Sharon Yam
@sharonyamsy.bsky.social
Diasporic HongKonger. Rhetoric professor at the University of Kentucky
Teacher, writer, and book author on feminism, repro justice, and social movements
Bylines in NYT, Foreign Policy, and more
Books: Inconvenient Strangers; Doing Gender Justice
Teacher, writer, and book author on feminism, repro justice, and social movements
Bylines in NYT, Foreign Policy, and more
Books: Inconvenient Strangers; Doing Gender Justice
Pinned
Sharon Yam
@sharonyamsy.bsky.social
· Jan 31
🧵Grassroots tactics Hongkongers used during the 2019 protest that may come in handy now:
1. Privacy and security: Use apps like Signal, Telegram, and Jitsi. In semi-public organizing chats, develop a protocol to suss out infiltrators from the government.
1. Privacy and security: Use apps like Signal, Telegram, and Jitsi. In semi-public organizing chats, develop a protocol to suss out infiltrators from the government.
This week we grappled with the controversy of 紅姐 and the debate on same-sex marriage in Hong Kong to think through gender, sex, and desire in a repressive regime.
@samuelchan.bsky.social
youtu.be/3crPGuPtpcg?...
@samuelchan.bsky.social
youtu.be/3crPGuPtpcg?...
EP9 「來都來了」談情說性講紅姐 [2025.08.04]
YouTube video by 新手上路 On the Road
youtu.be
August 4, 2025 at 12:24 PM
This week we grappled with the controversy of 紅姐 and the debate on same-sex marriage in Hong Kong to think through gender, sex, and desire in a repressive regime.
@samuelchan.bsky.social
youtu.be/3crPGuPtpcg?...
@samuelchan.bsky.social
youtu.be/3crPGuPtpcg?...
Congratulations @radicalcatalyst.bsky.social for publishing their first issue! Immensely grateful that the editor includes my poem "So You Want to be a Colonizer" as the very first piece.
Read it here: radicalcatalystjournal.org/issue1_1.html
Read it here: radicalcatalystjournal.org/issue1_1.html
July 30, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Congratulations @radicalcatalyst.bsky.social for publishing their first issue! Immensely grateful that the editor includes my poem "So You Want to be a Colonizer" as the very first piece.
Read it here: radicalcatalystjournal.org/issue1_1.html
Read it here: radicalcatalystjournal.org/issue1_1.html
I joined @kennedywong.bsky.social and @samuelchan.bsky.social on a podcast by and for HKers. In this episode, we talked about the unique loneliness of diasporic/displaced people in feeling like "affect aliens."
open.spotify.com/episode/6IPt...
open.spotify.com/episode/6IPt...
EP8 情感異鄉人 [2025.07.28]
For Example 一個政治不正確的香港DEI Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
July 28, 2025 at 12:07 PM
I joined @kennedywong.bsky.social and @samuelchan.bsky.social on a podcast by and for HKers. In this episode, we talked about the unique loneliness of diasporic/displaced people in feeling like "affect aliens."
open.spotify.com/episode/6IPt...
open.spotify.com/episode/6IPt...
Reposted by Sharon Yam
Looks like China Labour Bulletin data has a full backup!
Amazing work of preservation.
Amazing work of preservation.
osf.io/ajw37/?view_... strike map data
Labour Exploitation study: Data and Report Backup for China Labour Bulletin
On the 12th June of 2025, an NGO in Hong Kong stopped its operation. This organization focuses on the labor rights in China. This project aims to preserve its data and reports, for my further study.
...
osf.io
June 13, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Looks like China Labour Bulletin data has a full backup!
Amazing work of preservation.
Amazing work of preservation.
6 years later, Hong Kong protests and repression are back on the radar.
Authoritarians across the world think and act alike.
open.spotify.com/episode/0KaV...
Authoritarians across the world think and act alike.
open.spotify.com/episode/0KaV...
When the government wants your socials
Endless Thread · Episode
open.spotify.com
June 13, 2025 at 3:20 PM
6 years later, Hong Kong protests and repression are back on the radar.
Authoritarians across the world think and act alike.
open.spotify.com/episode/0KaV...
Authoritarians across the world think and act alike.
open.spotify.com/episode/0KaV...
I try to live by a few straightforward principles in times of upheaval, when those in power try to confuse and daze us with endless cruelty. One of which is 擇善固執: choose what's good, and be stubborn about it.
June 12, 2025 at 1:24 PM
I try to live by a few straightforward principles in times of upheaval, when those in power try to confuse and daze us with endless cruelty. One of which is 擇善固執: choose what's good, and be stubborn about it.
Reposted by Sharon Yam
While not from the 12th June... this graffiti from two weeks later speaks to the awakening & realisation HKers had.
"It was you who taught me peaceful marches are useless.”
"It was you who taught me peaceful marches are useless.”
June 12, 2025 at 7:13 AM
While not from the 12th June... this graffiti from two weeks later speaks to the awakening & realisation HKers had.
"It was you who taught me peaceful marches are useless.”
"It was you who taught me peaceful marches are useless.”
Michael Lechuga: “The Mexican flag at this week’s protests is a symbol of resistance,” he said. “When ‘Mexicanness’ is the target of this administration, holding the object that’s seen as the quickest reference to it is rebellious.” #teamrhetoric www.huffpost.com/entry/mexica...
There’s Growing Anger Over Flags Flown At LA Protests. Here’s What Everyone Is Getting Wrong.
Who gets to tell oppressed people how to resist their oppression?
www.huffpost.com
June 11, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Michael Lechuga: “The Mexican flag at this week’s protests is a symbol of resistance,” he said. “When ‘Mexicanness’ is the target of this administration, holding the object that’s seen as the quickest reference to it is rebellious.” #teamrhetoric www.huffpost.com/entry/mexica...
Reposted by Sharon Yam
Avoid the violence/nonviolence debate. It’s a trap.
The only thing that matters is what actions lead to more justice and less harm.
Inaction and complicity in the face of brutal oppression is the worst form of violence. Never forget it.
The only thing that matters is what actions lead to more justice and less harm.
Inaction and complicity in the face of brutal oppression is the worst form of violence. Never forget it.
June 10, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Avoid the violence/nonviolence debate. It’s a trap.
The only thing that matters is what actions lead to more justice and less harm.
Inaction and complicity in the face of brutal oppression is the worst form of violence. Never forget it.
The only thing that matters is what actions lead to more justice and less harm.
Inaction and complicity in the face of brutal oppression is the worst form of violence. Never forget it.
Debates on whether anti-ICE protesters should be waving the American flag center so much optics. But what we really need to ask is: who gets to write the dominant narrative about the uprising? Whose and what narratives get traction, and why?
June 10, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Debates on whether anti-ICE protesters should be waving the American flag center so much optics. But what we really need to ask is: who gets to write the dominant narrative about the uprising? Whose and what narratives get traction, and why?
Being an immigrant in the US, especially those of us who fled state violence back home, is like being a fresh kind of hell right now. To lose your home, safety, and potentially life over and over again.
June 10, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Being an immigrant in the US, especially those of us who fled state violence back home, is like being a fresh kind of hell right now. To lose your home, safety, and potentially life over and over again.
This weekend we saw thousands of people in LA and Minneapolis standing up against unchecked government power. Just like six years ago today, over a million Hongkongers took to the street calling for freedom.
Never underestimate the will and rage of the people.
Never underestimate the will and rage of the people.
June 9, 2025 at 12:25 PM
This weekend we saw thousands of people in LA and Minneapolis standing up against unchecked government power. Just like six years ago today, over a million Hongkongers took to the street calling for freedom.
Never underestimate the will and rage of the people.
Never underestimate the will and rage of the people.
Reposted by Sharon Yam
[𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖] @sharonyamsy.bsky.social on @jwassers.bsky.social’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑘 𝑇𝑒𝑎 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (@columbiagr.bsky.social): "Wasserstrom is interested in the quiet resilience embodied by youth activists as they resist authoritarianism & cultivate cross-border solidarity."
⧉ chajournal.blog/2025/05/28/m...
⧉ chajournal.blog/2025/05/28/m...
May 28, 2025 at 7:58 AM
[𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖] @sharonyamsy.bsky.social on @jwassers.bsky.social’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑘 𝑇𝑒𝑎 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (@columbiagr.bsky.social): "Wasserstrom is interested in the quiet resilience embodied by youth activists as they resist authoritarianism & cultivate cross-border solidarity."
⧉ chajournal.blog/2025/05/28/m...
⧉ chajournal.blog/2025/05/28/m...
Reposted by Sharon Yam
I don't read a lot of book reviews... but @sharonyamsy.bsky.social reviewing @jwassers.bsky.social upcoming book "𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑘 𝑇𝑒𝑎 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒” in @asiancha.bsky.social ... seemed kinda in my wheelhouse & is worth a read as it gives a good taste & draws out some key points in it.
[REVIEW] “The Courage to Dream and Defy: Review of Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑘 𝑇𝑒𝑎 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒” by Shui-yin Sharon Yam
📁 RETURN TO FIRST IMPRESSIONS📁RETURN TO CHA REVIEW OF BOOKS AND FILMS Jeffrey Wasserstrom, The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia’s Struggle against Autocracy and Beijing, Columbia Global Reports, 2025…
chajournal.blog
May 28, 2025 at 10:51 AM
I don't read a lot of book reviews... but @sharonyamsy.bsky.social reviewing @jwassers.bsky.social upcoming book "𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑘 𝑇𝑒𝑎 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒” in @asiancha.bsky.social ... seemed kinda in my wheelhouse & is worth a read as it gives a good taste & draws out some key points in it.
My interview with Mari on her new book is now out! It was a beautiful conversation about queer(ing) families for a more livable joyous world. newbooksnetwork.com/queering-fam...
Tamara Lea Spira, "Queering Families: Reproductive Justice in Precarious Times" (U California Press, 2025) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
May 19, 2025 at 1:35 PM
My interview with Mari on her new book is now out! It was a beautiful conversation about queer(ing) families for a more livable joyous world. newbooksnetwork.com/queering-fam...
My new article on multispecies justice and rhetoric just dropped! I focused on wild boar activism in Hong Kong to argue for cross-species solidarity. #TeamRhetoric www.tandfonline.com/eprint/GU2HC...
Toward a Rhetoric of Multispecies Justice
Situated in the intersection of rhetoric and critical animal studies, this article advances a multispeciecs approach to rhetoric. A rhetoric of multispecies justice, I argue, facilitates just futur...
www.tandfonline.com
April 28, 2025 at 6:14 PM
My new article on multispecies justice and rhetoric just dropped! I focused on wild boar activism in Hong Kong to argue for cross-species solidarity. #TeamRhetoric www.tandfonline.com/eprint/GU2HC...
Reposted by Sharon Yam
“One young man sobbed when a guard pushed him to the floor. He said, ‘I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a barber.’ I believed him. *** He “began to whimper,” as his head was roughly shaved, “folding his hands in prayer as his hair fell.” He “asked for his mother & cried as he was slapped again.”
What the Venezuelans Deported to El Salvador Experienced
Exclusive photos of the arrival of Venezuelan detainees deported from the U.S.
time.com
March 22, 2025 at 8:52 PM
“One young man sobbed when a guard pushed him to the floor. He said, ‘I’m not a gang member. I’m gay. I’m a barber.’ I believed him. *** He “began to whimper,” as his head was roughly shaved, “folding his hands in prayer as his hair fell.” He “asked for his mother & cried as he was slapped again.”
What shocking to me is how many US citizens found this surprising, that agents can take and go through your phone.
Aliens (whoever isn't a citizen is legally an 👽) always know how much power border agents have. That's why borders, a liminal space where rights are suspended, are so dang scary.
Aliens (whoever isn't a citizen is legally an 👽) always know how much power border agents have. That's why borders, a liminal space where rights are suspended, are so dang scary.
French scientist denied US entry after officers find phone messages criticizing Trump
French scientist denied US entry after officers find phone messages criticizing Trump
France’s research minister said the scientist was traveling to Houston for a conference when his phone was searched
France’s research minister said a French scientist was denied entry to the US this month after immigration officers at an airport searched…
www.theguardian.com
March 20, 2025 at 11:56 AM
What shocking to me is how many US citizens found this surprising, that agents can take and go through your phone.
Aliens (whoever isn't a citizen is legally an 👽) always know how much power border agents have. That's why borders, a liminal space where rights are suspended, are so dang scary.
Aliens (whoever isn't a citizen is legally an 👽) always know how much power border agents have. That's why borders, a liminal space where rights are suspended, are so dang scary.
State sponsored genocides racism, immigration crackdown, and attacks on higher ed are always linked. And now we are very clearly seeing that connection.
March 20, 2025 at 11:53 AM
State sponsored genocides racism, immigration crackdown, and attacks on higher ed are always linked. And now we are very clearly seeing that connection.
Reposted by Sharon Yam
Rubio’s position seems to be:
- We get to say who is a terrorist. Our decision is final. It can’t be challenged. Just trust us.
- Once we decide you are a terrorist, we can immediately deport you. No judges.
- After we deport you, we can make you rot in a foreign prison. No criminal charges needed.
- We get to say who is a terrorist. Our decision is final. It can’t be challenged. Just trust us.
- Once we decide you are a terrorist, we can immediately deport you. No judges.
- After we deport you, we can make you rot in a foreign prison. No criminal charges needed.
On Hugh Hewitt’s show, Marco Rubio says El Salvador is “housing” people sent by the US. But he never says on what possible legal authority? These people haven’t committed any crime in El Salvador and by their own admission “many” have never committed a crime in the US. It all seems entirely lawless.
March 20, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Rubio’s position seems to be:
- We get to say who is a terrorist. Our decision is final. It can’t be challenged. Just trust us.
- Once we decide you are a terrorist, we can immediately deport you. No judges.
- After we deport you, we can make you rot in a foreign prison. No criminal charges needed.
- We get to say who is a terrorist. Our decision is final. It can’t be challenged. Just trust us.
- Once we decide you are a terrorist, we can immediately deport you. No judges.
- After we deport you, we can make you rot in a foreign prison. No criminal charges needed.
Authoritarianism is a transnational networked enterprise: Hong Kong journalists who worked for @radiofreeasiapr.bsky.social face not just unemployment, but persecution by the HK gov for the human rights reporting they did.
March 17, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Authoritarianism is a transnational networked enterprise: Hong Kong journalists who worked for @radiofreeasiapr.bsky.social face not just unemployment, but persecution by the HK gov for the human rights reporting they did.
This world is so darn much sometimes. While in the US we witness the kidnapping and silencing of pro-Palestine activists here and suppression of speech, a social worker in Hong Kong was sentenced for rioting because she dared urge cops to keep their cool and not open fire at unarmed people.
March 11, 2025 at 10:44 PM
This world is so darn much sometimes. While in the US we witness the kidnapping and silencing of pro-Palestine activists here and suppression of speech, a social worker in Hong Kong was sentenced for rioting because she dared urge cops to keep their cool and not open fire at unarmed people.
Pronatalist policies like this encourage only people the gov seems "good" to have children. Case in point: Single fertile women in HK still cannot legally use their own eggs in IVF.
Eligible HK residents receiving assisted reproductive services will enjoy a tax deduction up to HK$17,000 in the coming financial year, the government has announced.
In full: buff.ly/4ijatlF
In full: buff.ly/4ijatlF
Eligible HK residents receiving assisted reproductive services to enjoy tax deduction
Eligible HK residents receiving assisted reproductive services will enjoy a tax deduction up to HK$17,000 in the coming financial year, the government has announced.
buff.ly
February 28, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Pronatalist policies like this encourage only people the gov seems "good" to have children. Case in point: Single fertile women in HK still cannot legally use their own eggs in IVF.
My alma mater is one of the latest schools to pause PhD admissions from all depts due to the NIH shortfall. This will have immense consequences on the future of research and higher ed www.wesa.fm/health-scien...
The University of Pittsburgh pauses its Ph.D. admissions process amid research funding uncertainty
A spokesperson for the University told WESA Friday that the school has "temporarily paused additional Ph.D. offers of admission," while Pitt works to understand how proposed federal funding cuts could...
www.wesa.fm
February 22, 2025 at 4:05 PM
My alma mater is one of the latest schools to pause PhD admissions from all depts due to the NIH shortfall. This will have immense consequences on the future of research and higher ed www.wesa.fm/health-scien...