Hong Kong 2019
In 2019, I had the opportunity to visit Hong Kong several times as I participated in an exhibition titled “Phantom Plane” that focused on the concept of cyberpunk. The exhibition took place at Tai Kwun Contemporary, an art museum located in Hong Kong. It had been 25 years since I first travelled to Hong Kong in 1994, just before its handover to China. That had been my first time travelling overseas by myself. Naturally, other than participating in the exhibition I wanted to walk around and take pictures again, following my memories of the city. I couldn’t stop myself from walking out with a camera in my hands to the streets of Hong Kong, streets pulsing with protests for democracy.
The democratization protests were reaching their peak. Inevitably, I witnessed overwhelming scenes of large crowds marching and chanting for freedom and fierce battles between young people and the police. On that December day there was a peaceful march of hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and gender—I had never seen such a large group of people flowing like a mighty river. Even after sunset, a countless number of smartphone lights held by the uninterrupted flow of people were shining in the dark—It was a moving sight that I will not forget as long as I live. The scenes of protest where the radical young people called yuhng mouh (lit. the valiant) were struggling with the police swirled with intense energy and violence such that cannot be described by words. I was extremely shocked when I saw the young protestors get beaten up and captured by the swarm of riot police. Choking with the teargas and struck by the searchlight directed by the riot police myself, the photographing process was physically exhausting and even fearful. I couldn’t completely believe that authorities would use heavily armed forces with such bare-knuckle violence in the world today...
On the other hand, a part of me could not understand why the protestors had to set the subway station and traffic lights on fire, or why they had to destroy stores and banks that were related to China. I asked the young yuhng mouh directly about that, and they explained to me politely how each of their actions has a reason behind. Perhaps there are complicated circumstances and resentment that only those who are born and raised in the city would understand. Frankly, although I feel for their cause and innocence, I couldn’t agree with the acts of vandalism. After all, I’m only a witness who had a camera in my hands, not someone who is involved in the matters of Hong Kong. So I must state here that I am not an advocate for a political standpoint.
Throughout the shooting, I strongly felt the reality of the juxtaposition of the ordinary and the extraordinary. Even in times of crisis, ordinary life continued as usual and the people lived tenaciously, energetically and dauntlessly. The exhibition at Tai Kwun Contemporary was also held as planned in midst of this chaotic situation. I felt that what is not shown on the news is actually very important, so I focused on capturing daily life in local neighbourhoods, away from the protests. Just when I felt I was making good progress with my work and was planning to further engage with photographing Hong Kong, the global turmoil caused by the new coronavirus made it impossible for me to revisit Hong Kong for the time being. Now, with the enforcement of the Hong Kong National Security Law, things have been changing abruptly. As a former British colony which has built its own history and culture and enjoyed prosperity under the one country, two systems structure post-handover, Hong Kong is undoubtedly facing a major turning point. The year 2019 may be the last year that Hong Kong is truly like Hong Kong, and its history may well end up as a paragraph in world history. Of course, it’s not over yet and we shouldn’t give up hope...
Coincidentally, I stood face to face with Hong Kong at a time when a storm of protests raged because this time coincided with the schedule of the exhibition at the museum, but it was probably more than just a coincidence, as there is always more than coincidence in photography. I feel that it is my mission now to document Hong Kong as I personally experienced it in 2019, in the form of a photobook that will live on until later times.
