This article is about the awakening and lack of spatial memory and heritage protection of Hong Kong. The most impressive example is Flagstaff House which used to be the headquarters of the British military and later became the residence for the British forces. And now it has been converted into a museum to house the Chinese Tea-ware. It seems that the historical building has been well preserved and used. However, if we look deeper into the significance of historical reservation, we will find that the conflictual colonial history of Hong Kong has been weakened and neglected. This is not what we want. In fact, to discuss Hong Kong’s cultural identity, we must first face up to Hong Kong’s colonial history. Washing away the history of colonial rule is not only helpless for “de colonization”, but also like destroying the corpse after the murderer committed the murder.
Besides, in recent years, Hong Kong has developed very rapidly, and the speed of reinventing is even more amazing. This is not just the replacement of the building itself, but the disappearance of Hong Kong as “Hong Kong”.
Hiu Yu Chan, 3035784162
Appreciate your discussion on the disappearance of spatial memory and heritage protection in Hong Kong from a specific and subtle entry point (Flagstaff House). Abbas also used this analysis method in his article. Consider how it could be feasible to access the functional changes of Flagstaff House through the “colonial gaze.” (Abbas, p65) While the renewal of cities and buildings is inevitable, the retention of shared and collective memories is also important. Could Abbas’s observation that “preservation is selective and tends to exclude the dirty and pain (P89)” inspire us to reflect on the processes of disappearance and preservation of cities?