Smile for the Camera
Published November 1, 2026
When the city of Hong Kong wakes up to wall-to-wall propaganda glorifying China’s invasion of Taiwan, hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers, students, businessmen, and retirees alike, take to the streets to protest not only the war but their future too in a city where more of their civil rights are being stripped from them.
Nick Wú-Yin Cheng, a student journalist at Hong Kong University, is documenting the protest and interviewing protesters with his friend Curtain Zhōu Bówén at the Legislative Council Complex when the police arrive and chaos breaks out. On his own and armed with only a camera, Nick must navigate the city streets to avoid both rioters and police to get back to campus, but campus may not offer the safety he thinks it promises. Living in the new reality he now finds himself in, Nick must grow up and figure out just what his role is in the fight for the city he loves so much.
The future is uncertain except for one fact: if anyone is arrested, they will be thrown in prison without trial and disappeared forever.
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