Cyberpunk Dystopias in Real Time: Hong Kong #cyberpunk

As any fan of cyberpunk fiction is undoubtedly aware, the tech-saturated, semi-autonomous city of Hong Kong was a significant inspiration to first-wave cyberpunk authors.

Here is Hong Kong today. In this series of dramatic, disturbing photos, taken of the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill protests last year by French photographer Rémy Soubanère, show a dystopian HK that even the original cyberpunk Fab 4 (Gibson, Sterling, Shirley, Rucker) might not have been able to imagine.

View this post on Instagram

Hong Kong, 2019 © Rémy Soubanère — From “Frontliners” photo series. This series shows “the braves” as the frontline demonstrators call themselves, police and all those who take part of these near everyday fights. — Full series at: http://remysoubanere.com/hk — Context. The 2019 Hong Kong protests, also known as Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement or Anti-ELAB Movement, are an ongoing series of demonstrations in Hong Kong, which began with the aim to oppose the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill proposed by the Hong Kong government. If enacted, the bill would allow local authorities to detain and extradite criminal fugitives who are wanted in territories with which Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements, including Taiwan and mainland China. People were concerned that the bill would subject Hong Kong citizens and visitors to the mainland Chinese jurisdiction, undermining the autonomy of the regionand its civil liberties. As the protests progressed, the protesters laid out five key demands, including over the alleged police misconduct and democratic reform which has stagnated since the 2014 Umbrella Revolution. The Chinese central government has stated it is “the worst crisis in Hong Kong” since the handover in 1997. — Prints at: [email protected] — #hongkongprotests #hongkong #hongkongprotest #standwithhongkong #documentary #photojournalism #hkprotest #nochinaextradition #hongkongprotests2019 #FreedomHKG #sonya7riii #capturestreets #teargas #protest #freedomhk #timeless_streets #hongkonger #humanistphotography #streetphotography #socialphotography #today_street #protest #reframinghk #capturehongkong #visualhongkong #reportagespotlight #antielabhk #antiextraditionlaw #revolutionofourtimes #photojournalism2020

A post shared by Rémy Soubanère (@remysoubanere) on Nov 21, 2019 at 5:56am PST

View this post on Instagram

Barricade Lovers, 2019 © Rémy Soubanère — From “Frontliners” photo series. This series shows “the braves” as the frontline demonstrators call themselves, police and all those who take part of these near everyday fights. — Full series at: http://remysoubanere.com/hk — Context. The 2019 Hong Kong protests, also known as Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement or Anti-ELAB Movement, are an ongoing series of demonstrations in Hong Kong, which began with the aim to oppose the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill proposed by the Hong Kong government. If enacted, the bill would allow local authorities to detain and extradite criminal fugitives who are wanted in territories with which Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements, including Taiwan and mainland China. People were concerned that the bill would subject Hong Kong citizens and visitors to the mainland Chinese jurisdiction, undermining the autonomy of the regionand its civil liberties. As the protests progressed, the protesters laid out five key demands, including over the alleged police misconduct and democratic reform which has stagnated since the 2014 Umbrella Revolution. The Chinese central government has stated it is “the worst crisis in Hong Kong” since the handover in 1997. — Prints at: [email protected] — #hongkongprotests #hongkong #hongkongprotest #standwithhongkong #standwithhk #反送中 #香港加油 #香港 #五大訴求缺一不可 #光復香港 #streetportrait #photodocumentary #humanistphotography #documentary #photojournalism #documentaryphotography #streetphotography #reportage #reportagephotography #socialphotography #today_street #hongkongers #reframinghk #capturehongkong #visualhongkong #reportagespotlight #antielabhk #antiextraditionlaw #revolutionofourtimes #photojournalism2020

A post shared by Rémy Soubanère (@remysoubanere) on Nov 28, 2019 at 5:49am PST

View this post on Instagram

Hong Kong, 2019 © Rémy Soubanère — From “Frontliners” photo series. This series shows “the braves” as the frontline demonstrators call themselves, police and all those who take part of these near everyday fights. — Full series at: http://remysoubanere.com/hk — Context. The 2019 Hong Kong protests, also known as Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement or Anti-ELAB Movement, are an ongoing series of demonstrations in Hong Kong, which began with the aim to oppose the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill proposed by the Hong Kong government. If enacted, the bill would allow local authorities to detain and extradite criminal fugitives who are wanted in territories with which Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements, including Taiwan and mainland China. People were concerned that the bill would subject Hong Kong citizens and visitors to the mainland Chinese jurisdiction, undermining the autonomy of the regionand its civil liberties. As the protests progressed, the protesters laid out five key demands, including over the alleged police misconduct and democratic reform which has stagnated since the 2014 Umbrella Revolution. The Chinese central government has stated it is “the worst crisis in Hong Kong” since the handover in 1997. — Prints at: [email protected] — #hongkongprotests #hongkong #hongkongprotest #standwithhongkong #freehk #portraitstream #反送中 #香港加油 #香港 #五大訴求缺一不可 #光復香港 #hongkongprotests2019 #resistHK #photodocumentary #humanistphotography #documentary #photojournalism #documentaryphotography #streetphotography #socialphotography #today_street #protest #reframinghk #capturehongkong #visualhongkong #human #antielabhk #antielab #antiextraditionlaw #revolutionofourtimes

A post shared by Rémy Soubanère (@remysoubanere) on Nov 23, 2019 at 4:55am PST

View this post on Instagram

Hong Kong, 2019 © Rémy Soubanère Aug 31st, Wan Chai, HK. — From “Frontliners” photo series. This series shows “the braves” as the frontline demonstrators call themselves, police and all those who take part of these near everyday fights. — Full series at: http://remysoubanere.com/hk — Context. The 2019 Hong Kong protests, also known as Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement or Anti-ELAB Movement, are an ongoing series of demonstrations in Hong Kong, which began with the aim to oppose the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill proposed by the Hong Kong government. If enacted, the bill would allow local authorities to detain and extradite criminal fugitives who are wanted in territories with which Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements, including Taiwan and mainland China. People were concerned that the bill would subject Hong Kong citizens and visitors to the mainland Chinese jurisdiction, undermining the autonomy of the regionand its civil liberties. As the protests progressed, the protesters laid out five key demands, including over the alleged police misconduct and democratic reform which has stagnated since the 2014 Umbrella Revolution. The Chinese central government has stated it is “the worst crisis in Hong Kong” since the handover in 1997. — Prints at: [email protected] — #hongkongprotests #hongkong #hongkongprotest #standwithhongkong #documentary #photojournalism #hkprotest #nochinaextradition #hongkongprotest2019 #FreedomHKG #sonya7riii #capturestreets #teargas #protest #freedomhk #timeless_streets #hongkonger #hkdaily #streetphotography #hongkongprotest #today_street #protest #reframinghk #capturehongkong #visualhongkong #documentary #antielabhk #antielab #antiextraditionlaw #revolutionofourtimes

A post shared by Rémy Soubanère (@remysoubanere) on Oct 10, 2019 at 4:34am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Hong Kong, 2019 © Rémy Soubanère — From “Frontliners” photo series. This series shows “the braves” as the frontline demonstrators call themselves, police and all those who take part of these near everyday fights. — Full series at: http://remysoubanere.com/hk — Context. The 2019 Hong Kong protests, also known as Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement or Anti-ELAB Movement, are an ongoing series of demonstrations in Hong Kong, which began with the aim to oppose the introduction of the Fugitive Offenders amendment bill proposed by the Hong Kong government. If enacted, the bill would allow local authorities to detain and extradite criminal fugitives who are wanted in territories with which Hong Kong does not have extradition agreements, including Taiwan and mainland China. People were concerned that the bill would subject Hong Kong citizens and visitors to the mainland Chinese jurisdiction, undermining the autonomy of the regionand its civil liberties. As the protests progressed, the protesters laid out five key demands, including over the alleged police misconduct and democratic reform which has stagnated since the 2014 Umbrella Revolution. The Chinese central government has stated it is “the worst crisis in Hong Kong” since the handover in 1997. — Prints at: [email protected] — #hongkongprotests #hongkong #hongkongprotest #standwithhongkong #documentary #photojournalism #hkprotest #nochinaextradition #hongkongprotest2019 #FreedomHKG #sonya7riii #capturestreets #teargas #protest #freedomhk #timeless_streets #hongkonger #hkdaily #streetphotography #hongkongprotest #today_street #protest #reframinghk #capturehongkong #visualhongkong #documentary #antielabhk #antielab #antiextraditionlaw #revolutionofourtimes

A post shared by Rémy Soubanère (@remysoubanere) on Nov 16, 2019 at 5:27am PST

See the complete series on Rémy’s website.

Here is the latest on the situation in Hong Kong.

Follow Adafruit’s History of Cyberpunk series.

June 26, 2020 AT 5:20 pm