I am a Hong Konger, and it is July 1st. My typical tradition on public holidays here is to hide away in my apartment, avoiding any and all crowds. The plan for today is to crank up the AC, watch Yo…
So, today is July 1st. It’s a loaded date for me because I’m a Hong Konger. Born and raised.
Back when I had a teeny tiny moment of attention in the APH Hong Kong corner of the Hetalia fandom, I put great emphasis on having direct ties to the city in spite of using English as my main language, and even when the hype died down I kept my HK pride. During the 2012 demonstrations and the 2014 Umbrella Movement, I continued to post about home.
For 2017 and the 20th anniversary of the Handover (a ceremony I watched as a child from the fuzzy purple sofa in the living room) I wanted to write about the state of my city and its struggle to understand its identity. But more than that, I really wanted to explore the struggle to understand my own identity from my complicated, layered history as an international school raised Hong Konger.
Here ya go. Happy July 1st.
