In more promising HKU news, the School of Chinese is also launching a new Master of Arts in Hong Kong Culture Studies. It is "the first postgraduate programme devoted to HK Cultural Studies, emphasizing humanities disciplines such as language, literature, cinema, media, and creative industries."

David Webb, a Hong Kong activist investor who campaigned for market transparency and democratic accountability, died on Tuesday aged 60, according to a statement posted on his social media. In full: buff.ly/1WFZY7N

Today, I submitted my PhD for examination. Across 1,206 days, innumerable individuals have supported me with conversations, archival access, interviews, funding, opportunities and supervision - I thank you all. Following viva and corrections, the final version should be available later this year.

Each new year brings a tranche of record openings at The National Archives. However, following reassessment in 2025, most of the files pertaining to the future of Hong Kong that had been scheduled for 1 Jan 2026 release have been given extended closure periods, all but one withheld until 2049. (1/3)

The ICO has issued an enforcement notice against the FCDO because of its persistently "unacceptable" delays in processing FOI requests and its failure to improve properly, despite the ICO's previous more limited interventions. Good - the FCDO's track record on FOI is terrible.

Delivered a guest lecture to students at @ucl.ac.uk based on my recent paper, ‘Hong Kong Colonial Government Migrated Archives at Hanslope Park’, published open access in @jich.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

"Today’s Budget was an opportunity for the government to offer further detail and clarity on the state and finances of the higher education sector, building on the recent White Paper." Read our response to the Autumn Budget in full: https://bit.ly/4rs7bCc

Two full PhD scholarships in Hong Kong history at the University of Bristol: www.hkhistory.net/2025/11/17/h...

I had the privilege of speaking to Points Media 棱角 about the 88,000 colonial-era Hong Kong Government files that remain withheld by the UK Government points-media.com/%e9%a6%99%e6... Based on my recent paper published open access in @jich.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/0308...

In today’s post, Matthew Hurst explores Hong Kong’s colonial history and ongoing challenges accessing archives. This post is written in conversation with two previous posts by June Chow.

Hong Kong diaspora communities are inhibited in accessing their city’s colonial history, I argue in my blog post for @activehist.bsky.social activehistory.ca/blog/2025/11... Based on my paper in @jich.bsky.social (open access) doi.org/10.1080/0308...

1,000+ views in less than 4 weeks! Delighted to see that my paper ‘Hong Kong Colonial Government Migrated Archives at Hanslope Park’ has reached over 1,000 views just 26 days after its publication. Published open access in @jich.bsky.social doi.org/10.1080/0308...

“What’s the Trump Administration’s End Game for the National Parks?” This and other stories—on succession questions in China, the accessibility of Hong Kong's colonial archives, an Indonesian national cookbook, and more—in today's Weekly Wanderings post.

In 2011 the British Government was forced to release tens of thousands of secretly held colonial documents from its archives. But 88,000 files on Britain's last colony remain withheld from the public. Matthew Hurst (@mrmhurst.bsky.social) on Hong Kong's colonial archive.

My piece for @historyworkshop.org.uk reflects on the politics of forgetting, detailing how Hong Kong’s displaced colonial archives have exiled memory to the metropole www.historyworkshop.org.uk/empire-decol... Based on my paper in @jich.bsky.social (open access) www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

“officials often destroyed or doctored countless files in an effort to uphold the Empire’s glorious image…. One former British colony has, however, remained absent from the literature: Hong Kong” - @mrmhurst.bsky.social @jich.bsky.social imperialglobalexeter.com/2025/10/16/d...

In my post for Imperial & Global Forum (@exeter.ac.uk), I compare how different colonial governments handled records towards the end of the British Empire imperialglobalexeter.com/2025/10/16/d... Based on my paper in 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 (OA) doi.org/10.1080/0308...

'Once they are made public, these Hong Kong records will be invaluable to historians of Hong Kong, China and the British Empire. This cannot come soon enough.'

This is a fascinating article, full of detail, for anyone interested in access to government records and processes for their preservation

Just released and #OpenAccess, have a read of the article 'Hong Kong Colonial Government Migrated Archives at Hanslope Park' by Matthew Hurst: doi.org/10.1080/0308...

Brilliant new research from York's @mrmhurst.bsky.social on the 88,000 Hong Kong colonial government records that remain at Hanslope Park, contributing new insights on how outgoing colonial officials handled records towards at end of the British Empire. #history www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

British colonial officials destroyed countless files before decolonisation. But one colony has been neglected by the literature: Hong Kong. My latest paper in @jich.bsky.social examines the past, present and future of Hong Kong colonial government migrated archives: doi.org/10.1080/0308...

Today’s post, by June Chow, explores the preservation of Chinese Canadian records at Library and Archives Canada. It is a sequel to a previous post by Chow published in March.

Brilliant to see York PhD student @mrmhurst.bsky.social win the @chinesestudies.bsky.social Early Career Researcher Prize last week for his work on the Hong Kong colonial government migrated archives at Hanslope Park - huge congrats Matthew!

Honoured to receive the British Association for Chinese Studies (BACS) 2025 Early Career Research Prize and present my paper as the ECR Keynote at this year’s BACS Conference. My paper examines the past, present and future of archives moved from Hong Kong to the UK

Always a pleasure to keep up-to-date with fellow @kelloggoxford.bsky.social alumni and to share my recent publications in 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦: www.kellogg.ox.ac.uk/latest/conne... More on 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺: hkupress.hku.hk/New_Doc_Hist... More on ‘Rethinking’: doi.org/10.1017/S008...

A delight to present my paper ‘Hong Kong Colonial Government Archives at Hanslope Park’ at the @york.ac.uk Asia Research Network annual conference today

Congratulations Matthew! 🎉 You can find out more about Matthew's research and work at the Archives Centre in this brilliant blog he wrote for us last year⬇️ www.chu.cam.ac.uk/news-and-eve...

Marking 𝟭,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 of my PhD, I'm thankful to... - My supervisors - Support from WRoCAH, UCCL, James Jarvis Memorial Bursary & BPCS - Editors/co-authors - My language tutor - @chuarchives.bsky.social, archivists & FOI assessors - Conference organisers and Oral History Collective And countless others

A delight to share some of my academic outputs and activities with my WRoCAH colleagues at our very last colloquium today

Delighted to receive my contributor’s copy of 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘰𝘯𝘨! hkupress.hku.hk/New_Doc_Hist...

Thank you to all who attended our book talk about 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘰𝘯𝘨, to our speakers Florence Mok, @adonismyli.bsky.social and @allanpang.bsky.social, and to David for support organising. More info: hkupress.hku.hk/New_Doc_Hist... (use 20CP2025 for 20% off until 21 May)

💭NEW BLOG💭 Trump’s erratic actions expose the flaws in assuming political leaders behave rationally, challenging political science to confront irrational decision-making, argue Matthew Hurst and Thomas Moore 📝: shorturl.at/PckzE

For @sperishefuni.bsky.social, Thomas Moore and I explore how the second presidency of Donald Trump requires us to rethink one of the most foundational theories in politics speri-blog.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/blog/abandon...

A project three years in the making: myself, Fung Chi Keung Charles and Florence Mok have written for @soasuni.bsky.social China Institute's blog about using recently released archives to revisit Hong Kong's colonial history for the book 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 blogs.soas.ac.uk/china-instit...

A few weeks until our 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘰𝘯𝘨! Hear from co-editor Florence Mok and contributors @adonismyli.bsky.social, @allanpang.bsky.social and me, followed by a roundtable chaired by David Clayton 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

“reestablishing truth in the historical narrative”

𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 re-examines 14 themes in Hong Kong's colonial past through lesser-used sources 20% off discount code extended to 21 May 2025 via the publisher's website hkupress.hku.hk/New_Doc_Hist... Upcoming book talk forms.gle/EMVeYP15HowB...

𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 Contributors to 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘰𝘯𝘨 Florence Mok @adonismyli.bsky.social @allanpang.bsky.social and myself will discuss re-examining Hong Kong's history using lesser-used sources for our new edited volume 𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿: forms.gle/nYMiKFgMRzmZ...

In 'Covert Colonialism', Florence Mok examines state–society relations in Hong Kong in the final decades of British rule. Using archival evidence, she explores how the colonial administration investigated Chinese political culture and how local social movements impacted policymaking.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 Add the discount code 20CP2025 at checkout to get 20% off your copy of 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘰𝘯𝘨 (valid until 24 March 2025) hkupress.hku.hk/New_Doc_Hist...

Our 14-chapter 𝘈 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘒 explores themes in colonial Hong Kong history including politics, economics and society through primary sources and images hkupress.hku.hk/New_Doc_Hist... Contributors on Bluesky @adonismyli.bsky.social @allanpang.bsky.social @viviankonghk.bsky.social

After teaching tutorials last semester, it was encouraging to read wholly positive comments from feedback forms including one student who warmly described me as their "favourite and so engaging"

On Monday we began a Starter Pack of societies and organisations (UK and international) for historians. Thanks to your recommendations and help, we've added another 40 societies and networks to the listing this week bsky.app/starter-pack... #Skystorians

Two of my co-authors, Daniel Laqua and Thomas Davies, describe the workshopping and co-writing process that went into this joint publication on ‘Rethinking Transnational Activism through Regional Perspectives’ blog.royalhistsoc.org/2024/12/12/r...

Great to see this co-authored paper given a print edition: vol. 2 pp. 317-343 in 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, the journal of the @royalhistsoc.bsky.social My thanks to the co-authors doi.org/10.1017/S008...

The Hong Kong government did not ask the top court to seek Beijing's interpretation of the Basic Law following its rulings on same-sex couples, authorities have said. In full: https://buff.ly/3Bms5gD

It’s a jolly day at TNA

My review of 𝘈 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘐𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘐𝘵, which uses natural language processing to analyse press freedom in Hong Kong, has been published by 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘧𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴: briefly, laudable intentions, unsurprising conclusions and questions over some assumptions/sources pacificaffairs.ubc.ca/book-reviews...

It was great to join a roundtable discussion about experiences of publishing papers in journals and edited collections for the History Department at @uniofyork.bsky.social www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... doi.org/10.1017/S008... link.springer.com/article/10.1...