Dear Friend of HKSI,

Below please find the latest updates from the UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative. We look forward to seeing you in our upcoming events.

Hong Kong/Cantonese Studies Seminar
Monday, 3 December 2018, 2:00 pm
Why “Cantonese Worlds” Matters
Dr. Clement Tsz Ming Tong (Asian Studies, UBC)
120, C. K. Choi Building
1855 West Mall, Vancouver
free and open to the public

RSVP

The new UBC course “History of Cantonese Worlds” (ASIA 323/HIST 377) has attracted a fair amount of local Chinese media attention since its launch in September 2018. A recent column in The Hong Kong Economic Journal titled “When Cantonese is lost, we resort to Canada” 粵失求諸加 laments the grim future of the Cantonese language in Hong Kong but offers hopes of seeing its growth in Canada. This talk will reflect on the experience gained in the preparation and teaching of this new course and examine the responses it has received from both local and overseas communities.

Clement Tsz Ming Tong is Visiting Assistant Professor of the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. He is an Assistant Professor in Biblical Studies at the Carey Theological College, a former lecturer of translation skills and contextual cultural studies at Simon Fraser University, and a former instructor of Greek and Hebrew languages at the Vancouver School of Theology. He is the author of Revelation and Text: Story of the Chinese Bible (1807–1919) and is involved in several Hong Kong-themed projects that have resulted in works including “The Hong Kong Week of 1967 and the Emergence of Hong Kong Identity Through Contradistinction” and “Translating Memories: The Fight over Pikachu in Hong Kong.” Dr. Tong is currently working on a project regarding the study and writing of the Cantonese language in 19th-century China.

This public seminar is organized by the UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative and co-sponsored by: Department of History, Department of Asian Studies, and the Centre for Chinese Research.

Monday, 3 December 2018, 4:00 pm
Journeys of Hope: Challenging Discrimination and Building on Vancouver Chinatown’s Legacies
Dodson Room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
1961 East Mall, Vancouver

RSVP

"Join us to celebrate the launch of Journeys of Hope: Challenging Discrimination and Building on Vancouver Chinatown’s Legacies! This official edition is the result of a collaboration between UBC researchers and the City of Vancouver. It includes a new chapter with photos from the City’s Apology for past discrimination against people of Chinese descent on April 22, 2018. Meet author Henry Yu and co-editors Sarah Ling and Szu Shen."

Henry Yu teaches in History and the Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies Program at the University of British Columbia. He is the Principal at UBC St. John's College, and Director of the Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies.

Sarah Ling is the Community Engagement Manager at UBC St. John's College and President of the Chinese Canadian Historical Society of BC.

Szu Shen is the Program Manager of the UBC Asian Canadian and Asian Studies Migration Program.

This book launch is co-hosted by the Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies Program, Department of History, and the UBC Initiative for Student Teaching and Research in Chinese Canadian Studies.

Dr. Henry Yu (History/ACAM) will once again be running a summer Go Global Seminar: "Kaiping - The Heritage of Chinese Migration.” Please see details.

In case you missed the November events below, please follow the links for photos and/or reports.

November 1: Dr. Gary Luk (University of Saskatchewan) offered a fascinating discussion on the fluid maritime world of nineteenth-century South China.

November 2: More than fifty students from the Cantonese Language Program shared a fun evening of music, food, and games with their instructors and teaching assistants in the First Annual Cantonese Fun Night.

November 10: Guest speakers from the local Chinese media spoke to an overflowing crowd at the Richmond Cultural Centre on the opportunities and challenges of reporting on China and Hong Kong in Vancouver (photos and media coverage).

Visiting Assistant Professor and HKSI Associate Dr. Clement Tong was interviewed by OMNI Cantonese (BC) on the new course “History of Cantonese Worlds” (ASIA 323/HIST 377)

Cantonese language lecturer and HKSI Associate Dr. Zoe Lam spoke to Ming Pao Daily (Vancouver) on the past and present of Cantopop.

HKSI Associate Dr. Laifong Leung was interviewed by Ming Pao Daily (Vancouver) on the significance of the martial arts novels of Jin Yong (pen name of Dr. Louis Cha, 1924–2018).

"Hongkongers in Canada - on the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover,” a series produced by Ming Pao Daily (Vancouver) in partnership with HKSI, was honored with the 2018 Jack Webster Award for Best Reporting (Chinese Language).

HKSI mourns the passing of renowned historian Dr. Ming K. Chan 陳明銶 (1949–2018), a pioneer and passionate advocate of Hong Kong studies, and well-known actor Mr. Yueh Hua 岳華 (1942–2018), whose visit to ASIA 325 (Hong Kong Cinema) back in 2015 was most memorable and much appreciated.

Please kindly consider a tax-deductible donation to HKSI (hksi.ubc.ca/support-us). Thank you, as always, for your support of the UBC Hong Kong Studies Initiative.