In postcolonial Hong Kong, minorities in schools find themselves categorised as ‘non-Chinese speaking’ (‘NCS’) rather than a ‘Hongkonger’. This label brands young people as linguistically and academically defect, rejecting admission by the local Chinese, Cantonese speaking majority termed ‘Hongkongers’. NCS-students defied and tried to redefine the dozy, ruling ‘Hongkonger’ identity. They accented their multilingual identity, historical connections, emotional bonds and place-belongingness to the city in order to justify their claim to sociopolitical befitting in Hong Kong.