In the Wake of Political Intervention： British Hong Kong and the Lingnan Macroregion

This article attempts a preliminary exploration of the intraregional cohesion and division between British Hong Kong and the Lingnan macroregion. A deliberately overlooked locale in Skinner＇s macroregional model, Hong Kong developed from a periphery zone on the far eastern outskirt of Lingnan in its precolonial days to a thriving metropolis at the end of British rule. The transformation of British Hong Kong attests to the economic fundamentals of intraregional cohesion. More significantly it highlights the decisive power of political intervention, underestimated in Skinner＇s approach, which brought enduring changes to the shape as well as the internal and external relations of the macroregion.

Can politically oriented interventions in built heritage contribute to its authenticity?Erbil Citadel's Babylonian Gate as a case study

Today,the concept of built heritage authenticity is a projection screen for conficting demands and thus a'contested field'.Short-sighted readings started to drag the concept behind different il-considered treatises,in which some heritage aspects loosely outweighed other aspects.Archaeological perspectives that tend to freeze heritage structures in time,such as those that are privileged upon other contemporary socio-cultural issues,while political takes also overshadowed other epistemological prospects,and vice versa.Repercussions have made inclusion of what is regarded as inevitable changes'within the built context problematic as to the re-interpretation and thus assessment of its authenticity.Despite their possible momentary threat to the latter,these changes may add to the cultural value of the context over time,granting new potential that may instead boost its authenticity.This paper investigates the potential continuity of Erbil Citadel's Babylonian Gate as an inevitable change within the site's built context by studying the Gate's controversial political impacts on the context's authenticity.This study affirms that authenticity is a transcendental value of an open-ended progressive nature,which cannot be reduced to a specific period or properties within the historical chronology of built heritage.Hence,authenticity should be approached as a meaningful existential issue,while revelation of its essence and thus its dimension entails precise scrutiny of both the tangibles and intangibles of the context.However,to be part of its authenticity,any change in the context should be adaptable and possibly incorporated as a new value within its cultural strata,thus enabling progressive support for site authenticity.

Let’s play tic-tac-toe: Confucius Institutes versus American Cultural Centres

China and the United States(US)have established respective cul-tural institutions in each other,namely the Confucius Institute and the American Cultural Centre.While they differ in the estab-lishment background and management model,in their counter-part countries’view,both Confucius Institutes and American Cultural Centres serve the function of public diplomacy as a‘quasi-diplomatic agency’,attracting extensive political attention.When comparing the history of their developments in the US and China,a similar trend of‘rise-to-fall’and‘positivity-to-negativity’can be observed.The stagnation of American Cultural Centres in China and the crisis of Confucius Institutes in the US both origin-ate from the same source—political pressure.The development paths of both institutions are closely related to the development and transformation of Sino–US political relations.In this process,China’s attitude is relatively moderate in an attempt to maintain the continuous development of a friendly bilateral relation,while the US is anxious about China’s rising status as its economic and strategic competitor,thereby adjusting its China policy and imposing rigid political controls over Confucius Institutes.Affected by the Sino–US trade dispute and the COVID-19 pandemic,Sino–US relations deteriorate further;accordingly,the future out-look of Confucius Institutes in the US is worrying.However,with abundant uncertainties,the future of the Confucius Institute remains to be further studied.