About the Author

Carissa Ma

E-Mail: mam@fau.edu

Carissa Ma is an Assistant Professor of Anglophone Literature at Florida Atlantic University. Her research focuses on the politics of representation, affect, and emotion in speculative fiction, particularly Asian Futurisms. Her work aims to uncover new avenues of transformation by engaging with the past and envisioning alternative futures. Her scholarship has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, Science Fiction Studies, Printing Culture, Cultural Studies, and Oxford Research in English.

Contributions by Author: Carissa Ma

Issue 19
Hong Kong protests
disability metaphors
neoliberal developmentalism
crip critique
surrealist short stories

Rethinking the Good Life

A Crip Critique of Hon Lai-chu’s Surrealist Short Stories

On July 1, 2022, President Xi inaugurated Hong Kong’s new Chief Executive, John Lee, marking the 25th anniversary of the territory’s return to Chinese rule. The handover was supposed to guarantee autonomy and civil liberties for 50 years, but critics argue these freedoms have diminished since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020 following mass protests. In recent years, the city’s education curriculum has grown increasingly pro-China, and election laws were altered to exclude opposition lawmakers. ‘Development’ and ‘overcoming/restoration’ were the key themes of the day. In his keynote address, Xi spoke in detail about the social unrest of the preceding few years. “There is extensive consensus that no time should be lost in Hong Kong’s development and that all interference should be removed so that Hong Kong can stay focused on development,” Xi added. In remarks preceding Xi’s, Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee named three significant protests between 2014 and 2019, and said that “the full support of central authorities” contributed to Hong Kong’s ability to overcome challenges. Lee added that the implementation of the National Security Law and electoral system changes were part of Hong Kong restoring […]