Club Lunch – Book Conversation: The Meaning of the Hong Kong Protests, a Year Later

Hong Kong’s 2019 anti-government protests, sparked by a government proposal to introduce a controversial extradition law, grew into a pro-democracy movement that engulfed the city for months. Driven primarily by young protesters with their ‘Be water!’ philosophy, borrowed from hometown hero Bruce Lee, this leaderless, technology-driven protest movement led to changes including the imposition of the National Security Law. Antony Dapiran in conversation with FCC president Jodi Schneider will discuss his book, City on Fire, which provides a detailed analysis of the protests, and reveals the protesters’ tactics. They will discuss how the movement fits into the city’s history of dissent and what implications the protests may have – and have already had – for Hong Kong, China and China’s place in the world.

Antony Dapiran is a Hong Kong-based writer and lawyer, and the author of the book, City on Fire: The Fight for Hong Kong. His writing has appeared in publications including The Atlantic, The Guardian, New Statesman, Quartz and Foreign Policy, and he is a regular guest on television and radio. He is qualified as a lawyer in Hong Kong, England and Australia. Over a 20-year legal career he advised many of China’s leading companies on raising capital and doing business internationally. A fluent Mandarin speaker, he has resided between Hong Kong and Beijing for more than 20 years.