Yeewa Lau

Introduction

Yeewa graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). She has a M.Phil. from the CUHK and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) from The Education University of Hong Kong. Formerly a book editor, she currently works as a writing workshop instructor. The rights to her long novel Tongueless have been sold to the UK, the United States, and Japan. The English and American versions will be released in 2024. In 2016, she won first prize in the novels category of the most important literary award in Hong Kong—the Awards for Creative Writing in Chinese.

Resident planning

During her residency, she plans to complete the fourth part of her long novel Our Country《我國》. Our Country depicts a future world under totalitarian rule and the inner journeys of two main characters. The male protagonist wants to fully integrate, while the female protagonist wants to escape forever. However, to a certain extent, both are impossible. The novel explores the issues of freedom, human nature, surviving under restrictions, and conflicts between humans and AI. The fourth part of the novel will delineate the conflict between the female protagonist Shi Zhen and her mother, as well as Shi Zhen's transformation. Shi Zhen has a rebellious personality and loves freedom, but her mother desires conformity and seeks safety under the protection of the government. From childhood to adulthood, the relationship between Shi Zhen and her mother has always been tense and filled with misunderstandings. But as the authoritarian world collapses, Shi Zhen finally empathizes with his mother's feelings while trying to save her. Her mother also to some extent understands her daughter's true intentions. The connection between mother and daughter perfectly corresponds to the theme of "healing" in this residency, while also exploring philosophical issues such as whether people can survive without a country and norms.