Duncan Ma The Making of Cold War Hong Kong: A Trans-national Cultural Geography Study of the Kai Tak Airport, 1945–1998
Duncan Ma’s research examines the formation of Cold War Hong Kong through the lens of Kai Tak Airport. In response to the ever-changing Cold War geopolitics, refurbishments on the Kai Tak Airport had been conducted since 1950s and was finally replaced by the one located in Chek Lap Kok, the current Hong Kong International Airport. This project narrates the Kai Tak Airport was not merely an urban infrastructure, but it will examine the Airport in pragmatic, imaginary, and experiential spaces throughout Hong Kong, East Asia, and the Global World.
With a special attention to cultural productions, it accesses Kai Tak Airport as a landmark. By deciphering the Kai Tak landscape iconography, it will form a better understanding toward the trans-national and cross-cultural dynamics that re-present the Cold War Hong Kong.