We publish a diverse range of works about the ongoing Hong Kong protests and showcase works from the Cha feature “Umbrella Movement Five Years On & Beyond”. Please see the Table of Contents for all entries.
“Here This Memory” by Ilaria Maria Sala
Here This Memoryby Ilaria Maria Sala I don’t want to swim among riddles and punsTurning what they crushedInto an inside joke for nimble chess players I don’t want to see you unprotected, burningWhile their plastic foam enticements bounce off a sullen stoneInto the sea I don’t want it I don’t want this fight for a…
“Bilingual (Occasional)” by Chris Tse
Bilingual (Occasional) by Chris Tse Re-learning a language with a rock in my mouth—the slow back . and forth as I think in different lives—translation being a taste . of the oldest past, further back than what the first word can contain . insomuch as any singular, abandoned definition is a spark that…
“Hong Kong and Myanmar: An Encounter on the Road to Democracy” by Annika Yan
Hong Kong and Myanmar—An Encounter on the Road to Democracyby Annika Yan This piece was first published HERE on Thursday 4 February 2021. Imagine a youngster waking up one day, getting ready for their online university lessons, or their part-time job as a salesperson downtown, only to be told by their mother that all pro-democracy…
“Long Night’s Journey into Day: A Monologue Play” by Jennifer Anne Eagleton
Long Night’s Journey into Day: A Monologue Playby Jennifer Anne Eagleton The play takes place over the course of one night and the next morning, starting from around 7:00 pm on Tuesday 12 November 2019. Hong Kong is in ferment over a proposed extradition law. Despite the turmoil and uncertainty our protagonist decides to go…
“The Last Fire on a Day that Can’t be Named” by Cleo Adler
The Last Fire on a Day that Can’t be Namedby Cleo Adler 25 June 2020 Summer silently crept in amid hysteria over masks and hand sanitiser. In those days of beautiful sunshine—sometimes punctuated by erratic storms—we spent our days staring at pixellated videos and black screens. After the previous hectic five months, not wearing a…
“Are We Dead Yet?” by Ilaria Maria Sala
Are We Dead Yet?by Ilaria Maria Sala How many times are we going to die?You keep repeating that we are dead—And then you say we are dead again.What I don’t know isIf you think we were alive in between the deaths.You said we were deadBut the truly dead don’t cry. They don’t bleed. They don’t…
“The Day They Blocked the Tolo Highway” by Kate Kwan
The Day They Blocked the Tolo Highwayby Kate Kwan I had a concert to attendand Kowloon was on the other end.There was no way to passthe island shrouded in tears and gas.Rocks were thrown and cars were burnt.I used to read books there, now it has turned red.Colours have different meanings now.Red is not red…
“Hedgehogs in Fog” by Nicole Lai
Hedgehogs in Fogby Nicole Lai June 2019, Admiralty. How to cite: Lai, Nicole. “Hedgehogs in Fog.” Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 01 Nov. 2020, hkprotesting.com/2020/11/01/fog/. Photograph © Oliver Farry. After graduating from the MA in Literary and Comparative Studies at Hong Kong Baptist University, Nicole Lai now works in the field of education innovation at Hong Kong University of…
“Grey Days” by Renee Melchert Thorpe
Grey Daysby Renee Melchert Thorpe Rashed and raw Hong Kong,I heave a grey day sigh.Out there:Dense, low figmentsclamp the city, misting the favouredand the forgotten, anyand all. This secret rooftop escape is a good placeto look downon the fog,while at the same time,this rough brick, resisting oldpaint, makes it a rushto imaginethat a stained girl…
“Walk Through” by Mok Pik Ying
Walk Throughby Mok Pik Ying Someone I know is dying, Someone I know got arrested. Someone I know moved to a foreign country, and I know they will never come back. I see the smiles on our faces are gone and we might suffer an endless nightmare. As an art student, I often wonder what…
“I Am A Hongkonger” by Jennifer Anne Eagleton
I Am A Hongkongerby Jennifer Anne EagletonBeep, beep… Here’s the fax. Does it say I have the job? Yes, it does. You do have the job. It was June 1997. I saw a job advertisement on the noticeboard of the Department of Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney. It was for an editorial assistant…
“Yellow Stains on Your Chinese Blue” by Felix Chow
Yellow Stains on Your Chinese Blueby Felix ChowIt is impolite to wake the dying, silvery maotai on their lips.You were taught to love the old. They love Mao, and voteblue. Can you love them still? Too yellow for your Chinese skin. Said yeh yehchopping peppercorns, their scent a reminderof the birds teargassed to bits.Your Chineseness…
“Flowers” by Ysabelle Cheung
Flowersby Ysabelle Cheung on tuesday a new flower shop opened in our neighborhoodand immediately announced it was going out of business. lilies for a dollar, orchids for two, and everywhere i saw people with bouquets for the flowers would soon be extinct. There had been reports of how they were tired of life and how…
“We Are All Hongkongers” by Sara Tung
☂☂☂☂☂We Are All Hongkongersby Sara Tung 31 August 2019 On 12 September 2001, the day after the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the French newspaper Le Monde carried on its front page the headline “Nous sommes tous Américains”. We are all Americans. In the summer of 2019, we are all Hongkongers. …
“Hong Kong: A City of Disappearances” by Sharon Yam
Hong Kong: A City of Disappearancesby Shui-yin Sharon Yam As a former British colony and later a Special Administrative Region under Beijing’s now-broken promise of “50 years unchanged”, disappearances have always been a motif of Hong Kong. From Ackbar Abbas’s book on decolonisation and disappearance in Hong Kong culture, to the dystopian film Ten Years,…
“To the Cat Feeder in Hong Kong” by Jimin Kang
To the Cat Feeder in Hong Kongby Jimin Kang It’s been three years since I last saw you on the winding roads of Mount Parker, laying out styrofoam plates of dried pellets to feed the mountain cats. Perhaps you remember my Korean mother, who is also a lover of animals: as if drawn to your…
“Up Against the Walls” and “The Social Life of Bricks” by Ilaria Maria Sala
Two Poemsby Ilaria Maria Sala UP AGAINST THE WALLS Do the walls talk, where you are now? Do they scream? Do they burst out with exclamation marks?Or maybe they are silenced, like ours? I often wonder if you can understand meIf you can understand all of usAs we are here, up against the wallsLetting our eyes glide…
“Fiction, Films, and the Hong Kong Protests of 2014-2019: Three Vignettes” by Jeffrey Wasserstrom
Fiction, Films, and the Hong Kong Protests of 2014-2019: Three Vignettesby Jeffrey Wasserstrom I would like to use the opportunity of contributing to this site to introduce my latest book, Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink, in an unusual way—by offering up a trio of vignettes. My academic training was in archive-based historical work, but these…
“Bear” by Elizabeth Hay
Bearby Elizabeth HayHong Kong is a late-night city. It always has been. I imagine my grandfather forty years ago, when his hair was black and shiny with Brylcreem. What did he get up to here? Before I was his favourite, his little girl. He had been handsome, and he got rich. Today my grandmother, ravaged…
“A Tiny Truth Possibly Neglected” by Lian-Hee Wee
A Tiny Truth Possibly Neglectedby Lian-Hee Wee Trash everywhere, nothing appeared to be in order. Yet something was amiss. I trained my eyes on certain details and saw on the ground an unopened packet containing a bun. Beside it was a clean-looking red jacket, some unfinished bottles of water, and battery packs. Clothing and food…
“An Elephant of Foam—Under COVID-19” by Chan Lai-kuen
An Elephant of Foam—Under COVID-19by Chan Lai-kuen July 2020 You know and I knowThere is something hereAn elephant of foamJust we do not talk about itAbout where it comes fromThey know and we knowAnd they know that we knowWhere it comes fromAnd how it floatsA blanket around meA blanket around youIt’s bigIt’s warmIt’s the colour…
“Life Cycles” by Dawn Lo
Life Cyclesby Dawn Lo Chinook fingerlings tumble out of their nets. The little fish take a few moments to orient themselves in wild waters as the current knocks them tail overhead. Everything is new, but natural, as they are. See how they adapt. They steady themselves, bending and ebbing with the river’s flow, like grass…
“National Security Law: A Short Comic Strip” by Sharon Lam
National Security Law: A Short Comic Stripby Sharon Lam Sharon Lam is an architectural designer and writer living in Hong Kong. Her debut novel, Lonely Asian Woman, was nominated for the Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize in 2020. Visit her website for more information.
“Value 3: Fairness, Impartiality, and Compassion in All our Dealings” by Jason S Polley
☂☂☂☂☂Value 3: Fairness, Impartiality, and Compassion in All our Dealingsby Jason S Polley Take Five.(New Territories Rooftop.)On the privilegiosity of the limousine caste.I never thought that Hong Kong would become this situation because no one would know that the government is being so strong to refuse to apologise and doing any change for this The…
“The Train” by Annika Yan
The Trainby Annika Yan11 November 2019—first day of the strike THE IGNORANT The musty aftertaste of the morning Nespresso lingers in my mouth as I applied lipstick which was way too waxy. It was 50% off in Colourmix so I bought it regardless, and put on some concealer to hide the dark circles from having…
“I Carry A Card In My Wallet Everywhere” by Fi Five
I Carry A Card In My Wallet Everywhereby Fi Five I am from Hong Kong and I have been a student in Norway since August 2019. Two months before my departure, the anti-extradition protest began in my home city.I carry a card in my wallet everywhere. It is pink and laminated. I got it from…
“There is a Season Waiting Behind This One” by Collier Nogues
There is a Season Waiting Behind This Oneby Collier Nogues Editor’s Note: This poem was specially commissioned for “The Writing Life Beyond COVID-10: A Virtual Residency” (3-9 August 2020, jointly organised by Cha: An Asian Literary Journal and the newly founded Mongrel Writers Residence. Photograph © Oliver Farry. How to cite: Nogues, Collier. “There is a Season Waiting Behind This…
“The End of Policing” by Cheng Tim Tim
The End of Policingby Cheng Tim Tim —thinking HK, China, the US, Greece, the Philippines, Kenya and elsewhereIt’s easier to dream of the end of Covid-19 / than the end of policing. I can think of the day / when the curve is flattened to alarm almost no one / but I can’t think of…
“Roads ∙ Square ∙ Roads (道路 ∙ 廣場 ∙ 道路)” by Stuart Lau 劉偉成, translated by Karen Hung Curtis
☂☂☂☂☂Roads ∙ Square ∙ Roads by Stuart Lau 劉偉成, translated by Karen Hung Curtis ROADS ∙ SQUARE ∙ ROADS When roads are opened by umbrellasinto a squarecars stop to erase our memorywith their wheelswe look for the rain we’ve been praying forthe heart of the square has no centreour armour, take roots in dreamsthe rain…
“The Reality of Modern Resistance: A Review of Unfree Speech” by J. Sorel
The Reality of Modern Resistance: A Review of Unfree Speech by J. Sorel Given his current status on the world stage, the first English-language publication from Joshua Wong was destined to be a monumental event, regardless of its content. Unfree Speech: The Threat to Global Democracy and Why We Must Act Now! (co-written with Jason…
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Hong Kong Protesting 