Hong Kong sculpture with yellow raincoats won't return outside Cultural Centre
A Hong Kong art installation featuring yellow raincoats and an umbrella will not be put back on display at a popular piazza where it was removed for restoration works last year, authorities have said, without explaining whether political considerations were behind the decision.
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One prominent art commentator said on Monday that the piece was unrelated to protest movements and such 'unnecessary' moves did not look good to an overseas audience, given the city wanted to cement its role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange.
Lining Up, a row of 10 cast bronze sculptures of everyday people by the late Taiwanese artist Ju Ming, had stood outside the Cultural Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui for years before the Leisure and Cultural Services Department began its maintenance work on the installation.
Two of the figures are dressed in yellow raincoats and a third carries an umbrella in the same colour.
In Hong Kong, the colour is associated with anti-government protesters.
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The department enclosed the sculptures with hoarding in April last year.
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Asia Times
a day ago
- Asia Times
Eternal Queen of Asian Pop's last encore from beyond the grave
Several years ago, an employee at Universal Music came across a cassette tape in a Tokyo warehouse while sorting through archival materials. On it was a recording by the late Taiwanese pop star Teresa Teng that had never been released; the pop ballad, likely recorded in the mid-1980s while Teng was living and performing in Japan, was a collaboration between composer Takashi Miki and lyricist Toyohisa Araki. Now, to the delight of her millions of fans, the track titled 'Love Songs Are Best in the Foggy Night' will appear on an album set to be released on June 25, 2025. Teng died 30 years ago. Most Westerners know little about her life and her body of work. Yet the ballads of Teng, who could sing in Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese and Indonesian, continue to echo through karaoke rooms, on Spotify playlists, at tribute concerts and at family gatherings across Asia and beyond. I study how pop music has served as a tool of soft power, and I've spent the past several years researching Teng's music and its legacy. I've found that Teng's influence endures not just because of her voice, but also because her music transcends Asia's political fault lines. Born in 1953 in Yunlin, Taiwan, Teresa Teng grew up in one of the many villages that were built to house soldiers and their families who had fled mainland China in 1949 after the Communists claimed victory in the Chinese civil war. Her early exposure to traditional Chinese music and opera laid the foundation for her singing career. By age 6, she was taking voice lessons. She soon began winning local singing competitions. 'It wasn't adults who wanted me to sing,' Teng wrote in her memoir. 'I wanted to sing. As long as I could sing, I was happy.' At 14, Teng dropped out of high school to focus entirely on music, signing with the local label Yeu Jow Records. Soon thereafter, she released her first album, 'Fengyang Flower Drum.' In the 1970s, she toured and recorded across Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Southeast Asia, becoming one of Asia's first truly transnational pop stars. Teng's career flourished in the late 1970s and 1980s. She released some of her most iconic tracks, such as her covers of Chinese singer Zhou Xuan's 1937 hit 'When Will You Return?' and Taiwanese singer Chen Fen-lan's 'The Moon Represents My Heart,' and toured widely across Asia, sparking what came to be known as 'Teresa Teng Fever.' In the early 1990s, Teng was forced to stop performing for health reasons. She died suddenly of an asthma attack on May 8, 1995, while on vacation in Chiang Mai, Thailand, at the age of 42. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Teng's story is that Teng Fever peaked in China. Teng was ethnically Chinese, with ancestral roots in China's Shandong province. But the political divide between China and Taiwan following the Chinese civil war had led to decades of hostility, with each side refusing to recognize the legitimacy of the other. During the late 1970s and 1980s, however, China began to relax its political control under Deng Xiaoping's Reform and Opening Up policy. This sweeping initiative shifted China toward a market-oriented economy, encouraged foreign trade and investment and cautiously reintroduced global cultural influences after decades of isolation. Pop music from other parts of the world began trickling in, including Teng's tender ballads. Her songs could be heard in coastal provinces such as Guangdong and Shanghai, inland cities such as Beijing and Tianjin, and even in remote regions such as Tibet. Shanghai's propaganda department wrote an internal memo in 1980 noting that her music had spread to the city's public parks, restaurants, nursing homes and wedding halls. Teng's immense popularity in China was no accident; it reflected a time in the country's history when its people were particularly eager for emotionally resonant art after decades of cultural propaganda and censorship. For a society that had been awash in rote, revolutionary songs like 'The East is Red' and 'Union is Strength,' Teng's music offered something entirely different. It was personal, tender and deeply human. Her gentle, approachable style – often described as 'angelic' or like that of 'a girl next door' – provided solace and a sense of intimacy that had long been absent from public life. Teng's music was also admired for her ability to bridge eras. Her 1983 album 'Light Exquisite Feeling' fused classical Chinese poetry with contemporary Western pop melodies, showcasing her gift for blending the traditional and the modern. It cemented her reputation not just as a pop star but as a cultural innovator. It's no secret why audiences across China and Asia were so deeply drawn to her and her music. She was fluent in multiple languages; she was elegant but humble, polite and relatable; she was involved in various charities; and she spoke out in support of democratic values. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the Chinese immigrant population in the United States grew to over 1.1 million. Teng's music has also deeply embedded itself within Chinese diasporic communities across the country. In cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, Chinese immigrants played her music at family gatherings, during holidays and at community events. Walk through any Chinatown during Lunar New Year and you're bound to hear her voice wafting through the streets. Teng visits New York City's Chinatown during her 1980 concert tour in the U.S. Wikimedia Commons For younger Chinese Americans and even non-Chinese audiences, Teng's music has become a window into Chinese culture. When I was studying in the US, I often met Asian American students who belted out her songs at karaoke nights or during cultural festivals. Many had grown up hearing her music through their parents' playlists or local community celebrations. The release of her recently discovered song is a reminder that some voices do not fade – they evolve, migrate and live on in the hearts of people scattered across the world. In an age when global politics drive different cultures apart, Teng's enduring appeal reminds us of something quieter yet more lasting: the power of voice to transmit emotion across time and space, the way a melody can build a bridge between continents and generations. I recently rewatched the YouTube video for Teng's iconic 1977 ballad 'The Moon Represents My Heart.' As I read the comments section, one perfectly encapsulated what I had discovered about Teresa Teng in my own research: 'Teng's music opened a window to a culture I never knew I needed.' Xianda Huang is a PhD student in Asian languages and cultures, University of California, Los Angeles. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
RTHK
31-05-2025
- RTHK
Walled City expo turnout beats 10,000 in first week
Walled City expo turnout beats 10,000 in first week Rosanna Law predicts a 16 percent spike in mainland visitors this weekend due to the Dragon Boat Festival. File photo: RTHK Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said on Saturday more than 10,000 people have visited a new exhibition held at Kowloon Walled City Park, the original site of the former Walled City, in just the first week of its opening. The 'Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey' exhibition, which features replicas of movie sets from the award-winning film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, opened to public last Saturday in a three-year run. To augment the experience as well as manage the flow of visitors, Law said the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has put in place a special ticket arrangement that allows visitors to enter the exhibition at designated times. "The Director of Leisure and Cultural Services has told me that the new [system] has been successful,' she said on a Commercial Radio programme. 'Of course, visitors still need to wait, but they are happier if they can take a break from queueing. "Having breakfast nearby is very convenient; it only takes five to seven minutes to get to Kowloon City.' Law also said four concurrent concerts held last weekend brought out almost 100,000 fans on a single night. She said an essential principle in tourism is that 'when popularity flourishes, wealth and good luck follow' and stressed that Hong Kong should not belittle itself as being an unappealing travel destination. However, she conceded that some people did not stay overnight after attending the concerts and said the sector should come up with measures to attract overnight spending, including packages that include hotel and concert tickets. Law also predicted there would be a 16 percent increase in visits from the mainland this weekend compared to a typical weekend due to the Dragon Boat Festival. However, she gave an assurance, saying the authorities are experienced in managing such influxes. This weekend also sees the last testing event for the 15th National Games in Hong Kong. The test event, featuring the Challenge Cups Fencing Championships, will conclude on Sunday. Law estimates that around 100,000 visitors will attend the National Games events in Hong Kong, scheduled to take place between November 9 and 21. She added that ticketing arrangements will be announced this summer, with both online and offline sales available.
HKFP
13-05-2025
- HKFP
Clockenflap 2025 line-up: Rich Brian, Jacob Collier, Franz Ferdinand, Passenger, Panther Chan among first acts
Hong Kong's biggest international outdoor music and arts festival – Clockenflap – returns this December with Rich Brian, Jacob Collier, Franz Ferdinand, Yoga Lin, Beth Gibbons and Panther Chan among the first acts to be confirmed. The festival will run from Friday, December 5 until Sunday, December 7 at the Central Harbourfront. Indonesian rapper Rich Brian, will be joined by British singer-songwriter Jacob Collier and Canadian post-rockers Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Taiwanese superstar Yoga Lin, Beth Gibbons – the former Portishead lead – and local singer Panther Chan will also feature. Indie legends Franz Ferdinand return to the city, whilst Bitter Tea of General Yeng will make their Hong Kong debut – both playing on the Sunday. Fans will also catch German electro-house hellraiser Digitalism's DJ set, Britain's Passenger, Chilli Beans from Japan, and US alt-indie favourite Soccer Mommy. TV Girl, Riria, Bitter Tea of General Yeng and Phum Viphurit have also been confirmed for the initial line-up. More acts will be announced soon, Clockenflap said on Tuesday. 'With its spectacular outdoor setting between the towering skyscrapers of Central and the epic vistas of Hong Kong's iconic harbour, this year's edition of Clockenflap will once again feature the full, world-class festival experience that has made the event an unmissable occasion for music fans across the city and beyond,' their press release said. Tickets: Limited early bird tickets are available now via Ticketflap. Early Bird 3-day General Admission tickets at HK$1,790; Early Bird single-day General Admission tickets (Fri/Sat/Sun) at HK$1,150; Early Bird 3-day U18 tickets at HK$1,430; Early Bird single-day (Fri/Sat/Sun) U18 tickets at HK$790. Venue: Central Harbourfront Event Space, Central. Dates: 5-7 December, 2025.
