With the specific case of the birth of Tiananmen Square in Beijing during the May Fourth Movement... more With the specific case of the birth of Tiananmen Square in Beijing during the May Fourth Movement in 1919, this paper tries to give an answer to the more general question of how a political public space is made. It argues, (1) the transformation of the spatial order of Beijing made possible the formation of new modes of collective political action in republican Beijing. (2) The different kinds of action of the people led to the production of a number of political public spaces. (3) The demonstration staged on May 4, 1919 was vital in converting the empty space in front of Tianan Gate into a public space of political significance, which was then named Tiananmen Square. Borrowing from Arendt’s conception of the public space and people’s political action, this paper contends that the political action of people was most important in breaking through the control of the government and opening up political public spaces. With the historical geographical case of the Square, this paper assesses the ‘‘end of public space’’ position that has become widely accepted in academic debate.
This article investigates the making of Hong Kong’s water supply system since 1959. It starts by ... more This article investigates the making of Hong Kong’s water supply system since 1959. It starts by assessing the perspectives provided by the regime approach and the political
ecology literatures. The case of Hong Kong brings in ideas from border studies and draws attention to the changing nature of the border to explain socio-ecological and scaling interactions. The case study maps the border relationship between China and Hong Kong (and Britain), and the political tussle between them over the control of water supply to the city in the late colonial period 1959–78, which resulted in the creation of a localized self-sufficient water supply system in Hong Kong, and the consolidation of Hong Kong’s scale as a colonial city-state under British rule. It further explicates the change in the nature of the political border since 1979, and the processes by which Hong Kong abandoned attempts to strengthen its local supply, becoming dependent on supply from the regional Dongjiang water networks, as well as the transformation of its scale to become a subordinate of the larger political unit in subsequent years.
With the specific case of the birth of Tiananmen Square in Beijing during the May Fourth Movement... more With the specific case of the birth of Tiananmen Square in Beijing during the May Fourth Movement in 1919, this paper tries to give an answer to the more general question of how a political public space is made. It argues, (1) the transformation of the spatial order of Beijing made possible the formation of new modes of collective political action in republican Beijing. (2) The different kinds of action of the people led to the production of a number of political public spaces. (3) The demonstration staged on May 4, 1919 was vital in converting the empty space in front of Tianan Gate into a public space of political significance, which was then named Tiananmen Square. Borrowing from Arendt’s conception of the public space and people’s political action, this paper contends that the political action of people was most important in breaking through the control of the government and opening up political public spaces. With the historical geographical case of the Square, this paper assesses the ‘‘end of public space’’ position that has become widely accepted in academic debate.
This article investigates the making of Hong Kong’s water supply system since 1959. It starts by ... more This article investigates the making of Hong Kong’s water supply system since 1959. It starts by assessing the perspectives provided by the regime approach and the political
ecology literatures. The case of Hong Kong brings in ideas from border studies and draws attention to the changing nature of the border to explain socio-ecological and scaling interactions. The case study maps the border relationship between China and Hong Kong (and Britain), and the political tussle between them over the control of water supply to the city in the late colonial period 1959–78, which resulted in the creation of a localized self-sufficient water supply system in Hong Kong, and the consolidation of Hong Kong’s scale as a colonial city-state under British rule. It further explicates the change in the nature of the political border since 1979, and the processes by which Hong Kong abandoned attempts to strengthen its local supply, becoming dependent on supply from the regional Dongjiang water networks, as well as the transformation of its scale to become a subordinate of the larger political unit in subsequent years.
Uploads
Papers by Nelson Lee
space and people’s political action, this paper contends that the political action of people was most important in breaking through the control of the government and opening up political public spaces. With the historical geographical case of the Square, this paper assesses the ‘‘end of public space’’ position
that has become widely accepted in academic debate.
ecology literatures. The case of Hong Kong brings in ideas from border studies and draws attention to the changing nature of the border to explain socio-ecological and scaling interactions. The case study maps the border relationship between China and Hong Kong (and Britain), and the political tussle between them over the control of water supply to the city in the late colonial period 1959–78, which resulted in the creation of a localized self-sufficient water supply system in Hong Kong, and the consolidation of Hong Kong’s scale as a colonial city-state under British rule. It further explicates the change in the nature of the political border since 1979, and the processes by which Hong Kong abandoned attempts to strengthen its local supply, becoming dependent on supply from the regional Dongjiang water networks, as well as the transformation of its scale to become a subordinate of the larger political unit in subsequent years.
space and people’s political action, this paper contends that the political action of people was most important in breaking through the control of the government and opening up political public spaces. With the historical geographical case of the Square, this paper assesses the ‘‘end of public space’’ position
that has become widely accepted in academic debate.
ecology literatures. The case of Hong Kong brings in ideas from border studies and draws attention to the changing nature of the border to explain socio-ecological and scaling interactions. The case study maps the border relationship between China and Hong Kong (and Britain), and the political tussle between them over the control of water supply to the city in the late colonial period 1959–78, which resulted in the creation of a localized self-sufficient water supply system in Hong Kong, and the consolidation of Hong Kong’s scale as a colonial city-state under British rule. It further explicates the change in the nature of the political border since 1979, and the processes by which Hong Kong abandoned attempts to strengthen its local supply, becoming dependent on supply from the regional Dongjiang water networks, as well as the transformation of its scale to become a subordinate of the larger political unit in subsequent years.