Wei An CHEN is an undergraduate student in sociology at National Taiwan University. Her research interests include transnationalism, social movements, and identity politics. She is currently working on a research project on the impact of the 2019 pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong on the political identity of Taiwan’s overseas students in the city.

Peddling the Revolution?

How Hong Kong’s Protesters became Online Vendors in Taiwan

Some former Hong Kong protesters who fled to Taiwan have resorted to selling local products online to Hong Kong-based consumers to make a living. This essay argues that these purchases become both an alternative form of financial support from Hong Kong’s politically conscious consumers and business transactions endowed with political meaning. Not without ambivalences, these online vendors sell more than products, but also a lifestyle, an identity, and a commitment—in short, a revolutionary dream at a time when street protests in their home city are no longer feasible.

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