shashasha

“The Unspeakable” comprises photos of the Hongkong protest movements, taken in the months following June 2019 (plus several shots from 2020) by local photojournalist Chan Long-hei. Presented without chronological order, the impressive photos tell of small and large moments during the increasingly large, violent and hopeless conflicts of Hongkongers against mainland China’s grasp on their city.

In his foreword, Long-hei (born in 1994) writes, “From a million people marching, to occupying LegCo, fighting in the roads and streets, and the battles to defend the university campuses, my lens was constantly pointed at Hongkongers younger than myself. I saw every kind of conflict occur. I saw these young men and women getting hurt, fleeing, being arrested. Under my gas mask, my face was covered with tears.”

“A photographer’s influence may be limited, but leafing through the pages with these photographs from the protests, a variety of feelings well up for which there are no words. In 2020, the people of Hong Kong are once again standing in the shadows of an epidemic, but the road of resistance remains long. The wheel of history has not yet turned, so we must persevere.” (from the publisher’s description)