Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

September 28, 2014 marked the start of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement. While these protests were by no means the first mass activism in Hong Kong agains Beijing’s rule, they captured worldwide attention in a way that previous demonstrations had not. Student movement leaders like Joshua Wong and Nathan Law became media celebrities; photographers and journalists flocked to the city’s Admiralty, Causeway Bay, and Mong Kok districts to cover events at the encampments. For nearly three months, protesters brought key areas of Hong Kong to a standstill.

This week has brought a flurry of “10 years later” stories, largely focusing on how much has changed in Hong Kong over the past decade. Joshua Wong is among many movement leaders who have been imprisoned for their continued activism and violating the National Security Law; Nathan Law and others have left Hong Kong and relocated elsewhere, doing their best to continue the fight from afar.

A mini reading/watching/listening round-up of recent Hong Kong analysis tops my Recommendations section today, followed by the usual sections of China Stories and Wanderings around the World. Coming up in the next few days, I’ll share some reading I did on Yellowstone and the West, plus a write-up and photos from my trip.

Thanks for joining me this week.

Recent Goodreads Reviews

Recommendations

Hong Kong

Mine was probably a life a lot like those of many who grew up in Hong Kong. People like me might move to a different area than the one we grew up in, we might get married and we might find shift around due to changing jobs, but the rhythms of our lives wouldn’t be that different from year to year or even decade to decade. Until everything started to change.

The giant protests in 2019 drastically altered my life and the lives of many people like me forever. I became part of a 200,000-strong diaspora in the UK, where I have been living since mid-2021. In the past three years, I have been uprooted and had to start again. And I have learned so much about what home is, what home can be, and what we should do for our home.

— Kris Cheng, “Taking Hong Kong Seeds to the World”

Helen Davidson, “‘I was so naive’: 10 years after Umbrella protests, Hongkongers remember China’s crackdown”

Paul French, “Erasing Hong Kong” audio documentary

Tom Grundy, “Umbrella Movement 10th anniversary: Dozens of police deployed, barricades erected at former protest site”

Hong Kong Free Press, “Associated Press photojournalist denied entry to Hong Kong after visa renewal rejected”

Tiffany May, “Hong Kong Editors Sentenced in Landmark Case”

David Pierson and Tiffany May, “This Is What Can Land You in Jail for Sedition in Hong Kong”

Who’s Afraid of Nathan Law? PBS documentary

China Stories

Yangyang Cheng, “Tastes Like Home”

In a sleepy Bosnian town, barely five miles from the border with the European Union, a crumbling old water tower is falling into ruin. Inside, piles of rubbish, used cigarette butts and a portable wood-fired stove offer glimpses into the daily life of the people who briefly called the building home. Glued on to the walls is another clue: on pieces of A4 paper, the same message is printed out, again and again: “If you would like to travel to Europe (Italy, Germany, France, etc) we can help you. Please add this number on WhatsApp”. The message is printed in the languages of often desperate people: Somali, Nepali, Turkish, the list goes on. The last translation on the list indicates a newcomer to this unlucky club. It is written in Chinese.

— Amy Hawkins, “A path towards freedom: the new route to Europe for desperate Chinese migrants”

Aaron Mc Nicholas, “The Academic Fault Line”

Amelia Nierenberg and Johanna Lemola, “As a Finnish Zoo Returns Pandas to China, It Blames Costs, Not Geopolitics”

Chun Han Wong and Lingling Wei, “Top Economist in China Vanishes After Private WeChat Comments”

Wanderings Around the World

Ajay Kamalakaran, “How Hanoi became a hub for French scholars studying India”

Sui-Lee Wee, “Forced From Home by War, They Found Solace in Soccer”

Featured photo: “Hong Kong Umbrella Revolution,” by Pasu Au Yeung, November 30, 2014. Used under Creative Commons 2.0 license.