Identity and Place: the testament of designated heritage in Hong Kong

This paper examines the extent to which the identity of Hong Kong as a place, and of the Hong Kong Chinese as people, is expressed by the official heritage locations (the seventy-five Declared Monuments) designated by Hong Kong's Antiquities and Monuments Office. The discussion takes account of other heritage initiatives, in particular two recent monuments that commemorate the 1997 Handover of Hong Kong to China. Conclusions are that designated heritage in Hong Kong, more by chance than by deliberate strategy, reflects significant elements of the identities of the Hong Kong people and of Hong Kong as a place. However, more important to the Hong Kong Chinese person's sense of identity than built heritage are the bonds of kin and associated social events.     

North Korea’s participation in the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights

North Korea’s participation in the UNHRC’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR)—a peer review in which states make recommendations to one another for improving human rights implementation—is a notable exception to its rejection of other human rights mechanisms. What explains North Korea’s willing participation in the UPR? This essay analyses North Korea’s participation in the first (2008–11) and second (2012–15) UPR cycles through its written submissions, responses to recommendations, and recommendations to other states. It finds that North Korea has consistently accepted weak recommendations, rejected more specific policy changes, and implemented accepted recommendations on a limited basis, allowing it to claim compliance with human rights at minimal cost. The UPR’s reliance on states’ self-reports and its inability to adjudicate competing factual claims allow North Korea to reject claims of egregious abuses, openly advocate for a radically state-centric vision of human rights, and challenge the legitimacy of human rights mechanisms like the Commission of Inquiry and Special Rapporteur while building support from other states with similar views. Notably, the Commission of Inquiry appears to have motivated North Korea to increase its cooperation with the UPR, demonstrating that the UPR complements but cannot replace other UN human rights mechanisms.     

A Dynamic Spatial Weight Matrix and Localized Space–Time Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average for Network Modeling

Various statistical model specifications for describing spatiotemporal processes have been proposed over the years, including the space–time autoregressive integrated moving average (STARIMA) and its various extensions. These model specifications assume that the correlation in data can be adequately described by parameters that are globally fixed spatially and/or temporally. They are inadequate for cases in which the correlations among data are dynamic and heterogeneous, such as network data. The aim of this article is to describe autocorrelation in network data with a dynamic spatial weight matrix and a localized STARIMA model that captures the autocorrelation locally (heterogeneity) and dynamically (nonstationarity). The specification is tested with traffic data collected for central London. The result shows that the performance of estimation and prediction is improved compared with standard STARIMA models that are widely used for space–time modeling. En los últimos años, se han propuesto diversas especificaciones de modelado estadístico para describir procesos espacio‐temporales. Esto incluye el modelo espacio‐temporal autorregresivo integrado de media móvil (STARIMA) y sus varios derivados. Estas especificaciones de modelo asumen que la correlación de los datos puede ser adecuadamente descrita por parámetros que se fijan a nivel global en el espacio y/o tiempo. Dichos parámetros son inadecuados para los casos en los que las correlaciones entre los datos son dinámicas y heterogéneas, como en el contexto de los datos de la red. El objetivo de este artículo es describir la autocorrelación en los datos de red con una matriz de ponderación espacial dinámica y un modelo STARIMA localizado (LSTARIMA) que captura la autocorrelación local (heterogeneidad) de forma dinámica (no estacionariedad). La especificación del modelo es evaluada con datos de tráfico recolectados en el centro de Londres. Los resultados demuestran que los rendimientos de estimación y predicción mejoran con el método propuesto en comparación con los modelos STARIMA estándar que son ampliamente utilizados para el modelado de espacio‐temporal. 通过设定多种统计模型来描述地理时空过程已提出多年,包括时空自回归移动平均(STARIMA)及其变形。此类模型通过假设数据相关性可由在时间域或者空间域上全局不变的参数加以充分描述。因此,上述模型不适用于具有动态或异质相关性的数据,如网络数据。本文试图采用一个动态空间权重矩阵与局部时空自回归移动平均(LSTARIMA)模型来描述数据的自相关程度,以此捕捉局域自相关(异质性)和动态自相关(非平稳性)。以伦敦市中心的交通数据作为模型的实证案例的测试结果显示,相对于广泛应用于时空过程分析的标准STARIMA模型,本文的模型在参数估计和预测性能上均有提升。     

Exploring creative class mobility: Hong Kong creative workers in Shanghai and Beijing

In 2008 a controversial essay was published in Hong Kong drawing attention to the increasing number of local creative workers who have allegedly responded to the limitations the city had to wrestle with and the opportunities brought forward by the “Rise of China” – they moved northwards. Taking cues from the mainland China–Hong Kong dynamics, this inquiry zooms in on 12 Hong Kong creative workers who have relocated to Shanghai and Beijing during the last 20 years. It supplements existing scholarship on creative class mobility, which is largely configured by concerns with work situations and place attractiveness and is situated in cities in Europe, the United States, and Australia. It does so in two ways. On the one hand, the empirical evidence delivered by this inquiry aligns with studies pointing to the limitation of Florida’s creative class thesis and wonders if “cool places” are indeed attracting talents. On the other hand, it is inadequate to posit that creative workers move only because of place or only because of work. It builds on the complexities of their subjective accounts to propose to include four dimensions – the geopolitical, the intersectional, the contingent, and the circuitous – to future explorations on creative class mobility.     

Covert and Overt Activism: Christianity in 1950s Coastal China

The phenomenal growth of Catholic and Protestant churches-both officially-registered Three-Self patriotic churches and unofficial house churches-in China has drawn attention to the underlying dynamics of Chinese Christianity.This article draws on archival research and ethnographic findings to investigate the interactions between the officials and Christians in the coastal regions of Shantou (Guangdong province) and Wenzhou (Zhejiang province) during the 1950s and 1960s.The Chaozhou-speaking Catholics,Baptists and Presbyterians in Shantou succeeded in transcending sectarian boundaries and helped each other to cope with political pressure.The Seventh-day Adventists in Wenzhou did likewise by organizing clandestine house gatherings with other Protestants.They held onto their faith,continued their worship activities on Saturday,and maintained a distinct,though not independent,identity under the broad spectrum of Protestantism.These local stories show that as a collective force,Chinese Christians not only employed a variety of tactics to help each other but also reinvented congregational,kinship and cross-regional networks as conduits for pursuing religious goals.Their covert and overt activism highlight the need to combine archival research and fieldwork to assess the revival of Christianity in present-day China.     

Atmospheric deterioration of Qin brick in an environmental chamber at Emperor Qin's Terracotta Museum, China

Potential mechanisms for the changing appearance of Qin terracotta was evaluated on simulated bricks with, SO₂, NH₃, O₃, and a NH₃/O₃ mixture for total dosages of 2.2–5.4 ppm-years. Changes in the surface composition and appearance were evaluated with scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM–EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). No observable changes with O₃ exposure were found. Sulfate as sulfur and ammonium as nitrogen increased by 1.2 at% and 0.8 at% of the surface deposit as determined by XPS. O₃ did not have a detectable effect by itself, but when combined with NH₃, NO₃ as nitrogen increased by 1.5 at%, indicating a strong oxidation of NH₃ to nitric acid. The combination of outdoor O₃ infiltration with indoor NH₃, presumably from the visitors, appears to have a greater potential for damage than either pollutant by itself. SEM–EDX mapping of the surface showed sulfur associated with calcium and magnesium compounds after SO₂ exposure, but not before. More detailed microscopic examination showed this primarily in the form of gypsum, especially near cracks and pits in the surface. Both of these mechanisms are probably among the causes of changes in terracotta appearances since they were unearthed in 1974.