Milestones

April

• “Hong Kong Inside Out” is an online graduate conference organized by a global team of graduate students from UBC and beyond, with an aim to providing students from around the world and from a variety of academic disciplines a platform for sharing their Hong Kong–related research.

January

• The Asian Independent Cinema Showcase, co-curated and co-convened by  Dr Helena Wu and Jimmy Lo, has officially been launched. The UBC-based film festival aims to foster a film appreciation community within and beyond the university; cultivate media literacy and cross-cultural understanding; and give voices to independent stories told by Asian filmmakers.
• The North American Premiere of Drifting Petals, followed by a conversation with director Clara Law and scriptwriter Eddie Fong, was presented by the Asian Independent Cinema Showcase, and sponsored by the UBC Public Humanities Hub, the UBC HKSI and the SFU Institute for Transpacific Cultural Research.
• A new course, "Hong Kong Diaspora in Canada," was introduced and taught by Dr. Benjamin Cheung.

December

• "Theory Hong Kong Symposium 2023: Hong Kong Studies in Hong Kong" 理論香港廣東話研討會 2023：香港研究在香港 was co-organized by the UBC HKSI and the Hong Kong Studies Programme of the University of Hong Kong. 13 scholars from three continents presented their research work in Cantonese in Hong Kong.

September

• The Department of Asian Studies offers a minor in Asian Language and Culture with a focus on Hong Kong.
• In the 2023/2024 event series, HKSI invited filmmakers, writers, as well as scholars from fields including history, literary and cultural studies, gender studies, political science, and geogaphy to explore the sharing of experience and the production of knowledge in Hong Kong, Canada, and beyond.

July

• The 7th edition of Intersections, the HKSI annual newsletter, was released.

June

• Hosted by HKSI, the "State of Hong Kong Studies" workshop hosted 5 special sessions and 28 panel presentations by 36 academics of different disicplines from around the world, in order to take stock of the field.

April

• Students and HKSI Faculty Associates came together to celebrate the end of term and look at student projects from Hong Kong studies and Cantonese language-related courses.

March

• HKSI hosted a public screening of the restored edition of Hong Kong film classic Rouge 胭脂扣 at UBC Robson Square, followed by a conversation with director Stanley Kwan and accompanied by an exhibition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passing of Leslie Cheung.

February

• Co-presented by UBC Asian Library and the Department of Asian Studies, the exhibition "Leslie Cheung 張國榮: Hong Kong Icon (1956-2003)" commemorates the 20th anniversary of the passing of the legendary Hong Kong actor, singer, and performer, Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing.

December

• Dr. Helena Wu has been named Canada Research Chair in Hong Kong Studies.

September

• "City Rebegins" 我繫 • 我城, a series of webinars, conversations, film screenings, and associated events, was launched to encourage reflections on the ever-changing new normal and its implications for communities in Hong Kong and beyond.
• Dr. Zoe Lam joined the Department of Asian Studies as a full-time lecturer of Cantonese Language and Culture.

July

• The 6th edition of Intersections, the HKSI annual newsletter, was released.

June

• HKSI faculty associates reflected on the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong.

May

• HKSI faculty associates celebrated the Class of 2022.
• A generous pledge was made by UBC alumni Marian Leung and Tommy Tao to support the work of HKSI.

April

• In partnership with the Cantonese Language Program, HKSI hosted a hybrid student showcase to celebrate our students' hard work and to mark HKSI's fifth anniversary.

March

• "China and the Modern World: Hong Kong, Britain, and China 1841–1951," a collection of documents drawn from CO 129 (War and Colonial Department and Colonial Office: Hong Kong) held at the National Archives of the United Kingdom, is now accessible through the UBC Library.

December

• HKSI faculty associates celebrated the 60th Anniversary of the Department of Asian Studies.

November

• HKSI joined the Global Nexus for Hong Kong Studies as a founding member.

September

• "City Reassembled" 我載 • 我城, a year-long series of webinars, film screenings, and conversations, was launched to encourage reflections on the past, present, and future of the Hong Kong diaspora.
• Dr. Helena Wu joined the Department of Asian Studies as Assistant Professor of Hong Kong Studies.

July

• The 5th edition of Intersections, the HKSI annual newsletter, was released.

May

• HKSI faculty associates celebrated the Class of 2021.
• "Hong Kong Popular Culture—Imagining a Research Field," a 2-day international workshop, was co-organized by HKSI, the Hong Kong Studies Program at the University of Hong Kong, and the Department of Sociology at the Hong Kong Baptist University.

March

• HKSI was a proud sponsor of the first Cantonese Speech Contest organized by the Cantonese Language Program.

September

• "City Archived" 我傳 • 我城, a year-long series of webinars and conversations, was launched to encourage reflections on the myriad ways Hong Kong had been archived.

August

• The 4th edition of Intersections, the HKSI annual newsletter, was released.

May

• "Mapping Hong Kong," a 3-day online history workshop, was organized and hosted by HKSI in partnership with the Hong Kong History Project at the University of Bristol.
• HKSI faculty associates celebrated the Class of 2020.
• HKSI faculty associates responded to anti-Asian racism.

January

• HKSI faculty associates responded to the coronavirus outbreak.
• "Cantonese Music" (ASIA 335/MUSC 327), an undergraduate course offered by the School of Music and the Department of Asian Studies, was launched by HKSI Faculty Associate Dr. Hedy Law.

November

• A special exhibition, "The Hong Kong Umbrella Movement – An Artistic Diary," featuring artist Tammy Flynn Seybold was hosted by HKSI in conjunction with the launch of "After the Protest: A Vancouver Archive of the Umbrella Movement."

October

• A film series was organized by the student associates of HKSI to showcase some of the best Hong Kong cinema had to offer.

September

• "City in Protest" 我衛 • 我城, a year-long series of public lectures, film screenings, and associated events, was launched to encourage reflections on the challenges facing Hong Kong.

August

• The 3rd edition of Intersections, the HKSI annual newsletter, was released.

June

• HKSI faculty associates responded to the turmoil in Hong Kong.
• HKSI faculty associates hosted a study tour from the Global and Hong Kong Studies Program at the Education University of Hong Kong.

April

• In partnership with the Cantonese Language Program, HKSI hosted the second end-of-term celebration with students, faculty associates, and community members to mark its second anniversary.

December

• The "Watt Family – Hong Kong Studies Initiative Fund" was established with the generous support of Mr. Chi Shum Watt.

October

• Dr. Helen F. Siu, Professor of Anthropology at Yale University, was invited to deliver the 2018–19 Yip So Man Wat Memorial Lecture and to help celebrate the launch of "History of Cantonese Worlds" (ASIA 323/HIST377).

September

• "History of Cantonese Worlds" (ASIA 323/HIST377), an undergraduate course offered by the Department of Asian Studies and the Department of History, was launched by HKSI Faculty Associate Dr. Clement Tong.
• The 2nd edition of Intersections, the HKSI annual newsletter, was released.

April

• In partnership with the Cantonese Language Program, HKSI hosted an end-of-term celebration with students, faculty associates, and community members to mark its first anniversary.

March

• HKSI was a proud sponsor of the first Cantonese Singing Contest organized by the Cantonese Language Program and Club HK.

January

• "City Inscribed" 我寫 • 我城, a semester-long series of public lectures, film screenings, and associated events, was launched in celebration of the introduction of "Literature of Hong Kong" (ASIA 324).
• "Literature of Hong Kong" (ASIA 324), an undergraduate course offered by the Department of Asian Studies, was launched by HKSI Faculty Associate Dr. Laifong Leung.

September

• Dr. Bell Yung, Professor Emeritus of Music from the University of Pittsburgh, was invited to UBC to deliver a public lecture on Hong Kong's folk music to help launch the second season of HKSI.

July

• The inaugural edition of Intersections, the HKSI annual newsletter, was released.
• A series of reports was jointly produced by HKSI, Ming Pao (Vancouver), and the Vancouver Hong Kong Forum Society on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong.

April

• UBC became the first institution in Canada to provide its users access to the digital archives of the South China Morning Post.
• Convened by Dr. Leo K. Shin, the Hong Kong Studies Initiative (HKSI) was formally launched at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in conjunction with the symposium "Hong Kong: 20 Years After"—with featured speakers including Dr. Stephen Yiu-Wai Chu (University of Hong Kong), Dr. Petula Sik Ying Ho (University of Hong Kong), as well as HKSI Faculty Associates Dr. Josephine Chiu-Duke and Dr. Diana Lary.

January

• "History of Hong Kong" (ASIA/HIST 373), an undergraduate course offered by the Department of Asian Studies and the Department of History, was launched by Dr. Leo K. Shin.