Amid An Exodus, Hong Kongers Who Remain Face Changed Lives - Free Websites, Share News And Posts Publicly

Good morning.

190,000 people have left Hong Kong for good since the imposition of the National Security Law in mid-2021. Their story, captured in One Way, was in a way easy to tell. The two-part documentary about Fiona, Ah Man and their children on a journey to England had so many twists and turns, it essentially directed itself.

It’s way harder making a documentary about the familiar and the constant. But it’s no less important.

Year of Ren Yin* is that story – one about the 7.29 million people who have chosen to remain in Hong Kong, even though nothing seems quite the same. Theirs is a different kind of experience in dislocation.

Our story centres around four profiles: Two born-and-bred Hong Kongers, one expatriate, and a mainland Chinese migrant, each experiencing a personal crisis, such as to their livelihood.

I push them to think about what Hong Kong has given them, and what it has taken away. We hope their answers give you an idea why so many find it hard to quit a city that’s increasingly beyond their recognition.

When I start making a documentary, I often tell my profiles to share as if no one will watch it. In a world saturated with carefully curated projections of ourselves, this mindset helps us find that quiet, honest place in our hearts that isn’t burdened by worries of external perception.

But when I finish making a documentary, I do hope you will see it. Very few of us have the courage to confront our own decisions. By watching others do it, we might just learn something about ourselves too.

Wei Du

Producer/Director, Year Of Ren Yin

*The Chinese calendar Year of Ren Yin occurs once in 60 years, and it has often brought drastic changes for Hong Kong – such as in 1842, when China lost the Opium War and Hong Kong became a British colony. 2022 was, again, a Year of Ren Yin.