Category: 2025 Entries
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Editor’s note: Chris Sullivan reflects on an unexploded wartime bomb in Hong Kong, observed from Amsterdam, using the incident to consider urban memory, historical residue, and the quiet persistence of past violence. [ESSAY] βDisarming a Ghostβ by Chris Sullivan Hong…
![[ESSAY] βDisarming a Ghostβ by Chris Sullivan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/disarming-a-ghost-still-square.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Circumnavigation Without Glory: Lav Diazβs Magellan and the Violence of Discovery” by Oliver Farry Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Magellan. Lav Diaz (director), Magellan, 2025. 165 min. Lav Diazβs Magellan…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Circumnavigation Without Glory: Lav Diazβs ππππππππ and the Violence of Discovery” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/review-22history-as-painting-lav-diazs-magellan22-by-alicia-izharuddin.png?w=795)
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Editor’s note: Llinos Evansβs essay traces the literary and linguistic significance of the One-Syllable Article through a detailed reading of Yuen Ren Chaoβs βLion-Eating Poet in the Stone Denβ. Moving beyond its reputation as a phonetic curiosity, it argues for…
![[ESSAY] “Beyond the Stone Den: One-Syllable Articles as Literary FormβAn Introduction” by Llinos Evans](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/poem.jpg?w=785)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Observation as Inheritance: iTim Fitts’s The Peopleβs Island” by Jack Greenberg Tim Fitts, The Peopleβs Island, Spuyten Duyvil, 2025. 175 pgs. The Peopleβs Island presents itself as a coming of…
![[REVIEW] “Observation as Inheritance: Tim Fitts’s πβπ ππππππβπ πΌπ ππππ” by Jack Greenberg](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/tim-fitts-the-peoples-island-spuyten-duyvil.jpg?w=1000)
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θΆ FIθΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Gigi L. Leungβs Everyday Movement and the Human Texture of Protest” by Jennifer Eagleton Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Everyday Movement. Gigi L. Leung (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Everyday Movement,…
![[REVIEW] “Gigi L. Leungβs πΈπ£πππ¦πππ¦ πππ£πππππ‘ and the Human Texture of Protest” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/everyday-movement-by-gigi-l.-leung-translated-by-jennifer-feeley-.jpg?w=993)
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Editor’s note: Cleo Li-Schwartzβs essay entwines personal pilgrimage and critical meditation, reading Berlin as a palimpsest of Jewish memory, Cold-War fracture, and inherited displacement. Moving through memorials, friendships, and borders, the narrator unsettles any stable present. The essay later turns…
![[ESSAY] βWalking with Leung Ping-kwan: Berlin, Memory, and the Intersticeβ by Cleo Li-Schwartz](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/leung-ping-kwan-cha.jpg?w=716)
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Editor’s note: In this deeply personal essay, Sajita Nair recounts her first pilgrimage to Sabarimala after decades of exclusion shaped by gendered religious custom. Beginning in childhood bewilderment at ritual prohibition, it moves through family memory, mythic inheritance and disciplined…
![[ESSAY] “The Eighteen Steps Home” by Sajita Nair](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/essay-22the-eighteen-steps-home22-by-sajita-nair.png?w=1024)
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Editor’s note: It is our pleasure to present this piece by Jennifer Eagleton, one of our most valued voices at Cha. A long-term resident of Hong Kong since 1997, Jennifer has built a distinguished career as editor, writer, and scholar,…
![[REFLECTION] “Personal Transformation Docket: 31/12/25” by Jennifer Eagleton](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/hongkonger-t-shirt.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βShining Through: The Loboc Childrenβs Choir in King Palisocβs Song of the Firefliesβ by Bryan Elijah Trajano King Palisoc (director), Song of the Fireflies, 2025. 110 min. Song of…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βShining Through: The Loboc Childrenβs Choir in King Palisocβs ππππ ππ π‘βπ πΉππππππππ β by Bryan Elijah TrajanoΒ](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/https-icff.catitle-itemsong-of-the-fireflies.webp?w=432)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βTibet as an Imagined Nation: Myth, Reclamation, and Literary Politics in Koushik Goswamiβs Reimagining Tibetβ by Jyotirmoy Sil Koushik Goswami, Reimagining Tibet: Politics of Literary Representation, Routledge, 2023. 228 pgs.…
![[REVIEW] βTibet as an Imagined Nation: Myth, Reclamation, and Literary Politics in Koushik Goswamiβs Reimagining Tibetβ by Jyotirmoy Sil](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/tibet.jpg?w=664)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βBetween Despair and Tteokbokki: Reading Baek Seheeβ by Hana Kim Baek Sehee (author), Anton Hur (translator), I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, Bloomsbury, 208 pgs.…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βBetween Despair and Tteokbokki: Reading Baek Seheeβ by Hana Kim](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/book-cover.jpg?w=458)
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[ESSAY] βPreserving the Path of Enlightenment at Borobudur and Not Just the Stonesβ by Daniel Gauss Borobudur is an allegory of self awareness, growth and social engagement, rendered in volcanic stone. It was not built for veneration, but to be…
![[ESSAY] βPreserving the Path of Enlightenment at Borobudur and Not Just the Stonesβ by Daniel Gauss](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/borobudur_cha.jpg?w=1024)
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Editorial for Cha‘s November 2012 Issue (Issue 19) [ARCHIVE] “A Hundred Years of Karma” by Tammy Lai-Ming Ho Recently I’ve been riding the bus a lotβthree hours a day, more or less. I spend one eighth of my time on…
![[ARCHIVE] “A Hundred Years of Karma” by Tammy Lai-Ming Ho](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/img_6323.jpeg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βSkipping, Living: Notes on Xi Xiβs Mourning a Breastβ by Madeleine Slavick Click HERE to read all entries in Cha on Mourning a Breast. Xi Xi (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator),Β Mourning a Breast, Giramondo Publishing,…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βSkipping, Living: Notes on Xi Xiβs πππ’πππππ π π΅ππππ π‘β 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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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Guan Huβs Black Dog: Olympic Ambition Meets Provincial Reality” by Oliver Farry Guan Hu (director), Black Dog ηι΅, 2024. 110 min. Guan Huβs canine drama delineates a quixotic episode…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Guan Huβs π΅ππππ π·ππ: Olympic Ambition Meets Provincial Reality” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/black-dog-e78b97e998b5.jpg?w=945)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Dreams Without Dreamers: Bi Ganβs Beautifully Perverse Resurrection” by Oliver Farry Bi Gan (director), Resurrection ηιζΆδ»£, 2025. 156 mins. Bi Ganβs third film is a splendid-looking enigma in the…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “Dreams Without Dreamers: Bi Ganβs Beautifully Perverse π
ππ π’πππππ‘πππ” by Oliver Farry](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/resurrection.png?w=960)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βEveryday Movement: Gigi L. Leungβs Love Letter to Hong Kongβ by Susan Blumberg-Kason ClickΒ HERE to readΒ all entries inΒ ChaΒ onΒ Everyday Movement. Gigi L. Leung (author), Jennifer Feeley (translator), Everyday Movement, Riverhead…
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Translator’s note: Chi Ta-weiβs η΄ε€§ε short story, βBeneath His Eyes, in Your Palm, a Red, Red Rose Is About to Bloomβ δ»ηηΌεΊ, δ½ ηζεΏ, ε³ε°ηΆ»ζΎδΈζ΅η΄ η«η° (1994), is a queer, prophetic, postmodern, posthuman, drug-fuelled cyberpunk pastiche, a descent into a stygian labyrinth…
![[TRANSLATION] βBeneath His Eyes, In Your Palm, a Red Rose is About to Bloomβ by Chi Ta-wei, translated by Nathaniel Isaacson](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/e-08897.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “On the Verge with Claire Lee: Where Objects Become Literature” by Susan Blumberg-Kason Claire Lee, On the Verge, Independently published, 2025. 120 pgs. Claire Lee is an accomplished visual…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] “ππ π‘βπ πππππ with Claire Lee: Where Objects Become Literature” by Susan Blumberg-Kason](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/on-the-verge_claire-lee.png?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhen Technology Becomes a Tool to Erase History: Prabda Yoonβs Transmissions of Unwanted Pastsβ by Lorence Lozano Prabda Yoon (director), Transmissions of Unwanted Pasts, 2019. 24 min. Prabda Yoon…
![[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] βWhen Technology Becomes a Tool to Erase History: Prabda Yoonβs πππππ πππ π ππππ ππ πππ€πππ‘ππ πππ π‘π β by Lorence Lozano](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/f09d9187f09d919ff09d918ef09d919bf09d91a0f09d919af09d9196f09d91a0f09d91a0f09d9196f09d919cf09d919bf09d91a0-f09d919cf09d9193-f09d9188f09d919bf09d91a4f09d918ef09d919bf09d91a1f09d9192f09d919.webp?w=724)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [ESSAY] βNot A Utopian Land: Rereading the Evenki Culture in Chi Zijianβs novel The Last Quarter of the Moon and Gu Taoβs documentary film The Last Moose of Aoluguyaβ by Yiwen…
![[ESSAY] βNot Your Utopian Land: Rereading the Evenki Culture in Chi Zijianβs novel πβπ πΏππ π‘ ππ’πππ‘ππ ππ π‘βπ ππππ and Gu Taoβs documentary film πβπ πΏππ π‘ ππππ π ππ π΄πππ’ππ’π¦πβ by Yiwen Liu](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/not-a-utopian-land_yiwen-liu.png?w=1024)
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[ESSAY] β1331 Runway: Hong Kong Youth Utopia or Real-Estate Planning Malfunction?β by Daniel Gauss In July 2025, international media erupted with enthusiasm over a project in Hong Kong called 1331 Runway. Built on land once occupied by the former Kai…
![[ESSAY] β1331 Runway: Hong Kong Youth Utopia or Real-Estate Planning Malfunction?β by Daniel Gauss](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/767206174.jpg?w=576)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βAn Oceanic Taiwan: Niki J. P. Alsford and Ti-Han Changβs Reorienting Taiwanβ by Lu Feng Niki J. P. Alsford and Ti-Han Chang (editors), Reorienting Taiwan: Ocean, Selfhood, and the Pacific,…
![[REVIEW] βAn Oceanic Taiwan: Niki J. P. Alsford and Ti-Han Changβs π
πππππππ‘πππ ππππ€ππβ by Lu Feng](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/reorientating-taiwan-ocean-selfhood-and-the-pacific.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βYou Are My Friend: On Ocean Vuongβs The Emperor of Gladnessβ by Nirris Nagendrarajah Ocean Vuong, The Emperor of Gladness, Penguin, 2025. 416 pgs. For Ocean Vuong, the critically acclaimed…
![[REVIEW] βYou Are My Friend: On Ocean Vuongβs πβπ πΈπππππ ππ πΊππππππ π β by Nirris Nagendrarajah](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ocean-vuong-the-emperor-of-gladness.jpg?w=992)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βBetween Adaptation and Escapism: Navigating Entrapment in Ling Maβs Severanceβ by Hilda Wong Ling Ma, Severance, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018. 304 pgs. In an era defined by burnout and quiet…
![[REVIEW] βBetween Adaptation and Escapism: Navigating Entrapment in Ling Maβs πππ£ππππππβ by Hilda Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ling-ma-severance2.jpg?w=970)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [Essay] “1000XRESIST and Immunity in the Chinese Diaspora” by Nick Admussen Sunset Visitor (developer), 1000xResist, Fellow Traveller Games. 2024. 1000xRESIST is a 2024 narrative video game created by the Canadian studio…
![[ESSAY] “1000ππ
πΈππΌππ and Immunity in the Chinese Diaspora” by Nick Admussen](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/https-www.fellowtraveller.games1000xresist.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βAnchors of Memory: Unhomely and Resilience in Jia Zhangkeβs Still Lifeβ by Hilda Wong Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Jia Zhangke Jia Zhangke (director). Still Life, 2006.…
![[REVIEW] βAnchors of Memory: Unhomely and Resilience in Jia Zhangkeβs ππ‘πππ πΏπππβ by Hilda Wong](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/jia-zhangkes-still-life.jpg?w=714)
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[ESSAY] βSixteen Dead, Zero Justice: Cambodiaβs Monument to a Silenced Crimeβ by Daniel GaussΒ
[ESSAY] βSixteen Dead, Zero Justice: Cambodiaβs Monument to a Silenced Crimeβ by Daniel Gauss In 2009, Cambodia experienced a rare moment of national pride when Duch, the Khmer Rouge official who oversaw the notorious S-21 prison, was finally brought to…
![[ESSAY] βSixteen Dead, Zero Justice: Cambodiaβs Monument to a Silenced Crimeβ by Daniel GaussΒ](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/cambodia_cha.jpg?w=1024)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] βRealism and Memory in Chinese Film: CecΓlia Mello’s The Cinema of Jia Zhangkeβ by Tim Murphy Click HERE to read all entries in Chaon Jia Zhangke CecΓlia Mello. The Cinema…
![[ESSAY] βRealism and Memory in Chinese Film: CecΓlia Mello’s πβπ πΆπππππ ππ π½ππ πβπππππβ by Tim Murphy](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/cecilia-mello.-the-cinema-of-jia-zhangke-realism-and-memory-in-chinese-film-bloomsbury-academic.jpg?w=1000)
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θΆ FIRST IMPRESSIONS θΆ REVIEW OF BOOKS & FILMS [REVIEW] “Twinkle Khanna’s The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad: Making Dignity a Habitβ by Abhinav Tulachan Twinkle Khanna, The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad, Juggernaut Books, 2016. 233 pgs. It is remarkable how…
![[REVIEW] “Twinkle Khanna’s πβπ πΏπππππ ππ πΏπππ βππ ππππ ππ: Making Dignity a Habitβ by Abhinav Tulachan](https://chajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/the-legend-of-lakshmi-prasad.webp?w=1016)
Cha 