OpinionThinking About China

Tribute to Chan Kiu, Leading Figure of News Photography

‘I felt they were very miserable. I had already violated professional ethics. But in that situation, people were all compassionate,’ said Mr. Chan Kiu.
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Tribute to Chan Kiu, Leading Figure of News Photography
(L) Reporter Lo Yan-wai with photographer (R) Chan Kiu on May 15, 2013. Lo Yan-wai
Lo Yan-wai
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In the heart of Hong Kong’s bustling metropolis, there existed a silent observer whose lens captured the essence of a city in flux. Chan Kiu (1927-2024), a photojournalist luminary, passed away recently, leaving behind a legacy etched in silver halide and pixels.

Lo Yan-wai is a veteran journalist in Hongkong and director of the documentary “Vanished Archives.” The documentary recalled the 1967 Riot in HK, which itself was the spill-over of China’s Cultural Revolution into HK. Over the course of four years, she interviewed the leftist rioters, bomb squad leaders, former British police officers and senior officials handling the riot, as well as journalists and students of the time. She beefed up the oral historical records with de-classified British archives as well as Notebook on 67 Riot compiled by senior Chinese official Wu Di-zhou who was then aiding Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in handling the Riot.