This is the first in our series of interviews on "Viewing China Through Art" with past contributors who have had their work published in VISIONS, Brown's Asian/Asian-American literary arts magazine, related to China. Through their work, we hope to be able to present a different view of Chinese issues not usually offered.

To start things off, we sat down with Larry Au ’14, past contributor and current Associate Editor-in-Chief to talk about his photos of protests in Hong Kong.

VISIONS: Tell us about the photographs you have published in VISIONS last year?

Larry: The photo published in the Spring 2011 issue was taken in December 2005, during the WTO protests in Hong Kong, when over ten thousand Korean farmers descended on the city to demonstrate against the organization. This was, in the history of post-colonial Hong Kong, the most radical protest. Protestors attempted to break through a police security line around the conference, leading to the infamous “Siege of Wan Chai” that brought the city to a standstill. The picture itself shows the security line two or three blocks away from the conference. Hong Kong Police Force at the time decided that by putting female officers in the front line would deter protestors from attacking the officers, and in the event that they did, they could charge protestors with sexual assault in addition to assaulting a police officer.

"Do Not Cross" - VISIONS Spring 2011

The photo published in the Fall 2010 issue was taken in August 2007, during a series of protest in Hong Kong that erupted around the demolition of Queen’s Pier, a historic building. The Hong Kong government at the time decided to tear down the building, which was on the edge of Victoria Harbor, in order to reclaim land to build a highway. Many at the time saw this move as the government’s attempt to wipe away Hong Kong’s colonial past, as the pier played a significant symbolic role under British rule. Protestors also saw the demolition of the pier as a representation of the government’s single-hearted pursuit of development at the expense of the environment. The picture published in this issue shows a young protestor trying to wrestle away a metal fence from the police surrounding the pier.

"Pull" - VISIONS Fall 2010

In a city known for its history of peaceful protests, such as the half-million man march in 2003 that brought down the then-administration, the 2005 WTO protests planted a seed of extremism in Hong Kong’s protest culture that manifested itself later on in the 2007 Queen’s Pier protests. Feeling that they have no other means of affecting, protestors in recent years have resorted to increasingly radical means to make themselves heard.

VISIONS: What aspect of Chinese culture and society are you trying to portray in your work?

Larry: There is a misconception in the West that Chinese society—or even East Asian societies—are built off of this pseudo-Confucian notion of “obedience” to your ancestors, your parents and the state. As a result, Western perceptions of China have centered on this image of a homogenous, docile mass of people that do whatever they’re told to do without questioning the authorities. But nothing could be further from the truth.

As seen in Hong Kong’s protest culture, when given the opportunity, Chinese people are just like any other people, in that they are not afraid to show that they are unhappy with what’s going on. Although Hong Kong enjoys a far greater degree of freedom than the rest of China, the truth is that this is going on everywhere else in China as well.

According to official figures, there are almost 300 mass protests everyday in China. This is obviously an underestimated figure and the term “mass protest” refers to protests that consists of thousands of people, so the reality paints a much starker picture of dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in China. The recent rise in use of social media in the China has allowed for Chinese people to further voice their discontent, as evidenced by recent transportation safety scandals that have elicited a torrent of criticism in cyberspace. Studies have also shown that Chinese netizens are five times more likely to use social media than American web users.

The point is that these antiquated stereotypes of the submissive Chinese should be thrown out, because it just simply isn’t true.

VISIONS: Why did you choose to focus on China and set your work to a Chinese backdrop?

Larry: Growing up in Hong Kong has been an eye-opening experience, as the city sits at the intersection of many converging cultures. Although fundamentally a Chinese society, Hong Kong has, because of its role as a trading post and a British colony, been exposed to the world in a way that China has not been. Due to its complex history, Hong Kong has been given a host of civil liberties not seen in the rest of China. This combination East meets West and a relatively free society has made Hong Kong into the global city that is today.

However, due to its status as an international financial center, attention from the West on the city has been skewed towards market and economic news, overlooking the great social and political changes that have occurred in recent years. For those who’re interested in China, this is a pity, as history has shown that what happens in Hong Kong has great implications for the rest of China. Those interested in the political future of China should start by looking at the democratization of the Hong Kong.

Through documenting these protests through pictures, I hoped to be able to show this aspect of Chinese society that is not often discussed and to show the Chinese society that I grew up seeing.

To see more photos from the WTO protest, click here. To see more photos from the Queen’s Pier protest, click here.