HKHC Speakers Series: Dr. John D. Wong, University of Hong Kong

Date and Time: 3 May 2023 (Wednesday), 4-5:30pm

Venue: 4F2, Priory Road Complex, University of Bristol

Book Talk: Hong Kong Takes Flight: Commercial Aviation and the Making of a Global Hub, 1930s–1998

Commercial aviation took shape in Hong Kong as the city developed into a powerful economy. Rather than accepting air travel as an inevitability in the era of global mobility, John Wong argues that Hong Kong’s development into a regional and global airline hub was not preordained. By underscoring the shifting process through which this hub emerged, Hong Kong Takes Flight aims to describe globalization and global networks in the making.

Viewing the globalization of the city through the prism of its airline industry, Wong examines how policymakers and businesses asserted themselves against international partners and competitors in a bid to accrue socioeconomic benefits, negotiated their interests in Hong Kong’s economic success, and articulated their expressions of modernity.

Dr. John D. Wong is Associate Professor at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, The University of Hong Kong.

This event will be held in-person at the University of Bristol. Please register for the event in advance on Eventbrite. If you have any questions, please email hkhistory-project@bristol.ac.uk.

Venue Directions: Room 4F2 is in the Priory Road Complex. Enter via 8 Woodland Rd at the Priory Rd Lecture Theatre entrance. Turn left and take the door on the left of the lift to gain access to the stairs to the 4th floor. Room 4F2 is along the corridor and second room on the left.