Lam Yik Fei: Woh Yuhng

In 2019, Hong Kong saw months of protests sparked by a controversial proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China. The government’s proposal came after a Hong Kong man allegedly murdered his girlfriend in Taiwan. Millions of Hong Kongers marched peacefully in Hong Kong in June. Clashes between police and protesters have become increasingly frequent and violent – with police firing rounds of tear gas, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds and live bullets, and protesters throwing petrol bombs and bricks.

The proposal was finally withdrawn in September, but demonstrations continued and demanded full democracy and an inquiry into police actions.

The Hong Kong protests 2019 is an example for the rest of the world of a new hybrid form of protest movement: leaderless, be water, and “woh-yuhng” (unity between the “peaceful” and the “valiant”).

Lam Yik Fei was born in Hong Kong in 1986. His works have been featured in various international and local media. In 2019, he photographed nearly every protest in Hong Kong, a place where he calls home and he had lived as a child. He is a recipient of the Award of Excellence in the category of National/International News Picture Story in 77th Pictures of the Year International. The photographs were exhibited at the “Be Water!” The Strategy of Resistance in the Hong Kong Protests, a special exhibition by the World Press Photo in 2020

We expect to receive the book in Amsterdam during the month of July 2020.

Impression of Fei’s photos: www.lamyikfei.com/hong-kong-protests