Hong Kong has been shaken by unprecedented political and social tensions over the last few years, setting up a showdown between Beijing and an increasingly outspoken and defiant group of young Hong Kongers. Ben Bland's new book investigates the roots of these tensions through the lens of generational change and the search for identity. Feeling little connection to either mainland China or the British legacy, this cohort of young Hong Kongers - which Ben has dubbed Generation HK - are forging a Hong Kong identity of their own. This nascent identity is both threatened and reinforced by the deepening clashes with Beijing.

The Speaker

Ben Bland is the South China correspondent for the Financial Times and the author of Generation HK: Seeking Identity in China's Shadow, which was published by Penguin on July 1, 2017. He was previously the FT correspondent in Indonesia and Vietnam and has reported across Asia over the last nine years. Ben studied History at the University of Cambridge and completed a Masters in Southeast Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. 

Time: Reception opens 6.30pm, lecture begins 7.00pm

Admission: RAS members $100; non-members/guests $150

Please email membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk in advance to reserve your place and pay at the door