Hong Kong

Journalism is Under Siege in Hong Kong

by Luwei Rose Luqiu

The Hong Kong government's increasingly confrontational response to critical journalism is a troubling indicator of a willingness to engage in authoritarian restrictions of the press in the name of national security. 

How Hong Kong's Elite Have Embraced a Shifting Narrative on Tiananmen Square

The rise of pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong has led to increasing reluctance to condemn the Tiananmen massacre. The arrest of protest leaders under the Beijing-backed national security law has further chilled dissent. 

The Sun Never Set on the British Empire’s Oppression

While nationalist leaders in postcolonial states win political support by invoking heroic struggle to defeat British imperialism, they are very happy to use the repressive laws of colonialism against dissidents today. 

Will Hong Kong’s Free Press Survive?

Security laws imposed by Beijing suggest that the Chinese government has lost patience for Hong Kong's traditionally active and frequently antagonistic press. 

Why Jimmy Lai and Hong Kong’s Democracy Advocates Need Biden’s Public Support Right Now

by Natan Sharansky

A former Soviet political prisoner and human rights advocate calls on the Biden transition team to make clear that the new president will not accept China's repression of democracy in Hong Kong. 

Hong Kong's New Rules have Created Confusion in the Classroom. Some Parents are Pulling their Children Out

While pro-Beijing lawmakers stress the need to promote national unity through civics education, educators, historians and parents in Hong Kong expect censorship and indoctrination under new restrictions. 

Control, Alter, Delete:Hong Kong Activists and Academics are Hurrying to Digitize Historical Records

Museums dedicated to the struggle for civil liberties in Hong Kong face a crisis to preserve records in the face of new public safety laws aimed at curbing criticism of the People's Republic of China. 

Fried Ice Cream and Steak: A Personal History of Hong Kong

by Ron Steinman

For a journalist on leave from Vietnam, a Hong Kong restaurant was a brief reprieve from the demands of war coverage and the tumult of rebellion in Hong Kong. 

Neoliberal Hong Kong Is Our Future, Too

by Macabe Keliher

While orthodox economists like to point to Hong Kong as an ideal free market, the social consequences have been disastrous. Inequality is rising, wages are declining and working hours increasing, overall economic opportunity is dwindling, and housing is so unaffordable that office workers sleep in McDonalds. Is it any wonder that the streets are now burning?

For the First Time in 30 Years, Hong Kong Will Not Hold a Mass Vigil Commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre

The official reason given by police was to limit risk of Coronavirus transmission. 

The Chinese Dream Imperiled

by Andrew Meyer

We are going to hear much in the near future about the dangers of Chinese ambition. World leaders would be well advised, however, to prepare for the dangers of internal Chinese instability. 

Is This the End of Hong Kong?

Sweeping new laws, justified by claims for security amid political protests, threaten to eliminate independence from Beijing in Hong Kong's political and civil life. 

Hong Kong Apocalypses: Teaching the Recent Past and the Speculative Future

by James Carter

The chaos of Hong Kong's recent protests and the Coronavirus unsettled a historian's sense of the boundary between past and present. Perhaps we understand either only through the mirror of the other. 

China Needs to Change Strategy After Hong Kong Elections

by Kevin M. Shanley

With the depth of dissatisfaction in Hong Kong now made patently clear at the ballot box, China and Xi now face a difficult choice. Will it double down on repression or listen to the people and choose a new course that will require some compromise?

Too Important or Too Irrelevant? Why Beijing Hesitates on Hong Kong

by Kevin M. Shanley

Two competing narratives possibly explain why Beijing’s authoritarian communist rulers have not so far interfered in the increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong, now six months old and heading into a deadly new phase.

How we fail our Chinese students

by Jonathan Zimmerman

If Chinese students spend several years in the United States and decide they don’t like democracy, we must not be making a strong enough case for it.

Why China should recognize that dissent can be patriotic

by Charlotte Brooks

History suggests that narrowly defining Chinese identity will backfire.

The Long History of Activism Preceding The Hong Kong Democracy Protests

by Susan Blumberg-Kason

For the last 100 years, Hong Kong has seen mass protests. They'll only stop when people feel they have a voice in government. 

Where Are the Hong Kong Protests Headed?

by Kevin M. Shanley

After ten weeks of protest by students and others in Hong Kong the crisis seems to be spiraling toward a tragic climax.

Lessons From Moscow: How China Might Handle Hong Kong

Soviet experiences from decades past offer examples for what Beijing may do to quell protests in the city.