#149 The History of Hong Kong w/ Mindy Smith

The Road to Now

Benjamin Sawyer

Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 628 Ratings

🗓️ 4 November 2019

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The protests that swept through the streets of Hong Kong beginning in the summer of 2019 highlighted the tension that exists between the residents of the region and China's political leadership. The politics of the region have also made their way into American popular culture through public disputes within the NBA, controversy over Blizzard's decision to ban a prominent Hong Kong gamer, and a South Park episode critical of Chinese censorship that led to the series being completely banned in the country.

In this episode, Bob and Ben speak with Mindy Smith to learn about the history of Hong Kong, its special status as a distinct region within China, and the forces that pushed the people of Hong Kong into the streets. We also talk about how Hong Kong's distinct history has led to a clash in historical narratives, and what US policy toward the region can tell us about US foreign policy under recent presidents.

Dr. Aminda Smith is an Associate Professor of History at Michigan State University who specializes in modern Chinese history with a particular interest in the social and cultural history of Chinese Communism. Her first book, Thought Reform and China's Dangerous Classes: Reeducation, Resistance, and the People was published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2012. She also serves as co-director of the PRC History Group and editor for H-PRC. You can follow her on twitter at @AmindaASmith.

This episode was edited by Gary Fletcher. The Road to Now is part of the Osiris Podcast Network.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Oh, Cyrus.
0:01.0	Hey, everybody. I'm Brian Saxon.
0:15.0	And I'm Michael Shields, and we are the host of Welcome to the Party Pal, the mind-bending
0:19.2	film and television podcast you didn't know you needed. Welcome to the Party Pal is the mind-bending film and television podcast you didn't know you needed.
0:22.4	Welcome to the Party Pal is a celebration of the art of cinema and filmmaking,
0:26.1	where movies and television shows are deconstructed and analyzed to evaluate their grander.
0:30.8	Guests will include the filmmakers and industry insiders that craft the works of art that we celebrate here when you join the party.
0:38.9	Welcome to the Party Pal is part of the Osiris podcast network. I'm Ben Sawyer. I'm Bob Crawford. And this is the road to now. Bob, we're back in the land of our birth. Yes, we're at the Bridgestone Arena, far below, it feels like we're below the ground. It feels like we're in subterranean recesses of Nashville, Tennessee. I think we are. Dane met me out on the street to bring me down here. And Dan opened the door.
1:11.5	He said, I'm over here. And then he closed the door and he said, that'll be all the sunlight I see today.
1:15.9	That is it. This is like, uh, subterranean, uh, there's a village, subterranean village underneath
1:22.6	Nashville, Tennessee and people are here are pale and they don't have eyes. That's right. But there's like weird
1:27.8	functioning like buses down here and machinery and yeah. It's like Star Wars. It's like in the,
1:36.0	when they're in like the snow bunker. Oh, and the ice climbing to pop. Yeah, like a whole city down here.
1:40.9	It's awesome. Well, we just wrapped up the interview with Mindy Smith from Michigan State
1:45.5	on Hong Kong and China. Bob, I told you how to ring her for us. Yeah, she was great. Her knowledge
1:52.4	is deep and wide and very great because I've been following the Hong Kong protests as a as a news consumer and you know I know
2:04.7	some things about the history of China like of course I know about the Chinese Exclusion Act which
2:09.4	I've done a great deal of study in but the history of Asia is a big empty spot for me so this
2:15.9	interview was was very helpful for me to fill in the blanks.
2:19.2	Awesome. Yeah. And tonight, Bob, you're performing with the Ava Brothers, and I am performing
2:23.8	at Comedy Bar, two very different audiences, but I'm excited about it. And this is a great interview.
2:28.8	So I hope you guys enjoy it. Mindy Smith, welcome to The Road to Now.
	...

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