincial borders of Guangdong or the extent of Cantonese-speaking areas.
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, many individuals have proposed this idea, including , a disciple of Kang Youwei (who Au later fell out with due to differences in opinions). Au proposed the idea of establishing "a Guangdong people's Guangdong" in his work New Canton. In contemporary times, there are also fringe groups advocating for "Cantonia independence," which mostly comes from the internet. Some individuals overseas have displayed flags or slogans representing the movement during demonstrations against the Chinese authorities, even taking action within China itself.
History
Late Qing-dynasty
Liangguang independence In early June 1900, Li Hongzhang contacted Sun Yat-sen through his confidential staff, Cantonese gentry , hoping to invite Sun to Guangzhou to discuss cooperation matters. Liu was also very enthusiastic about this plan. Later, Liu asked Sun through telegraph: "Due to the boxer chaos in the north, now I would like to achieve the independence of Guangdong, and for this I would like sir to come and help. Please come to Canton as soon as possible." Sun was focusing on launching the Huizhou uprising at the time. His attitude towards this was opportunistic, thinking that he might as well make use of it: "This move has a chance of success and will be a blessing to the overall situation, so it is worth giving it a try.". After June 15, the Qing government repeatedly ordered Li Hongzhang to take up his post in Beijing. Li Hongzhang was on the fence and made excuses to delay.
According to 's account, in the fifth month of the Gengzi period, Kai Ho "saw the urgent situation and the disaster of partition was imminent. If Canton did not urgently seek self-protection, it would never be able to survive. He proposed suggestions to President Chen Shaobai and advocated that revolutionaries should cooperate with Li Hongzhang, the Viceroy of Guangdong, to save the country. First, he mobilized Li to declare the independence of Canton to the Qing government and other countries, and the Prime Minister shall led the members of Revive China Society to assist... Then Blake, based on the reasons in the book, turned to Hongzhang, proposed an independent plan for Canton, and introduced Sun, the leader of the Revive China Society, to cooperate with him. If Hongzhang agreed with this, he would send a telegram to invite the Prime Minister to return to China and form a new government."
Kai Ho's role is to win the support of Sir Henry Arthur Blake (then Hong Kong Governor). Ho first discussed with some members of the Revive China Society the plan to transform China after the independence of Liangguang, which resulted in the "Letter from the Patriots of South China to the Governor of Hong Kong" that was then translated into English by Ho and handed over to Blake. Drafted by Ho, the program known as the "Pingzhi Charter" supports the reorganization of China's political system under the trusteeship of the western imperialist powers. It includes "moving the capital to a suitable place such as Nanjing and Hankou" and "establishing an autonomous government in each province", "separate management based on qualifications", westernize the judicial and educational systems, open the Chinese market to foreign businessmen, and establish a parliamentary system: On June 11, Sun Yat-sen, Yang Quyun, , Miyazaki Torazo and others set out from Yokohama and arrived at the sea of Hong Kong on the 17th, where they met the warship sent by Li Hongzhang to greet him. Worried that this was a trap set by the Qing government to arrest him, Sun did not dare to board the ship, so he sent Miyazaki and other three Japanese (who then had extraterritorial rights) to attend the meeting on his behalf. At about 10 o'clock that night, Miyazaki and others arrived at Liu Xuexun's residence in Guangzhou, and the two sides began their secret negotiations. During the negotiations, Liu Xuexun said that Li Hongzhang "would not be able to express anything" before the imperialist powers captured Beijing, implying that independence would have to wait until Beijing changed hands. Miyazaki proposed that Li Hongzhang should ensure Sun's safety and lend 60,000 yuan to the Revive China Society as the basis for cooperation between the two parties. Liu Xuexun immediately asked Li Hongzhang for instructions and agreed, and paid 30,000 yuan in person. At 3 o'clock in the morning the next day, the five-hour secret negotiation ended. Miyazaki and others immediately returned to Hong Kong overnight. Sun also set off on the same day, heading to Singapore via Hanoi.
However, as the war situation worsened, the voices of the peace faction in the Qing court became more prevalent, and Li Hongzhang received another telegram from the Qing court on July 8. Cixi appointed Li Hongzhang as the Viceroy of Zhili and . Li Hongzhang realized that the government might begin to develop in a direction that was beneficial to the peace faction, so he decided to change his decision and leave Canton for the north. Before leaving, he first arrived in Hong Kong by boat from Guangzhou to pay a visit to Blake and expressed his stance to the Hong Kong government in person. However, Blake still haven't give up at this point and also learned that Sun Yat-sen was setting off from Singapore to Hong Kong. He sent an urgent telegram to London: During the conversation, Blake said to Li Hongzhang: "I think that having regard to the present state of the North, such a movement is very probable and that we ought to be prepared and to look after our interests", and expressed that Li should become the leader of the independent Liangguang while Sun Yat-sen should be only an advisor. Li did not respond. At this time, Legislative Council member Wei Yu met with Blake and requested the Hong Kong government to use force to retain Li Hongzhang. However, British Foreign Minister Joseph Chamberlain repeatedly ordered that Blake be prohibited from taking any action, so the plan for an independent South China eventually fell through.
After the failure of the plans for Liangguang's independence, Kai Ho continued to lobby the British in Hong Kong about his ideas and plans to transform the Chinese dynasty. On July 21, Kai Ho reported that Blake supported the establishment of a republic in South China. On August 1, He published an article based on this political program in The China Mail. On August 10, he further published in the newspaper about the establishment of an "independent republic" in southern China. On August 22, Ho published an open letter summarizing his views in The China Mail using the pen name "Sinensis" and the title "An Open Letter on the Situation". The recipient of the letter is "Mr. John Bull": Ho believed that China would eventually fall apart without the help of the great powers, and that helping China carry out reform and disintegration was a noble but arduous undertaking, so he hoped to get support from the British. He said: "many of her intelligent and gifted sons are most enthusiastic over it.”. Some scholars believe that this is precisely another aspect that many previous studies on Kai Ho have ignored.
"Canton Independence Association" The Qing court signed several unequal treaties, ceding territories and paying indemnities after multiple foreign wars. In the spring of 1901, rumors circulated that the Qing court would cede Guangdong to France. Responding to this, Feng Sizhuan, Zheng Guanyi, , Wang Chonghui, and Liang Zhongyou, among other Cantonese students in Japan, initiated an organization called the Canton Independence Association. They advocated for Guangdong to declare independence from the Qing court, emphasizing that Guangdong belonged to its people, and its fate should be decided by them, not the Qing government. The call resonated with many Cantonese expatriates in Japan, with "over two hundred participants" joining. The founders also visited Sun Yat-sen in Yokohama to discuss strategies. This marked the beginning of the cooperation between the Guangdong students in Japan and the Revive China Society. Although not purely a student organization, it was led primarily by students. Since it was started because of rumors about Guangdong's cession and it was also mainly a club for people who came from the same area, it ceased operations shortly after its establishment.
Au Ku-kap and "New Canton" After the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing court was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki in April of that year, ceding Taiwan and its surrounding islands to Japan. This move faced strong opposition from the locals of Taiwan. As a result, some Taiwanese elites urged the former viceroy of Taiwan, Tang Jingsong, to declare independence on May 25 of the same year. Thus, one of Asia's first self-proclaimed democratic states was established, named the Republic of Formosa. Although the Republic of Formosa existed only briefly, it inspired later claims for provincial independence and had a significant impact.
Au Ku-kap explained his title and proposition in the work:
Au Ku-kap believes that "those who speak of self-reliance among the Chinese take Taiwan as the starting point," and considers publications like the founded by Tan Sitong and Tang Caichang as "the beginning of the voice for independence of various provinces in China." In his writing, he lists four "traits of self-reliance" in Canton: "outstanding talent," "abundant financial resources," "control of key regions," and "population growth." He proposes three methods to achieve independence: "independent newspapers," "independent schools," and "secret societies" (utilizing underground party organizations). Au also believes that the three major ethnic groups in Canton, namely the locals (i.e. Cantonese people), the Hoklo (i.e. Min language speakers, mainly the Teochew people), and the Hakka, are all indispensable parts of the Canton community:
Later in the article, Au Ku-Kap also further proposed the disintegration plan of the eighteen mainland provinces and the idea of establishing a federation between Guangdong and Guangxi:
Au Ku-kap's article sparked widespread discussion and attention. This book also led to harsh criticism from Kang Youwei, who stated, "Ku-kap has deviated from the classics and should be expelled from the school." Kang also wrote to Au, saying, "Receiving your book, I was speechless and struck with a headache. You are pushing us to a dead end," and "The only choice is to sever ties with you and inform the world." Kang Youwei subsequently wrote several articles vehemently opposing Au's proposal for the provinces of the China proper to become independent, arguing that the downfall of India was due to the provinces' independence. In 1902, Han Wenju, writing under the pen name "Man Who's Worried," praised Au Ku-kap's theory of independence in the "Mianshi Tanhu Lu" column of Xinmin Congbao, believing that this was a method for the Chinese people in the mainland to achieve self-reliance, and advocating for people from all over China to join this movement: