Leung Lee-chi Attends PEN World Voices Festival, Recalling Hong Kong Stories from That Year
Writer Leung Lee-chi attended the PEN World Voices Festival in New York, sharing stories and emotions of Hong Kong people during the 2019 mass protests. Her novel "Everyday Movement," which depicts individual experiences amid societal change in Hong Kong, has received critical acclaim in the US.
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Central News
(Central News Agency reporter Liao Han-yuan, New York, May 2) Writer Leung Lee-chi, who has won multiple literary awards in Taiwan and Hong Kong, attended a forum at the 21st "PEN World Voices Festival" in New York today. She shared with American readers the stories and emotions of Hongkongers during the 2019 large-scale protests, and the differences in attitudes people face when times change in a capitalist city.
Leung Lee-chi, 31, describes the 2019 large-scale conflict and protests in Hong Kong, and her novel "Everyday Movement" (Chinese title: 日常運動), which features characters in corners and societal changes, has an English edition translated by veteran Sinologist Jennifer Feeley and published by Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
After its US publication, "Everyday Movement" received widespread acclaim. On May 2, Leung Lee-chi attended the "Protest Fiction: Suppression, Dissent, and Resistance" session at the 21st "PEN World Voices Festival" in New York, sharing the stage with Russian art journalist and writer Svetlana Satchkova. The event was moderated by Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.
Leung Lee-chi stated that she tried to write about the main character, and also included other characters. The main character participated in the protests with a friend, but the two had different views on the degree of participation and sacrifice. In fact, people in the protests also had different opinions, such as how much to invest. There were different levels in this protest. The main character and her mother also became a contrast; the mother hoped her daughter would stop protesting and used tactics such as locking doors and emotional intimidation.
She said: These phenomena were very common at the time, and some parents cut off financial support or even locked their children at home.
Leung Lee-chi described how many people in Hong Kong discussed the old romantic American movie "The Way We Were" at the time. In the film, the male and female protagonists face conflicts and how to continue their relationship due to different political backgrounds, but due to changes in the political climate, the two are destined to separate. Hongkongers found resonance in the film at that time because people were looking for partners.
The 10 short stories in "Everyday Movement" depict kinship, friendship, allies, and work in large political movements, full of the flow of the city and time, and containing much extremely personal loneliness.
She said: Hongkongers like to go to work every day. No matter what problems or situations they encounter, Hongkongers will still go to work because Hong Kong is a capitalist city. When social movements occur in an extremely capitalist city, people distinguish between weekdays and weekends. They take to the streets on weekends to participate in tense demonstrations and damage public property, but they go home after 6 PM.
"Going to work from Monday to Friday, some people even had to repair company equipment that had been damaged two days earlier. It was a very strange situation at the time," Leung Lee-chi recalled.
Browne-Marshall asked Leung Lee-chi for her views on the current situation in the United States and Hong Kong. She believes they are completely different, and the English edition of the novel can be published in the United States. "This book was not published in Hong Kong, but after being published in Taiwan, it could be sold back to Hong Kong. The reaction from Hong Kong readers was quite good, because at that time I wanted to write not about the regime suppressing opponents, but about the relationships between people with the same stance during this period and how they viewed what happened. My friends and strangers have all read it."
"They feel that someone is willing to open their wounds. To heal wounds, one must first open them and let the sun shine in."
During her stay in New York, Leung Lee-chi will interact with readers at the independent bookstore Yellow Peril Books and HOM Cafe & Wine, and will also give literary lectures at Hunter College, City University of New York, and the University of Denver. (Editor: Chen Yu-ting) 1150503
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(Central News Agency reporter Liao Han-yuan, New York, May 2) Writer Leung Lee-chi, who has won multiple literary awards in Taiwan and Hong Kong, attended a forum at the 21st "PEN World Voices Festival" in New York today. She shared with American readers the stories and emotions of Hongkongers during the 2019 large-scale protests, and the differences in attitudes people face when times change in a capitalist city.
Leung Lee-chi, 31, describes the 2019 large-scale conflict and protests in Hong Kong, and her novel "Everyday Movement" (Chinese title: 日常運動), which features characters in corners and societal changes, has an English edition translated by veteran Sinologist Jennifer Feeley and published by Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
After its US publication, "Everyday Movement" received widespread acclaim. On May 2, Leung Lee-chi attended the "Protest Fiction: Suppression, Dissent, and Resistance" session at the 21st "PEN World Voices Festival" in New York, sharing the stage with Russian art journalist and writer Svetlana Satchkova. The event was moderated by Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.
Leung Lee-chi stated that she tried to write about the main character, and also included other characters. The main character participated in the protests with a friend, but the two had different views on the degree of participation and sacrifice. In fact, people in the protests also had different opinions, such as how much to invest. There were different levels in this protest. The main character and her mother also became a contrast; the mother hoped her daughter would stop protesting and used tactics such as locking doors and emotional intimidation.
She said: These phenomena were very common at the time, and some parents cut off financial support or even locked their children at home.
Leung Lee-chi described how many people in Hong Kong discussed the old romantic American movie "The Way We Were" at the time. In the film, the male and female protagonists face conflicts and how to continue their relationship due to different political backgrounds, but due to changes in the political climate, the two are destined to separate. Hongkongers found resonance in the film at that time because people were looking for partners.
The 10 short stories in "Everyday Movement" depict kinship, friendship, allies, and work in large political movements, full of the flow of the city and time, and containing much extremely personal loneliness.
She said: Hongkongers like to go to work every day. No matter what problems or situations they encounter, Hongkongers will still go to work because Hong Kong is a capitalist city. When social movements occur in an extremely capitalist city, people distinguish between weekdays and weekends. They take to the streets on weekends to participate in tense demonstrations and damage public property, but they go home after 6 PM.
"Going to work from Monday to Friday, some people even had to repair company equipment that had been damaged two days earlier. It was a very strange situation at the time," Leung Lee-chi recalled.
Browne-Marshall asked Leung Lee-chi for her views on the current situation in the United States and Hong Kong. She believes they are completely different, and the English edition of the novel can be published in the United States. "This book was not published in Hong Kong, but after being published in Taiwan, it could be sold back to Hong Kong. The reaction from Hong Kong readers was quite good, because at that time I wanted to write not about the regime suppressing opponents, but about the relationships between people with the same stance during this period and how they viewed what happened. My friends and strangers have all read it."
"They feel that someone is willing to open their wounds. To heal wounds, one must first open them and let the sun shine in."
During her stay in New York, Leung Lee-chi will interact with readers at the independent bookstore Yellow Peril Books and HOM Cafe & Wine, and will also give literary lectures at Hunter College, City University of New York, and the University of Denver. (Editor: Chen Yu-ting) 1150503
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship of yours is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the CNA "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.