Activist T-shirt show reflects Hong Kong's public culture: Group head

Taipei, July 6 (CNA) T-shirts worn in past democratic movements and public events in Hong Kong reflect the city's evolving public culture and social history, the head of an academic association said at an exhibition highlighting Hong Kong T-shirts in Taipei on Sunday.

Chan Kin-man (陳健民), president of the Taiwan Society for Hong Kong Studies (TSHKS), said organizers of public events, marches, rallies and democratic movements made T-shirts of different colors, slogans and designs to express their messages, making them a distinctive feature of the city's public culture.

Most of the T-shirts on display at the exhibition are black, though some are white or brightly colored, reflecting the distinct characteristics of the various public issues and events they represent.

"Sometimes people felt angry and chose black. At other times they wanted to express hope and used white. There were even rainbow-colored designs, reflecting the different emotions and aspirations of the Hong Kongers taking part in social movements," Chan said.

Organized by the TSHKS in collaboration with Academia Sinica's Institute of Sociology, the exhibition is being held at the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum and runs until Aug. 16.

The show's organizers said they used T-shirts because they were a unique medium to showcase the transformation of Hong Kong's civil society and the history of its democratic movements from the late 1980s to the present.

Those who visit the show will get a sense of the city's distinct rally culture as seen through the T-shirts, which typically featured collective slogans and messages, Chan said.

That is in contrast to the clothes worn at similar events in Taiwan, where participants often have on vests bearing the names of politicians or political parties, according to Chan.

The T-shirts in the exhibition, which cover themes ranging from politics to environmental conservation and education, were donated by participants in various events, Chan said.

Many members of the public kept the T-shirts for years and were reluctant to throw them away. Some Hong Kong residents who have emigrated donated their collections, while others brought them to Taiwan in person after learning about the project.

"So this is an important part of Hong Kong people's lives and a collective memory," he said.

According to the organizers, the exhibition will move to Taichung and Tainan after its run in Taipei.