Hong Kong's Neon Nostalgia Questioned as Authorities Remove Iconic Signs

Hong Kong's authorities are dismantling the city's once-iconic neon signs, even as theme parks and commercial enterprises recreate scenes from pre-1997 life in the former colony. Writing for Ocula, Jaime Chu questions whether it is time for the city to stop pining for its past and instead concentrate on the present. The opinion piece examines the tension between official removal of the neon signage that defined Hong Kong's visual identity and the commercial reproduction of that same aesthetic in entertainment and retail settings. Chu's argument centers on the gap between the fetishisation of a neon-lit colonial-era past and the realities of contemporary Hong Kong. The article is published in Ocula's opinion section.