Forever Hong Kong

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 glamor 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, offering 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.