So Long Hong Kong, So Long

Since January of 2021, there is a minimum of three flights every day fully loaded with Hongkongers, leaving Hong Kong for the UK. It is expected that 250,000 to 320,000 Hong Kong residents will immigrate to the UK in the next five years.

This mass migration wave is a consequence of the pro-democracy protests in 2019 and a resistance to the increasing control from the mainland Chinese government.

I myself was one of the people on those planes. Leaving the city that I loved for my whole life, with the feelings of perplexity and depression of leaving my family, friends, and career behind.

All the photographs from this project ’So Long Hong Kong, So Long’ were taken during the time of such a dramatic change to the city of Hong Kong between January 2020 and May 2021.

In the beginning, I see this work as my farewell letter to Hong Kong, and also to the first half of my life.

But when I continue developing this body of works, I realized this work is more than personal, it is also about the complexity of HongKongers' identity and cultural roots. I was in a way trying to capture the enhancing sense of powerlessness and loss of hope within the city.