Today was the first time we met the HKU students and professors that we will be working with abroad. It was very exciting to see them, though only through a screen, and introduce ourselves to them. All of them are urban planning students while in contrast, our class is made up of diverse specializations. However, this diversity and mix in our class along with their urban planning background will guide us into thinking in very different perspectives as we explore Shanghai and later Hong Kong together.

First time meeting HKU students and professors via video call. So excited to meet in person!

Today was also the day that our group finally picked our topic! After hours of contemplation, we decided that we wanted to look at activists in Vancouver and Hong Kong and how their activism to preserve space differs respectively. For example, we drew connections from Vancouver’s Chinatown activists and their lobbying against the redevelopment of Chinatown (i.e. new condominiums being built), to Hong Kong’s activists who fight to preserve landmarks and buildings carrying meaning to them (i.e. Star ferry terminal, Clock tower). Though it is just a start, my group finally agreed on going this direction for our project, which I think is already a huge step forward for us! Our idea may change though, depending on what happens when we talk to Henry, Alyssa and Jo tomorrow about it.

Tomorrow the whole class will be going to Chinatown for a tour accompanied by Hayne Wai and Melissa Fong. I can’t remember the last time I was in Chinatown, so I’m eager to revisit the area to better understand exactly what is happening in Chinatown and what many activists are fighting for, and how.

Today, we got a first-hand look at the modernization of Vancouver’s Chinatown, through the implementation of trendy-looking architecture and demolition of mom and pop shops, to name a few ways, that continues to threaten Chinatown’s historic foundation. Although we’d talked and watched videos about the gentrification of Chinatown and the historical aspects of the area, seeing what was happening in person reinforced the very real battle of old vs. new Chinatown for me. What I saw today was not what I remembered Chinatown to be. I recall, in a video we viewed in class, Henry talking about the smell of a place evoking a sense of nostalgia. To me, my most vivid memory of Chinatown was due to the particular food smells of it (Though this might be because as a youngster, I often went to Chinatown solely for the food, with my father). It was a reality check for me to see “hip” places newly situated in the area like Starbucks, and vibrant, neon signage that contrasted hugely against the architecture of the “old” Chinatown.

My group also went to visit an exhibition on social housing in Vancouver, located in the Downtown Eastside. Called, ‘Housing for All’, the exhibition had many examples of WHO was being displaced as a result of redevelopment, and what their story was. There was a lot of data at the exhibition that showed the comparison of public housing in different parts of the world (including where we are going in a week: Hong Kong!), as well as data that showed the expenses of social housing. I can’t speak for the others, but after leaving the exhibition, I felt a little more confident in our topic by knowing more about the importance of social housing.

We leave for Hong Kong in one week!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday, our class had the opportunity to attend a two day conference, ’Cantonese Worlds’, presented by the Hong Kong-Canada Crosscurrents Project. Before attending, I had little information on the history of how Cantonese came to be one of the official languages in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, as well as the factors leading to potential extinction of Cantonese. In this reflection, I will note the points of the conference that I thought resonated with me.

Helen Leung, from the Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies in SFU, brought up a question along the lines of, “How do we use the cool factor of Cantopop and Cantonese actors or actresses in the media as a tool to preserve Cantonese?” Zoe Lam responded in saying that production of Cantonese media such as from TVB, must be continually produced with new actors and actresses, so that Cantonese can continue to appeal to younger generations. Zoe’s response held a lot of truth in it, because it was relatable to me learning Mandarin through Taiwanese media. Earlier, Zoe claimed that TVB was a huge part of how Cantonese is preserved within young people, creating an urge to understand the language from favourite Cantonese dramas. Personally, I thought that I could relate to this point a lot, though through Mandarin rather than Cantonese. Moving to Canada at the young age of 2, my parents enrolled me in Chinese school in hopes that I would retain my first language. However, it did not take long for my Mandarin to start sounding choppy and heavy with a foreign accent, because of my lack of interest in learning Mandarin in Chinese school. Thankfully, in my high school years, I began to develop an interest in watching Taiwanese dramas in which the actors and actresses spoke Mandarin. Now, while I still sometimes struggle with reading Mandarin characters, my ability to speak the language is not carried with a foreign accent.

Among many of the videos we were shown, Zoe showed a video of a man speaking Cantonese to children in Guangzhou, who were not able to understand him. Although Cantonese first developed in Guangzhou, after the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, the government wanted the primary language to be Mandarin instead of Cantonese. From then on, children were taught in strictly Mandarin, leading to the diminishing knowledge of Cantonese in Guangzhou. This prompted me to think of how quickly a once official language of a country could be wiped out almost entirely because of the state. Another person in the audience asked why people in Malaysia could retain a variety of languages. Henry and Zoe answered that because of Malaysia being not as “politically loaded”, the people living there are not restricted with a dominant language of speaking.

Dr. Jan Wells spoke about Mandarin and Cantonese being equally relevant languages to learn in this day and age. He raised the idea that these two languages should not be seen in an either-or perspective, but rather, which language can be learnt first. His passion for learning and teaching Chinese made me think of the opportunity I had in Chinese school in the past and still have, living with my parents who speak Mandarin, to strengthen my language skills in Mandarin and taking on learning Cantonese in the future.