Forever Hong Kong: A Global City's Decolonization Struggle

Ching Kwan Lee

This publication is presented to you through Paradigm Publishing Services

Harvard University Press

Visit our Partner Page See all our books

Book

Forever Hong Kong

A Global City's Decolonization Struggle

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2025

About this book

An on-the-ground account of the dramatic 2019 Hong Kong protests, showing how they represent the latest stage of a decades-old decolonization struggle.

Long known for its glamour and affluence, Hong Kong shocked the world in 2019 when millions of its citizens took to the streets in protest. For more than six months, Hong Kongers braved the police’s often violent suppression. At the forefront were young adults fighting not just for universal suffrage but for their vision of a good society, a just economy, rule of law, and a future of self-determination.

Forever Hong Kong takes readers deep inside this improbable decolonization struggle in one of the global centers of capitalism, providing granular insight into a movement that had been gestating for decades. Caught between the relentlessly encroaching Chinese party-state and the kingpins of international commerce—for whom political complacency is the foundation of a stable and profitable business environment—are Hong Kongers themselves. They have inherited an island long under British and now Chinese rule, while maintaining a strong, distinct identity to be defended at all costs.

Offering a reflective history, a vivid ethnography, and a piercing analysis of political economy, Ching Kwan Lee tells the story of her native city at a pivotal moment of geopolitical rivalry between China and the West. Her novel analysis of how colonized subjects have transformed into agents of history breaks new ground for the study of decolonization worldwide.

Reviews

Well worth a close read. Even well-informed observers will find much to learn from the account of people’s rapid personal transitions as they experienced the growing brutality of a police force that had once been well regarded and the incompetence and unresponsiveness of the post-colonial administration.
-- Alan Smart Journal of Urban Affairs

Culminating in dramatic street protests in 2019 that captured the world's attention, Hong Kong’s battle for freedom has often been framed as noble and inspiring but also quixotic and hopeless. Hong Kong native Ching Kwan Lee paints a more nuanced picture, showing it to be part of a decades-long struggle to decolonize—first from Britain and then from China. Based on years of first-hand research and written with verve and clarity, this is an indispensable analysis of what truly was the revolution of our times.
-- Ian Johnson, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and author of Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and Their Battle for the Future

Lee’s marvelous book shows how Hong Kongers developed their own unique identity, with a hunger for justice and democracy, while struggling against first British, then Chinese colonial authority. Yet Lee also shows the global dimensions of Hong Kong’s efforts, caught between Western and Chinese imperialism and the claims of capitalism versus communism. In showing how Hong Kong’s story illuminates all struggles for freedom, Lee demonstrates that Hong Kong’s resistance has not only a rich history but also a future.
-- Jack A. Goldstone, author of Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction

Bringing in the perspective of decolonization to make sense of the post-1997 Hong Kong political protests is inspiring and provocative. This groundbreaking book, written with both scholarly rigor and personal passion, is not only an innovative and timely contribution to postcolonial studies and Hong Kong studies but also essential reading for anyone who is concerned about the beleaguered city’s past and future.
-- Law Wing Sang, author of Collaborative Colonial Power: The Making of the Hong Kong Chinese

Topics

Publicly Available

Frontmatter
i

Download PDF
Publicly Available

CONTENTS
ix

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

INTRODUCTION
1

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

1 COLONIAL MYTHOLOGIES
17

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

2 PRACTICING POSTCOLONIALITY
58

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

3 "HONG KONGERS” (Re)born in Action
119

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

4 BENDING THE ARC OF VIOLENCE
170

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

5 "BE WATER” GOES GLOBAL
231

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

6 TO BE CONTINUED
271

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

NOTES
291

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
323

Download PDF
Requires Authentication Unlicensed

Licensed

INDEX
325

Download PDF

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

August 26, 2025

eBook ISBN:

9780674300712

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674300712

eBook ISBN: 9780674300712

Harvard University Press

Forever Hong Kong

Overview

About this book

Reviews

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1 COLONIAL MYTHOLOGIES

2 PRACTICING POSTCOLONIALITY

3 "HONG KONGERS” (Re)born in Action

4 BENDING THE ARC OF VIOLENCE

5 "BE WATER” GOES GLOBAL

6 TO BE CONTINUED

NOTES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INDEX

Bibliographic data