Category: 2024 Books
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Lai Wen’s Tiananmen Square: A Coming-of-Age Dramedy Culminating in a Historic Massacre” by Kevin McGeary Lai Wen, Tiananmen Square: A Novel, Spiegel & Grau, 2024. 528 pgs. “In China,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Lai Wen’s 𝑇𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛 𝑆𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒: A Coming-of-Age Dramedy Culminating in a Historic Massacre” by Kevin McGeary](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/lai-wen-tiananmen-square-a-novel-spiegel-grau.jpg?w=667)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “On Grief, Diaspora, and Grace Loh Prasad’s The Translator’s Daughter”by Rebekah Chan Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Translator’s Daughter. Grace Loh Prasad, The Translator’s Daughter, The Ohio State University Press,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “On Grief, Diaspora, and Grace Loh Prasad’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟’𝑠 𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟” by Rebekah Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/the-translators-daughter.jpg?w=880)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Aesthetic Experiences: A Study of Anri Yasuda’s Beauty Matters” by Luca Griseri Anri Yasuda, Beauty Matters: Modern Japanese Literature and the Question of Aesthetics, 1890–1930, Columbia University Press, 2024. 304…
![[ESSAY] “Aesthetic Experiences: A Study of Anri Yasuda’s 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑦 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠” by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/https-__m.media-amazon.com_images_i_819sezp2oml._sl1500_.jpg.jpg?w=1000)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “From Star to Performer-Worker: Rethinking Anna May Wong Through Labour” by Anna Nguyen Yiman Wang, To Be An Actress: Labor and Performance in Anna May Wong’s Cross-Media World, University of…
![[ESSAY] “From Star to Performer-Worker: Rethinking Anna May Wong Through Labour” by Anna Nguyen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/yiman-wang-to-be-an-actress-labor-and-performance-in-anna-may-wongs-cross-media-world-university-of-california-press.jpg?w=1000)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Skipping, Living: Notes on Xi Xi’s Mourning a Breast” by Madeleine Slavick Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Mourning a Breast, Giramondo Publishing,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Skipping, Living: Notes on Xi Xi’s 𝑀𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡” by Madeleine Slavick](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/cover_xixi_mourning-a-breast_9781923106109_lr.jpeg?w=1024)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Endearing Sisterhood in Yoko Ogawa’s Mina’s Matchbox” by Fathima M Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mina’s Matchbox. Yōko Ogawa (author), Stephen B. Snyder (translator), Mina’s Matchbox, Pantheon Books, 2024. 288…
![[REVIEW] “The Endearing Sisterhood in Yoko Ogawa’s 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑎’𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑥” by Fathima M](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/819ycgclrml._sl1500_.jpg?w=940)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Where Do We Belong? On Language, Migration, & Teresa Wong’s All Our Ordinary Stories” by Rebekah Chan Teresa Wong, All Our Ordinary Stories, Arsenal Pulp Press, 2024. 240 pgs.…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Where Do We Belong? On Language, Migration, and Teresa Wong’s 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑂𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠” by Rebekah Chan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/arsenal-pulp-press-our-ordinary-stories.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Quan Manh Ha and Quynh H. Vo (translators), Longings: Contemporary Fiction by Vietnamese Women Writers, Texas Tech University Press, 2024. 260 pgs. Vietnamese literature in English translation is…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Finding Meaning in the Very Act of Questioning—𝐿𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠: 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝐹𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑉𝑖𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛 𝑊𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠” by Rebecca Maine](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/longings-contemporary-fiction-by-vietnamese-women-writers.jpg?w=907)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Thuận (author), Nguyễn An Lý (translator), Elevator in Sài Gòn, New Directions, 2024. 192 pgs. Nobel laureate Patrick Modiano once wrote that “it is not the future which counts,…
![[REVIEW] “Truth, Lies, and the Mask We Choose: On Thuận’s 𝐸𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝑎𝑖 𝐺𝑜𝑛” by Michael Londra](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/f09f9381-return-to-first-impressions-f09f9381-return-to-cha-review-of-books-and-films.jpg?w=881)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Kong Shangren (author), Wai-yee Li (translator), The Peach Blossom Fan, Oxford University Press, 2024. 816 pgs. Wai-yee Li is one translator who knows how to hook a reader.…
![[REVIEW] “Things Fall Apart: Kong Shangren’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝐵𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑚 𝐹𝑎𝑛” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/the-peach-blossom-fan.png?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Elizabeth Ai (editor), New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the Vietnamese Diaspora, Angel City Press, 2024. 192 pgs. Elizabeth Ai’s edited volume New Wave: Rebellion and Reinvention in the…
![[REVIEW] “Archival Rhythms—Youth, Identity, and Cultural Resistance in the Vietnamese Diaspora: Elizabeth Ai’s 𝑁𝑒𝑤 𝑊𝑎𝑣𝑒” by Nguyễn Minh Tiến](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/acp_11.11.24-54-copy.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Weike Wang, Rental House, Riverhead Books, 2024. 224 pgs. Reading Rental House is, for a Chinese person, a singularly curious—almost epiphanic—experience. Years ago, slightly tipsy at a reception in…
![[REVIEW] “It’s My House, and I Live Here: Weike Wang’s 𝑅𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒” by Peixuan Xie](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/rental-house.jpg?w=994)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Quan Manh Ha and Paul Christiansen (translators). Light Out and Modern Vietnamese Stories, 1930–1954. Northern Illinois University Press, an imprint of Cornell University Press, 2024. 228 pgs. Light Out…
![[REVIEW] “Writing Against Empire: 𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑂𝑢𝑡 and Survival in Colonial Vietnam” by Josie Miller](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/light-out.jpg?w=1000)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Legacy and Brilliance of Hong Kong Crime Novels: Charles Philipp Martin’s Rented Grave” by Susan Blumberg-Kason Charles Philipp Martin, Rented Grave: An Inspector Lok Novel, Level Best Books,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Legacy and Brilliance of Hong Kong Crime Novels: Charles Philipp Martin’s 𝑅𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/rentedgrave-1.jpg?w=992)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] “Order in the City: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’sIf I Do Not Reply” by Luca Griseri Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on If I Do Not Reply. Tammy Lai-Ming Ho, If I Do Not…
![[ESSAY] “Order in the City: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s 𝐼𝑓 𝐼 𝐷𝑜 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑅𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑦” by Luca Griseri](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/if-i-do-not-reply_tammy-ho-1.jpg?w=907)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “The Making of An Unlikely Maritime Superpower—Jack Weatherford’s Emperor of the Seas: Kublai Khan and the Making of China” by Ryan Ho Kilpatrick Jack Weatherford, Emperor of the Seas: Kublai…
![[REVIEW] “The Making of An Unlikely Maritime Superpower—Jack Weatherford’s 𝐸𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑎𝑠: 𝐾𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑖 𝐾ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑎” by Ryan Ho Kilpatrick](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/emperor-of-the-seas-kublai-khan-and-the-making-of-china-1.jpg?w=963)
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There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
![Protected: [ESSAY] “Poetry as Archive: Creativity, Political Commitment, and the Everyday in Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s If I Do Not Reply” by Hannah Steurer](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/if-i-do-not-reply_tammy-ho.jpg?w=907)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Uncovering the Truths of the Toleration-Regulation Regime—Park Jeong-mi’s The State’s Sexuality: Prostitution and Postcolonial Nation Building in South Korea” by Jack Greenberg Park Jeong-mi, The State’s Sexuality: Prostitution and Postcolonial…
![[REVIEW] “Uncovering the Truths of the Toleration-Regulation Regime—Park Jeong-mi’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒’𝑠 𝑆𝑒𝑥𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦: 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐵𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ 𝐾𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑎” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/https-www.ucpress.edubooksthe-states-sexualitypaper-1.jpg?w=1000)
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◉ I Made Sure It Had Nothing Whatsoever To Do With Hong Kong: A Confession◉ The Ballad of Billy Lopez: An Excerpt Stewart McKay, The Ballad of Billy Lopez, Proverse Publishing, 2024. 208 pgs. So I’m walking down the middle of the…
![[FEATURE] “𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝐿𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑧: An Excerpt” by Stewart McKay](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/stewart-mckay.jpg?w=971)
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◉ I Made Sure It Had Nothing Whatsoever To Do With Hong Kong: A Confession◉ The Ballad of Billy Lopez: An Excerpt Stewart McKay, The Ballad of Billy Lopez, Proverse Publishing, 2024. 208 pgs. You have lived in Hong Kong…
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Matthew Wong Foreman, Sunset at Lion Rock, Proverse Press, 2024. 288 pgs. ………I’ve no strength left to stop the contradiction………My heart is tired and my eyes blurry you know………—Leslie…
![[REVIEW] “Keep the Aspidistra Flying, Among Many, Many Other Things: Matthew Wong Foreman’s 𝑆𝑢𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝐿𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑅𝑜𝑐𝑘” by Jason S Polley](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/matthew-wong-foreman-sunset-at-lion-rock-1.jpg?w=962)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yuta Takahashi (author), Cat Anderson (translator), The Chibineko Kitchen, John Murray, 2024. 192 pgs. The Japanese iyashikei—or healing—genre has resonated deeply with readers worldwide, offering solace and comfort through…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Dining with the Departed: Yuta Takahashi’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑘𝑜 𝐾𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑛” by Aditi Yadav](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/the-chibineko-kitchen-john-murray-1.jpg?w=651)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Paola Irene Galli Mastrodonato, Emilio Salgari: The Tiger Is Still Alive!, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2024. 462 pgs. The very first thought that crossed my mind upon seeing Paola…
![[REVIEW] “Asia’s Italian Novelist: Paola Irene Galli Mastrodonato” by Masturah Alatas](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/emilio-salgari-the-tiger-is-still-alive-1.jpg?w=932)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Bei Dao (author), Jeffrey Yang (translator), Sidetracks, New Directions, 2024. 176 pgs. The “sidetracks” of Bei Dao’s title can first be understood as a structural metaphor—two parallel…
![[REVIEW] “The Fugitive: Bei Dao’s 𝑆𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘𝑠” by Jeff Tompkins](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sidetracks-bei-dao_cha.jpg?w=611)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Karan Mujoo, This Our Paradise, Penguin Random House, 2024. 240 pgs. For some, Kashmir is a paradise of serene valleys and pristine lakes. For others, it is…
![[REVIEW] “A Fractured Paradise: Karan Mujoo’s 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑒” by Ananya Singh](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/this-our-paradise.jpeg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS 📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Susan Lieu, The Manicurist’s Daughter: A Memoir, Celadon Books, 2024. 305 pgs. The Manicurist’s Daughter: A Memoir is both a profound exploration and a courageous recovery of…
![[REVIEW] “Teetering Between Cultures: Susan Lieu’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡’𝑠 𝐷𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟” by Thu Le](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-manicurists-daughter.jpg?w=987)
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茶 FIRST IMPRESSIONS 茶 REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “The Art of Waking Up Words: Tammy Lai-Ming Ho’s If I Do Not Reply” by Anders Kølle Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on If I Do Not Reply. Tammy Lai-Ming Ho,…
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RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yilin Wang (editor & translator), The Lantern and the Night Moths: Five Modern and Contemporary Chinese Poets, Invisible Publishing, 2024. 120 pgs. The Lantern and The Night…
![[REVIEW] “Poetry Translation in the Chinese Diaspora: Yilin Wang’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑁𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑀𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑠” by Hongwei Bao](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/the-lantern-and-the-night-moths.jpg?w=1024)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal, Instruments of Torture, Harper Collins India, 2024. 200 pgs. In this haunting collection of stories, each narrative is aptly named after a medieval torture device, metaphorically…
![[REVIEW] “Labyrinthine Corridors of the Human Psyche: Aparna Upadhyaya Sanyal’s 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒” by Namrata](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/aparna-sanyal_cha.jpeg?w=800)
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📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁 RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Yvonne Yevan Yu, Christine Vicera, and Julie Ham (editors), Ingat: An Anthology of Works by Migrant Domestic Worker Creatives in Hong Kong, Small Tune Press, 2024. 228 pgs. The…
![[REVIEW] “Sometimes Painful, Sometimes Uplifting—𝐼𝑛𝑔𝑎𝑡: 𝐴𝑛 𝐴𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑦 𝑂𝑓 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝐵𝑦 𝑀𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝐷𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟 𝐶𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝐼𝑛 𝐻𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝐾𝑜𝑛𝑔” by Tim Pit Hok Yau](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/4670.jpg?w=500)
Cha 