an artist community in the foo tak building, wedged in-between the other 唐樓 buildings in wanchai, hong kong. a sticker on the elevator wall declares: "the land belongs to the people". perhaps reflecting the demands of the former residents choi yuen village, and many other areas who have faced displacement on the outer areas in hong kong over the years, due to development fueled by politics and corporate interests.
a group of filmmakers known as v-artivist made a documentary chronicling the organizing efforts and passionate resistance of the villagers: http://www.hkindieff.hk/cifa/eng/RagingLand02.html (chinese only: https://ragingiron.wordpress.com/)
#ericgarner #blacklivesmatter #thisstopstoday
#blackasiansolidarity #mikebrown
#nojusticenopeace #nojusticenotree
"i love chinatown street vendors"
recently, reports of chinatown street vendors being harassed resurfaced again, 10 years after an intense period of police harassment as a result of then-mayor giuliani’s citywide “quality of life” campaign.
last week, i walked past a familiar spot where a food vendor sold fried noodles and egg rolls for as long as i can remember. they were popular with chinese and non-chinese customers alike, and everytime i approached this corner, i expected the smells of fried noodles, fish balls, and crispy egg rolls wafting through the air. i stopped in my tracks when i noticed the new shiny tourist map in place of the usual vendor. i convinced myself that the vendors probably took the day off (even though my heart was anxious about the tourist map, as memories of the canal street triangle — formerly inhabited by nearly a dozen street vendors in the 80’s and 90’s, now replaced by a lone, empty tourist kiosk — came flooding back). i held onto the hope that they were just taking the day off.
today, i walked past that spot again. still, no fried noodle vendor to be found.
seeing that the mini cake vendor is nearby, i’m hoping the fried food vendors are on a well-deserved vacation.
