On the relative invisibility of the legal part of ivory trading in Hong Kong - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2019

On the relative invisibility of the legal part of ivory trading in Hong Kong

Résumé

Since the 1950s, Hong Kong has been one of the global transit hubs for both legal and illegal ivory circulation. The CITES, the international convention regulating elephant ivory trade in order to protect the species without completely banning it, came into effect in 1975. Hong Kong and China have recently deepened the trade ban in 2017 and 2018, but a significant part of it remains legal. Previous work has shown that bans contribute to altering the taste for ivory in Hong Kong, following a European trend. Even antiques (carved before trade bans) are no longer considered as an old cultural heritage to be preserved but as witnesses of an endangered natural heritage. Nowadays, this trade sounds, as a whole, immoral or even illegal. Various ivory actors in Hong Kong seem to have unequal awareness of the regulation allowing a part of business; what practices hinder voluntarily or involuntarily the circulation of legal information, between these actors, and to the public opinion? A 20-month qualitative ethnographic survey conducted in Hong Kong between 2017 and 2018 through interviews, observations and participant observations within actors involved in trade has brought to light: the negligence or requestioning of this legal fraction of trade by environment activists and press; the auction houses structure by specialised services, confining legal knowledge to a limited number of professionals; the invisibility of ivory carvers in their lobbying. This study raises question of the interests involved in Hong Kong, knowing that similar practices can be observed, for example, in France.
Fichier non déposé

Dates et versions

hal-03983786 , version 1 (11-02-2023)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-03983786 , version 1

Citer

Claire Bouillot. On the relative invisibility of the legal part of ivory trading in Hong Kong. 11th International Convention of Asia Scholars. Leiden University, International Institute for Asian Studies, Jul 2019, Leiden, Netherlands. ⟨hal-03983786⟩

Collections

ENS-PARIS PSL ANR
14 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More