Editing Union Jack (section)

===Use outside the Commonwealth===
Several individuals residing in countries not a part of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] have adopted the Union Flag as a flag of protest.

====Hong Kong====
The Union Flag was formerly used in Hong Kong when it was a [[British Overseas Territory|British Dependent Territory]]. Official use of the Union Flag and the [[Flag of Hong Kong (1959–1997)|British colonial Hong Kong flag]] ceased following the [[handover of Hong Kong]] to China in July 1997. In the 2010s, the Union Flag, along with the colonial flag of Hong Kong began to see use by supporters of the [[pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong)|pro-democracy camp]] during the [[2014 Hong Kong protests]], and the [[2019–20 Hong Kong protests]].<ref name=reuters>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-extradition-wong/flag-waving-grandma-wong-gives-hong-kong-protesters-lesson-in-endurance-idUSKCN1TY124|title=Flag-waving Grandma Wong gives Hong Kong protesters lesson in endurance|last=Roantree|first=Anne Marie|date=3 July 2019|access-date=26 June 2020|work=Reuters|publisher=Thomson Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last1 = Parry | first1 = Richard Lloyd | last2 = Blet | first2 = Raphael | title = Colonial nostalgia rules in Hong Kong as young refuse to accept China's authority | date = 14 June 2019 | url = https://www.thetimes.com/world/asia/article/colonial-nostalgia-rules-as-young-refuse-to-accept-beijing-rule-gswccq0vf | work = [[The Times]] | access-date = 5 July 2019 }}</ref> The flag has been displayed at other pro-democracy events in Hong Kong, including the [[Hong Kong new year marches|new year marches]] and the [[Hong Kong 1 July marches|1 July marches]]. Members of the [[Hong Kong Autonomy Movement]], the [[Hong Kong independence]] movement and [[Localism in Hong Kong|Hong Kong localists]] have been seen wielding the Union Flag or the colonial flag of Hong Kong.<ref name=hkfp/>
[[File:2014 Hong Kong new year march 11.jpg|thumb|left|The Union Jack alongside the [[Flag of Hong Kong (1959–1997)|colonial Hong Kong flag]], during the 2014 [[Hong Kong new year marches|new year march]] in Hong Kong]]
However, the meaning behind the use of the flags by pro-democracy protestors, including the Union Flag, remains disputed with protestors citing a variety of reasons for flying it.<ref name=scmp>{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3023817/are-hong-kong-protesters-pro-american-or-british-when-they|title=Are Hong Kong protesters pro-American or British when they wave the US and UK flags? The answer is complicated|last=Sum|first=Lok-kei|work=South China Morning Post|publisher=SCMP Publishers|date=22 August 2019|access-date=26 June 2020}}</ref> Some pro-democracy protestors that flew foreign flags, including the Union Flag, did so in an effort to attract international media attention to the protests, while others did so in an effort to irritate the central government of China.<ref name=scmp/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/26/asia/hong-kong-protest-xi-jinping/index.html|title=Hong Kong handover: The protest symbols China's scared of|work=CNN|publisher=WarnerMedia|last=Griffiths|first=James|date=26 June 2016|access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref>  The Union Flag, in addition to other foreign flags, were also used by some protestors to illustrate their desire for Hong Kong to be an "international city"; whereas others used the flag simply as a generic symbol of freedom.<ref name=scmp/><ref>{{Citation | first = Paris | last = Gourtsoyannis | title = Union flags in Hong Kong are a symbol of failed China policy | date = 13 June 2019 | publisher = The Scotsman | url = https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/union-flags-in-hong-kong-are-a-symbol-of-failed-china-policy-paris-gourtsoyannis-1-4947118 | access-date = 5 July 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Hannan | first = Daniel | title = Hong Kongers know the values behind the Union flag – but do the British? | date = 15 June 2019 | newspaper = The Telegraph | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/15/hong-kongers-know-values-behind-union-flag-do-british/ | access-date = 5 July 2019 }}</ref>

Some specifically flew the Union Flag and the colonial flag of Hong Kong, nostalgic of the "values" of the previous colonial government, namely "personal freedoms, rule of law, [and] clean governance".<ref name=reuters/><ref name=hkfp>{{cite web|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2019/07/13/explainer-conflicting-messages-behind-protesters-use-colonial-hong-kong-flag/|title=Explainer: The conflicting messages behind protesters' use of the colonial Hong Kong flag|last=Chan|first=Holmes|date=13 July 2019|access-date=26 June 2020|publisher=Hong Kong Free Press|website=hongkongfp.com}}</ref> Other pro-democracy protestors choose to use the Union Flag and the colonial flag of Hong Kong in an effort to call upon the British government to declare that China had failed to uphold the [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]].<ref name=scmp/>  Several Hongkongers that hold [[British National (Overseas)]] passports who used the flag during the protests were doing so as a call to the British government to grant British National (Overseas) the right to abode in the United Kingdom.<ref name=scmp/> Although a small number of Hongkongers seek direct British intervention into the matter, the majority of those that used the Union Flag or the colonial flag of Hong Kong during the protests do not hold such beliefs.<ref name=hkfp/>

The use of foreign flags at the protests, including the Union Flag, has been cited multiple times by the central government of China as evidence for their claim that foreign interference is steering the protests in Hong Kong against the central government.<ref name=scmp/> Conversely, several protestors in the pro-democracy camp have also criticised the use of foreign flags, who view their use as reinforcing the claims made by the central government of China.<ref name=scmp/>

====Italy====
After the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|British referendum]] on membership of the [[European Union]] resulted in a vote to [[Brexit|leave]], the Union Flag became a symbol of [[euroscepticism]] in Italy. In August 2016, many local businesses along the [[Italian Riviera|Italian riviera]] hoisted the flags as a protest against the implementation of the [[Services in the Internal Market Directive 2006]].<ref name="Ghiglione2">{{cite news |last=Ghiglione |first=Davide |date=5 August 2015 |title=Italian beach operators hoist British flag in protest at EU law |url=https://www.ft.com/content/8ae4e4e8-5ae9-11e6-9f70-badea1b336d4 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/8ae4e4e8-5ae9-11e6-9f70-badea1b336d4 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |access-date=9 February 2017 |newspaper=Financial Times}}</ref>