PhD Student, Department of Asian Studies
timpit@student.ubc.ca
Pit Hok Yau, Tim is a PhD student in Asian Studies at The University of British Columbia and the Research Lead for the Hong Kong Animal Law and Protection Organisation. His primary research interests lie in non-human animal history and welfare, alongside topics in the Environmental Humanities, such as the climate crisis. His PhD thesis focuses on the intersection between history and storytelling of non-human animals in post-World War II Hong Kong. Tim received his M.Phil. in Cultural Studies from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and his bachelor’s degree from The University of Hong Kong, where he double majored in Hong Kong Studies and Journalism.
Besides his thesis project, Tim is currently researching the literary representation of the Chinese white dolphin in China and the country’s panda gifting to Hong Kong and Taiwan. His writings have been published by academic journals, including Hong Kong Studies (history of Chinese white dolphin in Hong Kong) and Inter-Asia Cultural Studies (yellow economic circle/ political consumerism in Hong Kong), and news outlets such as Hong Kong Free Press, Ming Pao, and South China Morning Post.
PUBLICATIONS
Peer-reviewed articles
| 2024 | Handover mascot and flagship species: The instrumentalization of Chinese white dolphin in Hong Kong. Hong Kong Studies, 4(2), pp.1–20. |
Other publications – Commentaries & book reviews
| 2025 | 回歸吉祥物：香港中華白海豚的前世今生, Ming Pao, 1 July. |
| 2025 | Dolphin’s death another wake-up call to phase out animal captivity. South China Morning Post, 2 June. |
| 2025 | 《香江遺礁》：重述香港蠔的故事Re-story-ation of the Hong Kong oyster: City of Shells. Ming Pao, 29 April. |
| 2025 | Re-story-ation of the Hong Kong oyster: City of Shells. Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 26 April. |
| 2025 | Trial allowing pets on trains should not be set up for failure. South China Morning Post, 16 April. |
| 2025 | Give Hong Kong’s animal welfare law teeth by adding duty of care. South China Morning Post, 23 February. |
| 2025 | 不只「工」更是「人」：讀《香港移民家務工創作者作品選集》Not workers but human: reading Ingat . P-articles, 19 February. |
| 2025 | Sometimes painful, sometimes uplifting— Ingat: An anthology of works by migrant domestic worker creatives in Hong Kong. Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, 10 January. |
| 2024 | In dark times, Arendt’s political theory reminds us freedom is practiced, not given. The Ubyssey, 14 November. |
| 2024 | The root cause of Hong Kong’s monkey deaths is the existence of zoos – animal ghettos must end worldwide. Hong Kong Free Press, 27 October. |
| 2024 | 全力聚焦發展經濟 漠視生態可以嗎？Is it okay to channel all our efforts into economic development and ignore the environment? Ming Pao, 19 September. |
AWARDS
| 2025 | Congress Graduate Merit Award, The Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences of Canada |