“We have to build a Hong Kong nation”

It is an era in which “one country” shamelessly overrides the “two systems”. The aftermath of the 2019 protests has seen an emigration wave from Hong Kong across generations. The exodus of civil society groups and community organisers, alongside newly formed Hongkonger groups, points to the emergence of a diasporic Hong Kong network. Within it, Bonham Tree Aid explicitly stands for humanitarian causes. Established in the UK in 2021, its aim was to support political prisoners while connecting Hongkongers within and beyond borders. Three years on, co-founder Ming Yeung shares the origin and current operations of the organisation, and what to look forward to in the future.

Ming was a secondary school teacher in Hong Kong who had planned to pursue this career for decades. However, 2019 changed that plan completely. After first being visited by the police at home, the following years saw him interviewed by the national security department. With all these pressures and risks, Ming decided to leave behind what he had established in Hong Kong and arrived in the UK two years ago.

During the protests, several humanitarian funds were established to support arrestees. However, they gradually shut down after the passage of the National Security Law, including the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. It became clear that such humanitarian funds could no longer exist in Hong Kong. Ming decided to found one in the UK, continuing to support the imprisoned from overseas while also organising the diasporic community.

Relocating overseas, the meaning of integration becomes food for thought. For organisers, Hong Kong identity and connection with Hong Kong are at the core of their work. Without a doubt, Bonham Tree focuses on humanitarian causes, but it also hopes to contribute more to the diasporic community. Ming has been working in the field he cares about and specialises in — education.

Since the introduction of the BN(O) visa in 2021, more than two hundred thousand Hongkongers have moved to the UK, according to Home Office figures. Many have come as families, with seniors and young people alike. One should not be surprised to hear Cantonese being spoken in both big cities and small towns. As a Chinese language teacher, Ming has been curating a curriculum for Hongkongese as a second language in the hope of bridging the gap between sustaining a Hong Kong identity and social integration.

Bonham Tree has been exploring different ways to implement its educational vision. Working with various Hong Kong organisations, they have created teaching materials and hosted Hongkongese classes. Ming believes that Hongkongese, or the Chinese language, will unavoidably become a second language for the next generation of Hongkongers. Therefore, his plan is to create a new curriculum that suits the needs of future generations. By doing so, he hopes the language and culture can be preserved in the coming years and decades by these young people.

Looking back at Hong Kong, Ming feels disappointed that there is no comprehensive Chinese-as-a-second-language curriculum and teacher-training system, despite the significant number of ethnic minority pupils. Nonetheless, the situation in Hong Kong provides Ming with a vision for his project in the UK. He aims not only to contribute to the institutionalised GCSE curriculum, but also to collaborate with organisations and parents to cultivate a learning environment that encourages more learners. He also hopes to train more qualified teachers in the UK. Ultimately, he hopes to see a school run by a Hongkonger educational organisation where a Hong Kong humanistic spirit can be passed on.

The desire to preserve Hong Kong culture brings us back to the tricky question: what is Hong Kong anyway? What sort of values do we want to preserve? Hongkongers in Hong Kong and in the diaspora have been thinking about this in recent years. While many people point to visible street food and popular music as indicators of Hong Kong, Ming believes everyone has the ability to interpret it. While interpretations of Hong Kong may differ from person to person, continuing to think about what Hong Kong is – the process itself - helps the place, the culture, and the identity endure, Ming believes.

While civil society in Hong Kong has been repressed by the regime, emigration has unavoidably reduced its resources, further limiting its ability to bridge different parts of society. Currently, Bonham Tree continues working on humanitarian aid for people in Hong Kong while pursuing educational and cultural projects in the UK. Ming hopes these efforts will contribute to Hong Kong’s future. One may wonder how work overseas contributes to Hong Kong. Ming emphasises the importance of the Hongkongese programme as it relates to Hong Kong identity and connection. Looking at the situation in Hong Kong, he fears that Hong Kong identity may be lost in the next generation.

In recent history, people from Hong Kong have experienced a mixture of stable and alarming periods. For many, living in the diaspora has become a reality for years to come. A systematic educational curriculum, Ming believes, is the key to keeping Hong Kong alive. It will eventually become a way to preserve Hong Kong by building a community for all Hongkongers.

* Bonham Tree Aid provides monthly humanitarian aid of £380 to families of imprisoned protesters in need, helping relieve their burden. Since its establishment in October 2021, it has allocated over £1.2 million to assist about 300 families. Currently, about 110 families are on the waiting list in urgent need of assistance.

Illustration: @wl.aandd

Text: Vincent Vega

Translation: Kai

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