Michelle Cheung is a prolific young business owner who is making waves in the Vancouver cafe scene. Her current endeavour: Paragon Tea Room, has just celebrated its 2nd anniversary, boasts a modest 4.8 stars on Google, and attracts guests from all over the Greater Vancouver area. Born and raised in Hong Kong, she never planned to have a career in Canada, but now that she’s cultivating a gateway for Vancouver to connect with Eastern tea traditions, she hopes she can make Hong Kong proud someday. Read on to discover her ambitions for Paragon and beyond.
Read MoreKelvin Ho-Por Lam, 40s, is a former economist who was elected as the independent democratic councillor for the South Horizons West Constituency in 2019 and also ran to represent the Financial Services functional constituency in the now cancelled 2020 LegCo election. Having moved to the UK as a child, he returned to Hong Kong in 2015 in the aftermath of the Umbrella Revolution.
Read MoreBenny is a designer living in Tai O. He has created an environmentally conscious fashion brand with a “Tai O/Hong Kong is our home” theme while being cognizant of environmental and social issues around the world.
Read MoreThe modern art duo Ghost and John are from Hong Kong. As graduates of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), they travelled to London to study contemporary dance after working for a few years. Their production fuses elements of physical motion, multimedia, and technology to create thought-provoking interaction. Through art, they explore themes of freedom and society as well as the Hongkonger identity.
Read MoreBarry is in his 50s, and is working in public relations for an international brand. He married his husband, Fred, in Canada 10 years ago and they have been together for over 20 years. They own a gay bar in SOHO, Hong Kong. Barry has come out to his family, friends and colleagues with one regret. Find out why he regrets not coming out to his mom before she passed away in 2002.
Read MoreBorn and raised in Canada, I have friends from a diverse ethnic background. It’s hard for them to understand why I feel so strongly about Hong Kong. I tried my best to raise awareness on what was happening, but I always criticized myself wondering, “Am I annoying?”
I felt isolated navigating my identity and politics. I hope that people from Hong Kong will see me as one of them even though I wasn’t born or raised there.
Read MoreGrowing up under the English-medium education in Hong Kong where freedom of speech and independent thinking are celebrated, I have come to realise my generation (post-90s) is very different from my parents’ (60s). We are literally 'two kinds' of people – to me, the sense of belonging becomes a burden.
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