Why Hong Kong is seeking solace in Cantopop

Life in Hong Kong has been reshaped as Beijing offers increasingly tightened its grip over virtually every aspect of life in the city. But Cantopop remains a location for those in the city to seek solace and express their group identity, as the BBC’s Grace Tsoi produces.

It was an accident that shocked much of Hong Kong: a huge screen fell plus injured two dancers during a concert simply by hugely popular child band Mirror.

But the collective outpouring of emotion seemed to be caused by what Mirror had come to signify – a rare way to obtain joy for many in the city after years of political upheaval.

Mirror is broadly credited for reviving Cantopop – music sung in Cantonese, the main language utilized in Hong Kong and an important part to the city’s cultural identity. The majority of mainland China communicates in Mandarin.

The music form’s appeal had previously been dwindling.

“Cantopop was formulaic, exactly like canned food, inch says Jeng Lau, a marketing expert in her 30s who found himself turning to Taiwanese and Japanese bands rather.

Hong Kong is a previous British colony and it is meant to enjoy particular rights, like independence of assembly plus freedom of conversation, that are not available in mainland China.

But in 2019, plans to pass an extradition law sparked worries that Beijing was increasing its control. People came out on to the streets plus there were months associated with anti-government protests.

Beijing then introduced a sweeping national security law (NSL), which critics say reduces the city’s judicial autonomy plus makes it easier to penalize activists.

Regarding 200 people have since been arrested underneath the NSL alone, including pro-democracy lawmakers.

On the surface, it may seem like this once-rebellious city has now fallen silent : but fans say the one thing they can still cling on to will be Cantopop.

“Life in Hong Kong is depressing. Your friends and family are leaving and every day all of us seem to lose fuzy things like [our] freedom, ” said Jane Chan, a 28-year-old within the education sector.

“So it’s therefore precious for us in order to witness [a band like] Mirror, something which is local plus tangible, that can still grow and thrive [during these times]. ”

Cantopop happens to be integral to the exclusive Hong Kong identity, which usually started to form during the former British colony’s economic rise in the particular 1970s.

The eighties and 1990s were the golden regarding Hong Kong pop lifestyle. Cantopop was a significant cultural export, successful fans in landmass China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Yet from the 2000s, the Cantopop market slowly shrunk, with many Hong Kong artists focusing their own careers on the mainland market and enthusiasts turning to Mandopop plus K-pop.

That drop has now reversed.

“Pop culture has become a site of upkeep for people to reminisce about what Hong Kong individuals miss, ” said cultural commentator Chiu Wan.

“For example, a music about bidding goodbye to an ex-lover could be understood as dedicated to friends who moved abroad or even a hometown that people are no longer familiar with. ”

Information from KKBOX, probably the most popular music streaming platforms in the city, found that Hong Kong users spent 25% more time streaming Cantopop in 2021 in comparison to 2020. Eight of the ten most played songs last year over the platform were related to Mirror.

Microsoft Lau is one of the many people whose interest in Cantopop has been reignited.

“We can see the way the regime is suppressing the Hong Kong identity, and we want to safeguard it, ” mentioned Ms Lau.

“Cantonese is very important to us, and Cantopop plays an important function in safeguarding Cantonese. ”

Mirror created out of a reality display in 2018 plus quickly shot in order to fame.

Fashionable is not all one-way though.

Most of the city’s older stars have shifted their particular focus to the landmass market – carrying out in New Year’s Eve shows kept by regional TV channels – under the name of singers through the Greater Bay Area, a government intend to integrate Hong Kong to the mainland’s Guangdong state..

With its population of 1. 3 billion, it’s not hard to figure out exactly what attracts pop superstars to the Chinese landmass. However , it also includes certain conditions.

Jackson Wang, for example , was born in Hong Kong plus used to carry the Hong Kong flag and wear a hat with the city’s symbol. But he later switched to carrying a Chinese banner on his concert tour.

There is also critique of how Hong Kong’s music industry functions, with the injury to Mirror’s dancers highlighting doubtful safety standards.

It is currently unclear if Looking glass will continue to perform. The band’s fate is mired within uncertainty – just like the city itself.

“The Mirror temperature, to a large extent, is really a healing project, but now it has become one more trauma. No one might have guessed it, ” said Ms Chiu.

But Cantopop remains a free approach of expression for now – despite periodic criticism from authorities that culture plus art are still becoming utilized in “soft resistance”.

“Hong Kongers are very creative. They will use more subtle ways in case authorities do not allow more explicit expressions, inch said Ms Lau.