We wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to our families, friends, colleagues, and former students, with special recognition to our editor-in-chief, Dr. Howard Choy, for his invaluable suggestions and encouragement. We also extend our appreciation to the authors who contributed their valuable research to this book. Special thanks go to Enoch Yee-lok Tam, Heidi Huang, Helena Wu, Jia Tan, Jessica Siu-yin Yeung, Mimi Yuet-may Ching, Ruth Hung, and Alex Ho-Cheong Leung, whose insightful advice and comments on early drafts proved instrumental in the manuscript’s development.
We are especially thankful to our editor, Ms. Stephanie Carta, whose discerning insights and constructive feedback helped shape this work into its final form. Our gratitude also extends to the blind reviewers from De Gruyter Brill for their thoughtful recommendations.
Finally, we would like to acknowledge the support of our institutions—the Academy of Language and Culture at Hong Kong Baptist University and the Department of English Language and Literature at Soochow University, Taiwan—as well as the dedicated assistance of the librarians and staff of both universities.