Acknowledgements
We are extremely grateful for the numerous informants and respondents to our surveys. Without their support and trust, this book would not have been possible. Their willingness to share their experiences and knowledge has been invaluable, and this book would not have been the same without their contributions. Some of our informants have either left Hong Kong or, for various reasons, are unable to read this book. We hope that it will live up to the rigorous standards of academic research while providing an informed analysis of the protest events and social changes in Hong Kong.
At Cambridge University Press, we extend our gratitude to our editor, Rachel Blaifeder, for her patience, flexibility, and guidance. We also appreciate the editorial assistance of Jadyn Fauconier-Herry, Chloe Quinn, and Santhamurthy Ramamoorthy. Our sincere thanks go to Jack Goldstone for his enthusiastic support in the early stages of the book project and for introducing this project to David Meyer. As the editor of the Cambridge Series in Contentious Politics, David assigned reviewers, offered encouraging and constructive feedback, and made it possible to include our study in this prestigious series. We are particularly grateful to Sid Tarrow, who read the full manuscript and generously offered chapter-by-chapter comments. Above all, we are deeply thankful to the two anonymous reviewers for providing penetrating and constructive comments on the first draft of the manuscript.
Our heartfelt gratitude also goes to scholars who generously gave their time, insights, and suggestions for early versions of the book. Ma Ngok has been a supportive mentor to both of us, always sharing his boundless knowledge of Hong Kong and offering insightful suggestions for the manuscript. Ming-sho Ho, Yao-tai Li, and Sebastian Veg read the entire manuscript and provided critical and constructive comments. Our long-term collaborators and friends Francis Lee and Gary Tang generously offered us suggestions, granted us access to our jointly owned data, and allowed us to use the articles we co-authored as the foundation for some of these chapters. Anita Chan and Jon Unger made us thoroughly enjoy our short stay in Canberra and always challenged us intellectually with the ‘so what’ question. Michael Biggs and Patricia Thornton kindly chaired our book seminar at the University of Oxford and provided insightful feedback. Eliza Lee and Ray Yep have provided us with endless inspiration, illuminating a path of how public intellectual life can be guided by empirical scholarship.
We would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to Benjamin Abrams, Mark Beissinger, Teri L. Caraway, Paul Chang, Killian Clarke, Priska Daphi, Diana Fu, Jean Hong, Hank Johnston, Yi Kang, Neil Ketchley, Yao-Tai Li, Dana Moss, Anthony Spires, Meredith Weiss, and Katherine Whitworth for kindly agreeing to participate in various book seminars or offering useful feedback on early versions of the book. Tetsuro Kobayashi, Debby Chan, Kitty Ho, King-wa Fu, Ho-fung Hung, Elvin Ong, Xi Chen, Ariel Hu, Wing-Kei Cheng, and See-Pok Loa, and Anthony Spires also provided timely suggestions at various phases of the project, for which we are immensely thankful.
This book is the result of significant contributions from numerous individuals. John Mok, Billy Tang, Anthony Cheng, Hiu-Fung Chung, Elgar Teo, Yuner Zhu, and Kin-Man Wan offered invaluable research assistance at different stages. A special shout-out goes to Billy Tong for his generous help during the crucial final stage of the book when we were up against the deadline. Mary Hui provided valuable stylistic guidance and editing advice, helping to make the book more approachable for non-academic readers. This book is truly a collective endeavour of our combined efforts.
We are immensely grateful to the numerous institutions, including the Australian National University; Academia Sinica; the University of British Columbia; the University of California, Santa Barbara; the University of New South Wales; the Berlin Social Sciences Centre; the University of Tokyo; Tohoku University; Aarhus University; and Oxford University, which graciously hosted us, allowing us to present chapters, receive feedback, and further refine our work. These intellectual environments have been pivotal in shaping this book. We also thank Jean-Pierre Cabestan, Anita Chan, Chris Chan, Jay Chen, Cristina Flesher-Fominaya, Thomas Gold, Masaaki Higashijima, Ben Hillman, Swen Hutter, Minhua Ling, Kevin O’Brien, Jack Qiu, Hyun Bang Shin, Leo Shin, Kurata Toru, Akiko Toru, Mariko Tanigaki, Sebastian Veg, Jon Unger and Jieh-min Wu for inviting us to various conferences and workshops held between 2019 and 2023.
We would also like to thank various publishers, journals, and co-authors for permitting us to incorporate parts of our previous publications into some of the chapters of this book. Chapter 3 is derived in part from ‘Street Politics in a Hybrid Regime: The Diffusion of Political Activism in Post-colonial Hong Kong’, published in the China Quarterly. Chapter 7 is derived in part from ‘Instagram and Social Capital: Youth Activism in a Networked Movement’, published in Social Movement Studies. Chapter 10 is derived in part from ‘Dynamics of Tactical Radicalisation and Public Receptiveness in Hong Kong’s Anti-Extradition Bill Movement’, published in the Journal of Contemporary Asia.
To our families and friends, words cannot express how grateful we are for your support in our endeavours over the years. Edmund Cheng owes his steadfast source of love and encouragement to his wife, Sum. Her mindfulness, empathy, and artistic sense provide him with the compassion and strength needed to continue his work, despite the dramatic changes in the surrounding environment. The mentorship, friendship, and insights from Shu-yun Ma, Albert Weale, and Lin Chun have guided him through both old and new intellectual terrains. He is also grateful for the professional engagement and intellectual dialogue over the past few years with his friends and colleagues at various professional associations and academic journals. Their work exemplifies the pride and dedication inherent in scholarly pursuits.
Samson Yuen is thankful to his family for being an unwavering source of love and support. His parents have devoted their lives to raising him while granting him the freedom to pursue his dreams. He is also grateful to his wife, Phyllis, who has filled him with boundless love, care, and understanding. Her kindness, wisdom, and patience have made him a better person and helped him survive difficult moments in life. Their children are the best gifts he has ever received. Despite occasionally testing his patience, they have filled his life with abundant joy and laughter. He enjoys every moment of being with them and wishes that time would slow down. It is to his family that he dedicates this book.
