Telling the Story of Hong Kong, by Will Hagle

Cultural Cross Sections Will Hagle Photo courtesy of the author Following decades of British colonial rule to the rapidly tightening grip of mainland China and all the stories told about that chunk of land along the way, Hong Kong has grown accustomed to outsiders imposing manufactured identities and narratives upon it. Any attempt to summarize—let alone explain—what has been happening on its city streets for five months and counting would be a uniquely modern form of cultural imperialism. That story would be best told by those who are there. I can only tell you about what I’ve learned, from where I am and where I’ve been. During the span of the 2019 anti-extradition law amendment protests, which have since evolved beyond opposing the bill that would have allowed for the extradition of certain arrested residents to mainland China, I have been to Hong Kong and back in my adopted hometown of Los Angeles, thinking about the fragile concept of location-based identity. What I’ve learned is this: if the true nature of a location can be grappled with, confronted, and preserved anywhere, it is in literature; and the literature of Hong Kong portrays a place as complex, vibrant, challenging, and politically unstable as current news dispatches would suggest. If the true nature of a location can be grappled with, confronted, and preserved anywhere, it is in literature; and the literature of Hong Kong portrays a place as complex, vibrant,... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2019-12-17 15:28:20 UTC ]
News tagged with: #multiple languages #late june #finished reading #news reports #government doesn #literary community

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Telling the Story of Hong Kong, by Will Hagle'


Printing in Hong Kong & China, 2016

Print suppliers are retooling responses and pushing the reset button amid changes and challenges. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Hong Kong book fair subdued after bookseller disappearances

Caution evident in buying and selling of politically sensitive material amid fears of growing repression from mainland’s Communist partyThe 2016 Hong Kong book fair, the most important event in the city’s literary calendar, opened its doors on Wednesday to familiar long queues and hordes of... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fashion books #hong kong #book trade #gui minhai #holiday house


Hong Kong Booksellers Braving China Chill for Publishers

Hong Kong publishers' latest works on sensitive Chinese topics went on show at a book fair this week, despite gloom over recent detentions of five local booksellers Continue reading at ABC News

[ ABC News | 2016-07-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #latest works #book fair #local booksellers


Hong Kong refuses to return bookseller Lam Wing Kee to China

Officials in Hong Kong say they will not send back a bookseller who jumped bail in mainland China, where he was detained over books mocking Chinese leaders. Continue reading at BBC News

[ BBC News | 2016-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mainland china #hong kong


CI 4: Telling Stories at Children's Institute

The 45-hour children's bookseller gathering in Orlando closed on a high note, in large part because of the energy and enthusiasm of booksellers and connections made thanks to the stories they brought with them and the authors presented throughout the institute. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #telling stories #high note #large part


U.S. Publishing Groups Back Hong Kong Bookseller

In a statement, America’s booksellers, publishers, and librarians expressed admiration for Lam Wing-kee and his defense of the right of the Chinese people to read the books they want. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-06-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lam wing-kee #chinese people


What happened to Hong Kong's 'missing' booksellers? One defies China and speaks out

After nearly eight months in solitary confinement, one of five Hong Kong booksellers who vanished after their detention in mainland China gave a detailed account Thursday of his ordeal, defying not only a gag order but also authorities’ demand that he remand himself to custody. Lam Wing Kee,... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2016-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hong kong #solitary confinement


Hong Kong Bookseller Says He Was Detained by China

Lam Wing-kee, whose bookstore sold gossipy books about China’s leadership, says he was detained at the border by captors who wanted customers’ details. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2016-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #lam wing-kee


Fourth missing Hong Kong bookseller returns home

A fourth Hong Kong bookseller has returned home after going missing six months ago. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #months ago


Publishers to tell Hillsborough disaster victims' stories

Publishers Amberley, Faber & Faber and Ebury are bringing out titles on the Hillsborough disaster after justice prevailed for the victims and their families 27 years on.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Hong Kong booksellers to be ‘released soon’

Three Hong Kong booksellers being held in China will be released “within days”, according to news reports. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news reports


Author publishes missing Hong Kong booksellers' title online

The author of a controversial book on China's president, believed to be the reason five booksellers from the Mighty Current publishing house in Hong Kong went missing between October and December 2015, has released the title online. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #title online #controversial book #hong kong


BA calls on Hammond to intervene over Hong Kong bookseller

Tim Godfray, chief executive of The Booksellers Association, has written to the foreign secretary, asking that the government "thoroughly investigates all the facts" relating to the disappearances of missing Hong Kong booksellers, who include British passport-holder Lee Bo. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #ba calls #tim godfray #booksellers association #foreign secretary


Missing Hong Kong booksellers: US 'disturbed' by disappearances

State department echoes sentiment expressed by chief executive of the special administrative region, who noted threat to one-country, two-systems arrangementThe US said on Friday it was disturbed by reports that five Hong Kong booksellers critical of China’s leaders had disappeared. Related:... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #suspected abduction


Book Groups Voice Concern About Hong Kong Booksellers

Five book industry organizations issued a statement expressing "extreme concern” about the mysterious disappearance of five employees of a Hong Kong publishing and bookselling company. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #mysterious disappearance


Bookshop chain pulls controversial titles linked to missing Hong Kong publishers

A bookshop chain in Hong Kong has been pulling political titles from its shelves following the disappearances of five publishers, known for producing 'gossipy' books about China's political elite.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


UK 'urgently' seeking assistance tracing missing Hong Kong bookseller

The UK's Foreign Office has confirmed that one of the five missing Hong Kong book publishers is a British citizen and has said it is "deeply concerned" over the publishers' apparent abduction and detention. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #deeply concerned


Hong Kong bookshops pull politically sensitive titles after publishers vanish

Suspected abduction of five booksellers prompts fears of mounting self-censorship in face of mainland crackdown on ‘salacious’ publicationsOne of Hong Kong’s leading international bookshop chains has removed politically sensitive books from its shelves in the wake of the mysterious disappearance... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #suspected abduction #hong kong #mysterious disappearance #british colony


Hong Kong activist hits out at Beijing in video over missing booksellers

After fifth disappearance, umbrella movement’s Agnes Chow criticises China regime in video that has gone viralA young pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong has released a video, which has gone viral, attacking Beijing’s campaign of “political suppression” following the disappearances of five... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2016-01-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hong kong #prominent figure #bookshop owner #latest member #publishing community #gui minhai


Hong Kong Literary Festival Underscores Cross-Cultural Connections

The embattled Hong Kong International Literary Festival had a resurgence this year, underscoring cross-cultural connections between Asia and the West. The post Hong Kong Literary Festival Underscores Cross-Cultural Connections appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |