Top Page | English | 简体中文 | 繁體中文 | 한국어 | 日本語
Thursday, 14 July 2011, 16:40 HKT/SGT
Share:
    

Source: HKTDC
'The Opium War' Set to Reopen Debate
Julia Lovell's New Book to Launch at the Hong Kong Book Fair

HONG KONG, July 14, 2011 - (ACN Newswire) - The Opium War of 1839 to 1842 is being given a fresh viewing in a new book by British writer Julia Lovell. Titled The Opium War, the new account will be launched at the HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair, which runs 20-26 July.

"If you look at the reality of the war, pragmatism was a very important force in governments and interaction between the Chinese and the British," said Ms Lovell, who teaches modern Chinese history at Birkbeck College, University of London. "So it wasn't a clear-cut story of innocent Chinese on the one hand, and the British invaders on the other."

Ms Lovell's comments were made in a 4 July video interview available on the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's (HKTDC) webcast service at http://www.youtube.com/hktdc .

"But even if you look at the time, what's going on during the time of the war itself, the Chinese are supplying the British, they are navigating for the British, they are spying for the British, for a fee of course, so there is an extraordinary pragmatism," she said. "They don't necessarily feel the loyalty to the idea of the Chinese imperial centre or the emperor or anything else, they will go with where the smart money is. And the British couldn't have won the war without this assistance."

Ms Lovell said she has always wanted to go back to this episode in history, "and see whether things really were as black and white as the Chinese textbooks seem to say it was. What I wanted to try to do with this book is try to tell a tale of the Opium War which looked from both the Chinese and British perspectives."

- International Line-up -

Other British authors featured as part of the Book Fair include notable United Kingdom novelist and publisher Nicholas Coleridge, food writer Tom Parker Bowles, historian and broadcaster David Starkey, and controversial critic and essayist AA Gill.

UK poet Wendy Cope and author Justin Hill, who lives in Hong Kong, will also speak at the fair. Other notable authors taking part include Americans Ridley Pearson and Karl Taro Greenfeld, India's Tabish Khair and Hong Kong's own Xu Xi.

Organised by the HKTDC, the Hong Kong Book Fair celebrates its 22nd edition this year. The July fair will feature nearly 300 cultural events under the theme "Reading the World, Reading as Self-discovery."

- Related Links -

HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair: http://hkbookfair.hktdc.com/en/
HKTDC Webcast: http://www.hktdc.com/info/webcast/v/en/en/1X04B0EM


Contact:
HKTDC
Corporate Communication Department:
Parker Robinson
Tel: +852 2584 4341
Email: parker.robinson@hktdc.org


Topic: Trade Show or Conference
Source: HKTDC

Sectors: Trade Shows
http://www.acnnewswire.com
From the Asia Corporate News Network


Copyright © 2025 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.


HKTDC Links

http://www.hktdc.com

https://www.facebook.com/hktdc.hk

https://twitter.com/hktdc

https://www.youtube.com/user/HKTDC

https://www.linkedin.com/company/hong-kong-trade-development-council

HKTDC
July 3, 2025 16:29 HKT/SGT
UOB Hong Kong becomes first Singapore-based bank to sign MOU with HKTDC
June 24, 2025 19:03 HKT/SGT
35th HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair opens on 16 July
June 18, 2025 16:58 HKT/SGT
HKTDC Maintains 3% Export Growth Forecast
June 16, 2025 13:34 HKT/SGT
Viva Technology 2025: Hong Kong Tech Pavilion Empowers Startups to Expand into European Market
June 12, 2025 12:29 HKT/SGT
10 winners selected at 8th edition of Start-up Express
June 11, 2025 13:34 HKT/SGT
HKTDC Design Gallery x STICKYLINE present: "Love HK" Exhibition
June 9, 2025 19:30 HKT/SGT
New HKTDC Chairman Frederick Ma keen to promote Hong Kong as best partner for global enterprises
June 3, 2025 11:57 HKT/SGT
20 Start-ups Showcase at Hong Kong Tech Pavilion in VivaTech 2025
June 2, 2025 16:35 HKT/SGT
New HKTDC Chairman Professor Frederick Ma Si-Hang meets with management team
May 28, 2025 19:57 HKT/SGT
Asia Summit on Global Health and Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair Wrap Up Successfully
More news >>
 News Alerts
Copyright © 2025 ACN Newswire - Asia Corporate News Network
Home | About us | Services | Partners | Events | Login | Contact us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | RSS
US: +1 214 890 4418 | China: +86 181 2376 3721 | Hong Kong: +852 8192 4922 | Singapore: +65 6549 7068 | Tokyo: +81 3 6859 8575

Connect With us: