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Mary Hui Profile picture
Mary Hui
@maryhui
Journalist & researcher covering industrial strategies. Formerly, @qz. Newsletter on the global industrial contest: https://t.co/jq7rmljcvH
Sep 9, 2024 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
Here's a story about Chinese industrial policy, chokepoint technologies, and ballpoint pens—and why industrial competitiveness isn't built on singular products, but entire systems.

Thread. Link to full article at the end. 1/11 Image In 2010, Chinese government advisors conducted research and found, to their dismay, that >90% of stainless steel ballpoint pen tips are imported. How could China build submarines & aircraft but not ballpoint pens, asked one advisor, a VP at a state-backed think tank. 2/11
Jun 25, 2021 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
Thread: a year into HK under the national security law, it's perhaps more accurate to describe it as a nat sec complex—a powerful, ever-growing parallel structure that subsumes & remoulds. Here's my attempt at capturing the authoritarian crackdown: qz.com/2012306/hong-k… Of the 113 people arrested by national security police to date, 61 have been charged. The overwhelming majority are charged for making political comments like posting on social media or writing an op-ed, or taking political action like running in an unofficial primary.
Mar 30, 2021 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
A profile of Gwyneth Ho, who livestreamed & was a victim of the HK protests' darkest moment: the Yuen Long attack. Now she faces life in jail. But her fascination w the human condition makes one of the best chroniclers of BJ's authoritarian assault on HK:
qz.com/1987247/a-jour… I spoke w Ho's close friends about her trajectory from journalist to activist to a jailed dissident to try and understand how her thinking on politics & social movements took shape. One described her "anthropologist's curiosity." And here's @BrianLeungKP:
Aug 17, 2020 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Unofficial statecraft & grassroots diplomacy has propelled Hong Kong into a global issue, discussed at the highest levels of governments. Here is the story of how HKers' int'l lobbying network leveraged protests into tangible political influence: qz.com/1885749/how-th… During the Cold War, HK was known as "Berlin of the East." Today, as a US-China Cold War takes hold, HK is again being compared to Berlin. "We are all HKers now" is the new "Ich bin ein Berliner." HK's protest movement has gone global. Read our guide: qz.com/guide/hong-kon…
Mar 31, 2020 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
Starting tomorrow (April 1) everyone taking public transportation in Taiwan must wear a mask. No mask = no boarding and no entry to stations, per @thenewslensintl: thenewslens.com/article/133197 City of Jena in eastern Germany has also mandated masks on public transit and when shopping: reuters.com/article/us-hea…
Dec 7, 2019 • 6 tweets • 4 min read
Finally swung by this toy shop in Wan Chai's Tai Yuen Street to see the miniature figures arranged in protest street scenes. The level of detail is engrossing. Love the journalist figurines, too—especially the female reporter at the MTR station entrance pointing a camera at a cop who's charging at her with a baton. One middle-aged customer just asked if there are mini bricks (owner said sadly not). "We want to throw bricks at the cops."
Nov 4, 2019 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
Dr. Michael Hamilton @LawOfProtest just gave a great talk on the freedom of assembly & protest policing—certainly a timely topic. Here are some brief notes I took: He identified four styles of protest policing. HK police are using all four, he said:
-Escalated force
-Negotiated management
-Strategic incapacitation (zoning, surveillance, info control)
-Command & control

"When you're in riot gear, everything looks like a riot."
Oct 2, 2019 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
A small crowd has gathered in Chater Garden in solidarity with the student protester who was shot by police with a live round yesterday afternoon. I expect the crowd to grow quickly. Much larger crowd now, with hands up in the air for five demands
Aug 15, 2019 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
More surreal-looking posters for the "please don't tear-gas our pets" rally this Saturday. You can't make this stuff up
Aug 14, 2019 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
A letter of apology from protesters to all travellers, shared on Telegram this morning. They're sorry for the disruptions & inconvenience at the airport, & incidents that may have "appeared aggressive." No direct acknowledgment of the assault against two Chinese men, however. This apology does acknowledge last night's incident, says their impulsive actions may have disappointed & saddened HKers. But they plead for understanding given context: an authoritarian regime's uses of undercover agents to incite protesters.
Aug 12, 2019 • 23 tweets • 7 min read
[Thread] Thousands have gathered @ HK airport to protest what many see as the horrific & excessive use of force by police yesterday. Cops disguised as protesters made violent arrests; tear gas & rubber bullets fired inside a train station; a beanbag round fired at a woman's eye There's a bottleneck to get down to the arrivals hall. Many are up on the departures level, chanting "Five demands, not one less!"
Jul 24, 2019 • 20 tweets • 7 min read
[Thread]: How is Cantonese a language of protest?

I had a ton of fun sharing some of my thoughts on this panel tonight (very aptly, in Cantonese—my first time doing public speaking in Canto). For those who couldn't make it, here's a digest. 1/ When I studied & worked in the US from 2013-2017, I missed Hong Kong a lot. One of the best ways to stay connected with home from half a world away was through speaking Cantonese. Even better was *swearing* in Cantonese. It gave me more bang for my buck, so to speak. 2/
Jul 23, 2019 • 40 tweets • 16 min read
Like the umbrella, the helmet has become Hong Kong protesters' tool, serving both functional and symbolic purposes. ☂️⛑️ In June, journalists donned helmets and neon vests to attend an indoor press conference hosted by the police in protest against the their excessive use of force against protesters and the press corps
Jun 12, 2019 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Thread: a snapshot of how civically-minded Hong Kong protesters are, as seen from how they organise materials & supplies. Below, makeshift signs say "Water for free. Help yourself." These two are holding up signs listing out items that are in "severe short supply": saline, gauze, surgical gloves, cotton, disinfectant, helmets, cling wrap, face masks—and "yourself."
Jun 12, 2019 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
There is usually never a line at the train ticketing machines. Judging from an overheard convo, it appears that people are reluctant to use their rechargeable Octopus cards for fear of leaving a paper trail of them having been present at the protest. "We're afraid of having our data tracked," one female protester told me.

She said that this ticket-buying was't as prevalent during the 2014 Umbrella Movement. Five years on, however, people are more wary & aware.