Perhaps the TV show Expats did not portray Hong Kong as it likes. So what?

Whatever the reasons the Amazon Prime Video series, which includes scenes of the 2014 protests, is not available for viewing in Hong Kong, officials should take the opportunity to reflect on the role they play in any misperceptions of the city

Alice Wu

Published: 3:00pm, 4 Feb, 2024

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The Amazon Prime series Expats, based on the novel The Expatriates by Janice Y.K. Lee about a group of privileged expatriates in Hong Kong, has caused quite the stir among both expats and locals. Its worldwide release didn’t even include Hong Kong.

It was no secret that director and writer Lulu Wang recreated some scenes of the 2014 protests for the series, so it was bound to provoke a reaction from some quarters, especially among those patriots administering Hong Kong.

Given that the star-struck government gave Nicole Kidman preferential treatment to skip Hong Kong’s infamous quarantine measures when she flew into the city to film the miniseries, attracting quite the controversy at the time, it is clear why the series has left the Hong Kong government in an awkward position.

It gave preferential treatment for a foreign production that portrayed Hong Kong in a not-so-flattering light. Whatever point Wang meant to make by including images of the protests doesn’t matter, though. Any mention of black-clad protesters and yellow umbrellas would usually elicit a rash response from the government and its supporters, but the reaction to Wang’s latest work is actually rather tempered.

The government really cannot be so naive as to think that the creators were going to film propaganda for Hong Kong, but for the series to be viewable everywhere except here makes it seem as though it has been censored.

The government has not given any indication it had a role in the miniseries not being available to watch in Hong Kong. Amazon has yet to give any explanation for its business decision, but it does give the government something to think about. The next time it bends over backwards like it did for Kidman, it should think again.

Author, writer and producer Janice Y.K. Lee (left), director Lulu Wang (centre) and actress Nicole Kidman arrive for the premiere of Expats at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City on January 21. Photo: AFP

There have also been some comments about glamorising the lives of expats. Well, of course it is. It’s Hollywood. It’s entertainment.

Wang did say in a Los Angeles Times interview that she was hopeful the lives of Hongkongers were depicted accurately and thoughtfully. The viewers can be the judge of that. Wang was called out on a recent tweet in which she said that Cantonese was a dying language. She was fact-checked and we can breathe a sigh of relief: Cantonese is alive and kicking.

There is no doubt that Wang wants her work to be thought-provoking and expand conversations around issues of identity. She makes a point of showing the huge gulf between affluent expats and migrants such as domestic workers.

It’s a fascinating topic, and the hierarchical words this global city uses and the social status it awards its people deserves further examining. Ever since Hong Kong outgrew its humble fishing village origins, it has been a city populated by people who came from somewhere else.

Except for those who come from indigenous villages, our families all have roots elsewhere, making us immigrants. However, only some of us are considered “expats”, despite the word only meaning someone living – temporarily or permanently – in a country other than where they were raised.

09:34

Indians born and bred in Hong Kong explain why the city will always be home

Hong Kong was built by generations of Chinese immigrants who moved out of necessity, whether it was to escape war or social turmoil. Many of them packed up and left again after the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident and before 1997. It almost seems as though we are made up of a people always on the move.

Our experiences and those of our families shape our perspectives, and so we can see Wang’s interpretation of the social unrest in Expats. Are they tainted? Perhaps, but if the government truly wants to tell good Hong Kong stories, it needs to recognise how these depictions are formed.

What is ‘soft resistance’? In Hong Kong, it depends on whom you ask

The repeated mention of “ soft resistance” in official statements is troubling and would feed misperceptions of Hong Kong. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s recent comment on “inappropriate” talk did not help.

Lawmaker Paul Tse Wai-chun was told to mind his language when he questioned the city’s law enforcement approach and suggested that the government prioritised the views on Xiaohongshu – mainland China’s Instagram-like social media platform – over those of Hong Kong taxpayers. Lee said Tse’s words reminded him of the language used by “reactionary forces” during the 2019 unrest.

Provocative comments like that tell residents their comments and criticism are unwelcome. Yet, with Article 23 consultation under way, it is important to get into the details of the legislation, such as what constitutes offences that involve “seditious intention”.

Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA