Student Translation Project
HKBU TIIS 2023
About the comic book:
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"Untold Hong Kong Stories is a transformative book resulting from the collaborative efforts of researchers from HKBU's "Minority Studies/Marginalized Populations Studies" group aims to visualizing diversity and empowerment. Through a podcast series, they interviewed ten community members whose voices are often underrepresented, exploring issues of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, body, occupation, age, and language in Hong Kong. These personal stories have been adapted into captivating comics by local artists, showcasing the vibrancy of the interviewees' lives and humanizing diversity. The book aims to challenge perceptions and spark dialogue, inviting readers to reevaluate what it means to be a person living in Hong Kong and the significance of marginalized identities. While acknowledging the limited scope of ten stories, the book and podcast series serve as a journey into the untold narratives, opening eyes, ears, and minds to the multitude of experiences within the marginalized communities of Hong Kong, and fostering empathy, understanding, and empowerment.
Author & Illustrator:
Kinchoi Lam 林建才
Kinchoi Lam is a Hong Kong-based artist, picture book creator and printmaker. His interest in arts motivated him to study art-related subjects. He graduated from the City University of Hong Kong School of Creative Media and received his Master of Children’s Book Illustration from Anglia Ruskin University in 2020. Wanting to share the stories of Hong Kong with the young generation, he started his career as a children’s book illustrator. His art mainly focuses on the pursuit and discovery of wonder through intimate aspects of daily life. His publications include Nomads: Life on the move – Cicada Books (2022), 《渡輪小星的祕密之旅》 (2022), Wolf Girl (2022), Journey to Mars (2021), Boar Bakery (2020), and Little Big Tram (2017). He won prestigious awards and was shortlisted for internationally recognised exhibitions.
Kinchoi's Website:
Kinchoi Lam
https://www.lamkinchoi.com/
Kinchoi's Instagram:
lamkinchoi
Interviewee:
John Outsider
John Outsider, born in 1982 in Iran, was an asylum seeker in Hong Kong for over ten years. He left his home country due to political reasons. The immigration department rejected his refugee claim after staying in the city for over five years. In the past few years, he has only had a $3,000 monthly allowance from the government covering rent, food and other living expenses, but he has not been allowed to work. Now, he is still waiting for his claim of non-refoulement protection to be processed by the Immigration Department so he can leave Hong Kong for a third country. He is currently a writer, poet, and filmmaker and has self-published books like The Curse of Love, The Edge, and The Shadows of the Sun, which are related to his personal experiences and observations in Hong Kong.
Translator Note
Translator: Jamima, Kacey
Editor: Eden, Helen
John, self-identifying as an "Outsider", the objective of this illustration's translation is to evoke a sense of detachment. Written Chinese, in contrast to colloquial Chinese, is less prevalent in the everyday lives of Hong Kong residents, thereby creating a less personal connection. The paramount aim of the Chinese translation is to enable readers to empathize with the sense of alienation John experiences in Hong Kong.
Author & Illustrator:
Kaitlin Chan
She is a cartoonist and cultural worker in Hong Kong.
She is currently serialising her first graphic novel as a webcomic, Eric’s Sister.
She tells stories about quiet moments, friendship, and the rhythms of daily life. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker online, Astra Magazine, The Economist, Catapult, Awry Comics, Oprah Daily, The Margins, The Offing, Popula and elsewhere. She was shortlisted for the 2021 Cartoonist Studio Prize in Webcomics from the Center for Cartoon Studies.
Alongside comics, She has also participated in discussions or held workshops with Polytechnic University, The New School, Temple University Japan, University of Hong Kong, Vermont College of Fine Arts, University of Southern California, School of Visual Arts, Hackney Comic and Zine Fair, Tai Kwun Contemporary, M+ Museum and the Hong Kong Literary Festival.
From 2017-2019, she worked at Asia Society Hong Kong Center, where I co-curated Hon Chi-fun: A Story of Light and was the assistant curator of Love Long: Robert Indiana and Asia. Since 2020, She has worked at a contemporary art gallery in Hong Kong.
Interviewee:
Ei Ei San
Ei Ei San, hailing from a small village in Myanmar, arrived in Hong Kong in 2013 to pursue her studies. Over the past decade, every line and word she writes reflects her longing for her homeland and her growing affection for this foreign land. Through the stories of people from different ethnic backgrounds living in Hong Kong, she hopes to enable a broader audience to understand the hardships faced while striving and fighting for a better life in a foreign land. Simultaneously, she aims to showcase the joys and pleasures of living in a foreign land, ultimately transforming it into a second home.
Hailing from a small village in Myanmar, Ei Ei San came to Hong Kong in 2013 to pursue her studies. Over the past decade or so, every line and word she writes reflects her longing for her homeland and her growing affection for this foreign land. Through sharing the stories of people from different ethnic backgrounds living in Hong Kong, she hopes to enable a broader audience to understand the hardships faced while striving and fighting for a better life in a foreign land, while also discovering the joys of living in such a place and eventually considering it a second home.
Translator Note
Translator: Eden, Helen
Editor: Jamima, Kacey
By selecting Cantonese as the target language for translation, we aim not only to provide a more familiar experience for Cantonese-speaking readers but also to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation of Ei Ei San's story. Additionally, it serves as an opportunity for those interested in Hong Kong culture and learning Cantonese to acquire basic expressions of emotions or for non-locals residing in Hong Kong to share their own stories.
In translating this illustrated text, the primary approach is to use colloquial Cantonese phrases commonly used in everyday conversations, adopting a more relaxed tone akin to sharing stories with friends. The goal is for readers to have a richer emotional experience while engaging with Ei Ei San's story.
Author & Illustrator:
Humchuk
Hong Kong illustrator Ricky Luk has given up his career as an architect since 2014 to devote himself entirely to artistic creation. He collects stories from Hong Kong people in different ways, transforms various hidden emotions into creations and has published several picture books with text.
Among them, Ricky created the "Mask Man" with simple brushstrokes. The "Mask Man" is more contagious, allowing readers to enter different stories and find out what they have in common with themselves. Different kinds of stories are added to the paintings and accompanied by healing words to record the alternation of joys and sorrows, encounters and partings that are constantly happening in the city. Through creation, he reorganizes those unspeakable emotions and is not afraid to show the weakest pain points in himself and others, thereby releasing his inner emotions and trying to bring out the importance of communication between people.
Interviewee:
Enerlan Diza May Yap
Enerlan Diza May Yap is a Filipino-Chinese who was born and raised in Hong Kong. Despite sharing a common language, she and her family have faced prejudice and stereotypes due to not conforming to societal expectations in terms of appearance. This motivated her to participate in the story of this comic and share her experiences in hopes of encouraging reflection on this peculiar social phenomenon among Hong Kong people and readers. She also hopes to explore her identity through her experiences and involvement in social service work.
Translator Note
Translator & Editor: Jamima, Eden, Helen, Kacey
Enerlan Diza May Yap's sharing aims to bridge the divide and foster a community of inclusivity. Using conversational sentences, Enerlan Diza May Yap documents their reactions to the limited acceptance of minority communities in society and expresses their thoughts and perspectives, hoping to bring about a change in the social atmosphere. We endeavour to capture the essence of the original text, employing complete and coherent sentences and paragraphs to engage in a more formal and sincere discussion of the issues. The intention is to provide readers with a genuine and introspective space to understand the challenges and pressures faced by Enerlan Diza May Yap, thereby inspiring different actions when confronted with similar circumstances in the future.
