Why Postcolonial Theory Is Not Helping Hong Kong
It was a scene that seemed anachronistic and perplexing to Western observers. For a few brief moments on July 1st 2019, the 22nd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to China, the British colon…
Melissa Chen
32d ago
The Hong Kong protesters, much like the women who risk jail and torture by removing their hijabs in Iran, are demanding the freedoms that we in the West take for granted.
Why does progressive ideology reflexively ignore their plight?
My debut op-ed
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"To deride the fight against one of the most repressive and autocratic regimes is to completely undermine and disparage Hong Kong’s struggle for democracy and freedom" argues @MsMelChen
Every word of this fantastic essay by @MsMelChen for @AreoMagazine
How post-colonial theory has lead western "progressives" to side with those oppressing the people of #HongKong, favoring leftist ideology over people.
Why Postcolonial Theory Is Not Helping Hong Kong: Powerful piece by @MsMelChen. areomagazine.com/2019/07/17/why… via @areomagazine
Why Postcolonial Theory Is Not Helping Hong Kong areomagazine.com/2019/07/17/why…
"Do we only care about the injustice of colonialism when the respective groups, defined as the 'colonizer' versus the 'colonized,' harbor differential levels of melanin?" @MsMelChen pic.twitter.com/jJXfrIZYpS
Photographs of Grandma Wong waving the Union Jack at the #HKprotests have captured the attention of many.
I used her pictures in my op-ed (areomagazine.com/2019/07/17/why…), but I didn't know her story till now.
reuters.com/article/us-hon…
Thanks to @keikoinboston for this one.
Chen: "The protesters in Hong Kong, much like the women who risk imprisonment and torture by removing their hijabs in Iran, are demanding the freedoms that we take for granted." Left postcolonial thought can't grasp or endorse a real pro-freedom movement.
Powerful take on Hong Kong protests, Chinese crimes against civil liberties, and complicated colonial legacies by @MsMelChen
"Much like the new definition of racism prescribed by Critical Theory, the progressive definition of who qualifies as a “colonizer” appears to exclude non-European powers. What then to make of the actions of China and Russia?"