To be honest, I have never heard Hong Kong described as »a paradise«! [Laughing] Maybe what is meant here is that there were books that were not sold in mainland China and one could buy them in HK, but that was not the reason why we opened »Bleak House Books«!

Daniel, a close friend of the bookshop, wanted to surprise his fiancée, Kaia, with a marriage proposal and an engagement ring. He cleverly concealed the ring inside a vintage Modern Library edition of Jane Austen’s novels, specifically within Chapter 52 of »Pride and Prejudice,« the first book he had ever given her. We eagerly assisted with Daniel’s charmingly sneaky plan by discreetly placing the book in an inconspicuous spot while Kaia was momentarily engrossed in browsing our collection.

Both Kaia and Daniel share a deep love for books, so it made perfect sense for them to get engaged in a bookshop! We were absolutely thrilled that they chose »Bleak House Books« as the backdrop for such a special moment.

Not soon after we opened our bookshop, Hong Kong was plunged into a period of unprecedented turmoil and civil strife. The government tried to enact a law that would give it the ability to extradite Hongkongers to mainland China for certain criminal offenses. The vast majority of Hongkongers opposed this law as did many professional and political groups in Hong Kong. For a long time, however, the government ignored their calls to shelve the law.

It didn’t happen all at once. Reflecting back, I feel we had to struggle to reach a point where we could say we belonged there or were part of the community.

Obviously, 2019 was a particularly memorable time. Alongside 70–80% of Hongkongers who opposed the actions of the Mainland Chinese government, we took a stand in the protests and were vocal about our position. It felt like a strong sense of brotherhood or rather friendship, a sense of community. We were proud to share these emotions with others, regardless of whether they knew anything about our shop or had any opinion about it—it was this solidarity and encouragement that resonated. We did it because we felt Hong Kong was our home and our community, and we had to support everyone who was taking a stand against injustice.

Hong Kong is an important part of our bookshop, and it always remain such. It’s crucial for us to stay informed about the events in HK and reflect on the changes occurring there, particularly in relation to bookshops, to understand how the population is responding (or not) to the increasingly hostile political climate. In our shop, we have a dedicated section for HK literature, which we intend to maintain as long as the shop operates. We are also eager to host talks by authors who have written about Hong Kong. However, I wouldn’t say that this is our main focus.

Our primary focus is ensuring the survival of our business and fostering a strong sense of community here. These are our two main goals every day we open our bookshop towards. While our community includes people in Hong Kong who still follow and support us, our influence there is limited due to the geographical distance–still there are thousands miles between us… We need to concentrate on actions that can have a real or more direct impact.

I believe it’s more challenging for Hongkongers to establish a diaspora similar to that of Belarusians. In Hong Kong, English is an official language alongside Chinese and, when in exile, most Hongkongers use English due to the countries they move to, like Canada and the UK. The political climate there is more stable and less dysfunctional, so such environment does allow to open bookstores or start publishing companies to preserve our culture and Cantonese language without fear of persecution. However, the transition is still difficult due to cultural and linguistic differences, and the need to find employment. Many would prefer to continue the work they were doing back in Hong Kong or engage in more politically active pursuits, but being in exile doesn’t automatically mean doing it at once. The primary challenge is daily survival. People cannot be expected to »keep up the good fight« if they cannot even put food on the table.

While some individuals might have a better situation with family connections in places like Great Britain or previous experience living there, those without such support face immense difficulties in establishing themselves. This makes it harder for them to continue their political and cultural efforts related to Hong Kong. My perspective is based on limited interactions with others, but our experience here shows that it took time to adapt, to find community, and settle despite already being familiar with the US culture and language. But when we arrived to America, we realized that what we needed for »Bleak House Books« was an anchor, some continuity, preservation of the bookshop’s history in Hong Kong, because this is also a part of Hong Kong’s history.