Hong Kong's Last Movable Type Printer Fights to Correct History

A 76-year-old man in Hong Kong is on a mission. He wants to fix the history books—literally. Leung Kwok-hung, owner of Sing Hung Printer, points to errors circled in a book about movable type printing. His voice is firm. "Many historical accounts about the industry are wrong," he says. "I want to tell the true story." His factory is one of the last of its kind. Movable type is the centuries-old method of printing that uses individual, reusable letters and characters. For decades, it was the standard technology for books and newspapers. Leung's business has operated for more than 50 years. It once employed 15 people. But demand has faded in the digital age. The company has relocated twice to smaller spaces. Each move saw fewer printing machines. Today, Leung works largely alone in a cluttered workshop, surrounded by trays of metal type. His goal is clear. He is preserving both a physical craft and its accurate history before both disappear completely.