Gursimran Hans

Throughout the history of the British Empire, men from the British Isles would travel to colonies to work in administrative positions and even the police. Hong Kong was one of those, with several of the recruits moving to the colony from Newmarket a town in County Cork in what is now the Republic of Ireland from the 1860s. In the summer of 2009, Patricia O’Sullivan’s 90-year-old aunt asked her to find what happened to her Uncle Murt in Gresson Street. From this point and looking at family histo

Colloquially known as the Little Red Book in the western world and widely distributed during Chairman Mao’s cultural revolution, Quotations from Mao Tse-tung is a collection of speeches and writings from the CCP leader published in the 1960s and 1970s. In Hong Kong, it is not that difficult to find, being available from several street vendors and some museums. The book was compiled by the People’s Liberation Army and distributed to delegates in 1964 before being expanded after feedback. By 19

I decided before I went out to HK, I would try to see a fair amount of football. I choose to provisionally pick Eastern as my Hong Kong club. This was because studying at HKBU, the closest top-flight ground to my room was Mong Kok Stadium. The two teams who played at the ground were Eastern and Kitchee. I plumped for Eastern as they were formerly managed by Bobby Moore and during the 1980s also possessed Alan Ball in their squad. Thus on my first Saturday in the former British colony, I decided

Book Review: The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang Purchased from a book store in Hong Kong International Airport, I read Iris Chang’s The Rape of Nanking in one sitting. The atrocities committed by Imperial Japanese troops in Nanking and throughout Asia are well known, but they were not in 1997 when Chang wrote this book. Indeed, it was one of the first books to make Western readers aware of the events that took place and indeed some in the East, due to Japanese nationalists denying the events t

How and why do attitudes to the Chinese Communist Party differ in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau? Hong Kong and Macau have similar but different political backgrounds, this has influenced how the two special administrative regions interact with the central government of the People’s Republic of China. These differences how their populations perceive the attempts of Beijing to have its sovereignty and interests fulfilled. Macau has often been praised by state-run media

Lantau Tomorrow: The environment will pay the price for the government's unnecessary plans Hong Kong has a plan to tackle the need for housing. In her most recent policy address, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a plan to reclaim 1,700 hectares of new land around Lantau to create a new economic and housing hub to alleviate pressures on Hong Kong’s economy from its’ growing and ageing population. The plan is likely to cost in the region of $500,000,000 HKD, which is around 64 million in US

In 1987, the Cricket World Cup left for England for the first time. This edition was held on the subcontinent with defending champions India co-hosting with Pakistan. At this point in one day cricket’s development, 50 overs had become the standard for international cricket, so the World Cup which had traditionally been 60 overs each innings was no down to his present 50 over format. With South Africa still banned from international cricket, the seven Test-playing nations at the time where join

In 1987, the Cricket World Cup left for England for the first time. This edition was held on the subcontinent with defending champions India co-hosting with Pakistan. At this point in one day cricket’s development, 50 overs had become the standard for international cricket, so the World Cup which had traditionally been 60 overs each innings was no down to his present 50 over format. With South Africa still banned from international cricket, the seven Test-playing nations at the time where join

Ross Kemp: Gangs II follows parts of Season Three and Season Four of Sky One’s documentary series Ross Kemp on Gangs. Kemp, who had shot to prominence for his role as Grant Mitchell on Eastenders during the 1990s begun his career as an investigative journalist in 2004 with the filming of Gangs. The Essex born Kemp would write books about his experiences filming the documentaries and the second book delves into the episodes focusing on Colombian sicarios and paramilitaries, Polish football hool

Sunderland ’Til I Die is an eight-part Netflix series charting the story of Sunderland AFC’s ill-fated 2017–18 campaign. The season before saw the end of a ten-year stint in the English top flight, whilst in previous years the likes of Roy Keane, Ricky Sbragia, Steve Bruce, Martin O’Neill, Paolo di Canio, Gus Poyet, Dick Advocaat and Sam Allardyce had been able to keep Sunderland just about safe, David Moyes was unable to succeed in what was always an uphill struggle. So, in comes Simon Grayso

The aim of this study is to determine the credibility of five different articles on the land reclamation policy announced by Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, during the Annual Policy Address on 10th October 2018. Lam announced the Hong Kong Government was to pursue the reclamation of land in Lantau to ease Hong Kong’s housing crisis. The policy was met with a fair degree of concern over cost, environmental concerns and debate over effectiveness. By credibility, we aim to determine how

Albert Camus’s The Fall tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Clamance, a former Parisian lawyer staying in Amsterdam, who is very similar to the characters of Meursault in prior Camus novels, only he is on a nuclear scale. Clamance bumps into someone in the bar one night, the reader and recounts his story. First published in 1956 and totalling under 100 pages, Clamance has lived the high-life and tasted all sorts of physical pleasure but metaphysically it’s a different story. Feeling empty and ful

The third instalment of the Cricket World Cup saw the West Indies attempt to win a third consecutive world championship at Lord’s. England would host the tournament once more — but with an increased number of venues. The six grounds that had hosted matches in 1975 and 1979 all hosted three matches each but County Grounds in Derby, Bristol, Taunton, Chelmsford, and Southampton, as well as St. Helen’s, Grace Road, Nevill Road and New Road, would all host one game each. England, of course, qualif

Controversy surrounds Wayne Rooney’s recall for a farewell appearance for England against the United States. However, international farewells and testimonials are not completely unheard of. Whilst Paolo Maldini turned down the opportunity to play for Italy in a friendly against Northern Ireland as he approached retirement and David Beckham famously said he would never retire from England after suggestions England’s November 2010 friendly against France would be his farewell, they have become in

The 17th October will mark a day of lobbying for colleges, organised by the Association of Colleges (AoC). So what exactly can you expect? Education unions are organising a march on the Houses of Parliament from Pall Mall. Principals, staff and students are expected to arrive in Westminster from 10am and the Methodist Central Hall for registration with the march expected to begin at 1230. This is likely to be followed by speeches and meetings with MPs. AoC staff will spend the latter part o

Translated into 37 languages, Wild Swans tells the story of 20th Century China from the last days of Imperial China to the Japanese Occupation, Civil War, Revolution and post Mao era. Jung Chang narrates the biographies of her grandmother, Yu-fang, her mother Bao Qin and herslef. It begins with the tale of how Yu-fang was married off as a concubine to a high ranking general, and eventually married a doctor in Manchuria. Bao Qin joins the Communist Party at the age of 15 and eventually meets W

Over the years, several cricketers have captured the imagination of the public. In this article, I list my personal cricket World XI based on players who played the game when I was most in tune with the going-ons of the game. They are several top players who just missed the cut and perhaps on another day I would choose differently. Ali Cook faces the first ball of the game. England’s all time leading Test run scorer, Cook burst on the scene in 2006 recording a half-century and a century in hi

Cricket is one of the world’s oldest sports and one steeped in tradition and heritage. Hundreds of grounds have hosted international and domestic cricket at the top level of the game but a select few stand out among the rest as being the most iconic. From vibrant colour to historical moments, I’ve picked out 16 of the most iconic in the world. Located on one of the most important ports in the West Indies, St. John’s is noted for its’ hard and dry pitch which favours batsmen. Several of the W

The second installment of the World Cup may have seemed liked Déjà vu. The format of the tournament was unchanged from the previous installment in 1975 and it was once again hosted by England using the same six grounds as before. England as hosts automatically qualified alongside fellow Test nations Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan and New Zealand. South Africa were still under a sporting boycott at the time. Prior to the tournament which began on the 9th June, England also hosted the

English sports fans don’t have to wait that long for one of the nation’s favourite games to come home. In May 2019, England will host the Cricket World Cup. In this new series, I’m going through the history of every single Cricket World Cup to date. Despite the sport having a long history dating back centuries, its premier world championship is just 43 years old. This comes from the fact One-Day Internationals are still a young invention with the first 130-odd years of international cricket be