''City on Fire: The Fight for Hong Kong'' is a nonfiction book by
Antony Dapiran
Antony Dapiran is a prominent Australian lawyer and writer, who has become widely known for his books, newspaper writings and commentary in Western media on protest movements in Hong Kong.
Early life
Dapiran received a double degree (BA/LLB) i ...
. It discusses the
2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
The Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement, also known as the 2019 Hong Kong protests, or the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, were a series of demonstrations from 15 March 2019 in response to the introduction by the Hong Kong government ...
, which the author described as "a battle for Hong Kong's very soul".
Background
Dapiran, from Australia,
lived in Hong Kong for an extended length of time and provided consulting to Chinese companies over a 20-year period.
[
Dapiran was present at several of the 2019 protests.][
]
Contents
The first chapter discusses tear gas.[ the catalyst for the protests, the murder of Poon Hiu-wing; the ]2019 Hong Kong local elections
The 2019 Hong Kong District Council elections were held on 24 November 2019 for all 18 District Councils of Hong Kong. 452 seats from all directly elected constituencies, out of the 479 seats in total, were contested. Nearly three million people ...
;[
The book includes a prediction that the Chinese government would increase its direct control on Hong Kong, something Dapiran describes as "a slow and steady squeeze".][ The book also describes how Hong Kongers perceive an erosion of their own sense of self, and how there was, on the British side during the Handover of Hong Kong in 1997, what was described as "wishful thinking" by Nicholas Gattig, in the '']Japan Times
''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
History
''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...
''.[ The book's content ends whilst the conflict was still ongoing.][
Gattig stated that Dapiran's support for the protest movement and the author's "love of the city ervadethe book".][
]
Release
Published by Scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
, the book was released in March 2020.[
]
Reception
Gattig praised the "smooth, heady prose".[ He stated that the book "never feels rushed or less than coherent" despite how quickly it was written and published after the protests.][ Will Higginbotham of the '']Australian Book Review
''Australian Book Review'' is an Australian arts and literary review. Created in 1961, ''ABR'' is an independent non-profit organisation that publishes articles, reviews, commentaries, essays, and new writing. The aims of the magazine are 'to ...
'' praised the "journalistic prowess" and how the author "excels at contemplating both the small and big events".[ Joshua Wallace of Tarleton State University stated that the book is a "fascinating read".][ Graduate student Joe Bauer, of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, praised the author's "ability to bring the narrative to life".][
]
References
{{reflist
2020 non-fiction books
Reactions to the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests
Books about Hong Kong
Books about politics of China
Scribe (publisher) books