‘Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong’ with author Louisa Lim

Hong Kong’s shifting identity and the erosion of its civil institutions are examined through the lens of author and journalist Louisa Lim’s book, *Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance in Hong Kong*. Tsang Tsou-choi, known as the "King of Kowloon," serves as a symbolic figure of local defiance whose unauthorized calligraphy challenged colonial narratives of sovereignty and land ownership. The systematic hollowing out of Hong Kong’s institutions and the decline of press freedom, exemplified by the FCC’s suspension of the Human Rights Press Awards, underscore the precarious environment for contemporary journalism. Lim’s research into her own family’s role in the colonial administration contrasts with her broader mission to reinsert marginalized local voices into the city’s historical record. This work provides a critical exploration of memory, identity, and the struggle for agency in a rapidly changing political landscape.