Preserving Hong Kong

Keeping memories of individuals and groups is perhaps one of the most significant characters that distinguishes human beings from other species. For many centuries in the past, historians and others have strived to preserve as many historical materials as possible for records and for shaping the past. There has always been an assumption that the past can be clearly and accurately reflected in records, and that archives is an essential element in the formation of social and cultural memories.

This book is an unusual study of a subject that was nearly invisible in colonial Hong Kong when, for many reasons, the society was unconcerned about the narrative of local history. In 11 chapters using the interview approach, readers are encouraged to learn from the conversations recorded in this book that, archives of various scopes have been created in recent years by private institutions and groups, though public access of these archives has been restricted in one way or another.