Guardians of Hong Kong Culture Spring Up From California to Singapore

As the space for academic freedom and artistic expression shrinks in Hong Kong, universities and diaspora communities around the world are taking up the mantle of protecting and teaching the city’s culture and history. 

Projects are cropping up from the U.S. and U.K. to Canada and Singapore. At the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, China scholar Gregory Lee is building out what he calls a “beacon” for Hong Kong studies, including a collection of the city’s cultural paraphernalia. In the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung, the National Sun Yat-sen University is seeking similar materials as part of its three-yearHong Kong Cultural Collection Project.