Hong Kong: 25 years on

The Cultural Frontline

Twenty-five years since the handover of Hong Kong from the British back to China, journalist and former BBC Hong Kong correspondent Juliana Liu explores the cultural impact in Hong Kong itself and in the diaspora.

Billy Tang is the new Executive Director and curator of Para Site, one of the oldest and most active independent art institutions in Asia. He tells us about the appeal of working in and shaping the culture of Hong Kong.

Arts and culture journalist Vivienne Chow explores what’s happening in the Hong Kong cultural scene, from the revival of Cantopop, to the decision of some artists to leave the city.

Samson Young is a Hong Kong based artist and composer with a fascination for sound and experimentation. He represented Hong Kong in the 2017 Venice Biennale and the energy, intensity and history of the city has influenced him and his work. He describes his latest project and what it’s like to make art in Hong Kong today.

With the introduction of the National Security law and last year, the film censorship law, many artists have chosen to leave Hong Kong. Filmmakers Ka Leung Ng and Ching Wong first met making the dystopian speculative fiction film Ten Years, which won Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2016.They’ve now come together again, and earlier this year created the first Hong Kong Film Festival UK. They explained why they felt it was important to show films that are no longer able to screen in their native Hong Kong.

(Photo: A poster celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover. Credit: China News Service/Getty Images)