The question of people : Cultural Cold War in 1950s' Hong Kong

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary WorksRGC 12 - Chapter in an edited book (Author)peer-review

1 Scopus Citations
View graph of relations

Related Research Unit(s)

Detail(s)

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationCold War Cities
Subtitle of host publicationThe Politics of Space in Europe and Asia during the 1950s
EditorsTze-ki Hon
Place of PublicationOxon
PublisherRoutledge
Chapter6
Pages88-100
ISBN (electronic)9780429058844
ISBN (print)9780429608261, 9780367179823, 9781032061306
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Publication series

NameRoutledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia
Volume164

Abstract

During the 1950s, a million of Chinese refugees crossed the border to enter British Hong Kong, rapidly expanding the colony’s population. While these refugees caused numerous problems (such as public health, riots, and squatters), they were also valuable assets to justify the continuation of British colonial rule. By voting with their feet, refugees proved that Hong Kong was a Cold War frontier strategically located at the fault line between Communist China and the Free World. In this chapter, we examine the strategies and policies of the Hong Kong government in transforming the colony from an “imperial outpost” of the British empire into a “bastion of freedom” of the Cold War. Focusing on the remaking of “Sung Wong Toi” (Song Emperor’s Terrace) as a site of political resistance in Kowloon Bay, we discuss how Hong Kong, in the span of a decade, became a “liminal space” for the battle for hearts and minds.

Citation Format(s)

The question of people: Cultural Cold War in 1950s' Hong Kong. / Hon, Tze-Ki; Chan, Hok-Yin.
Cold War Cities: The Politics of Space in Europe and Asia during the 1950s. ed. / Tze-ki Hon. Oxon: Routledge, 2022. p. 88-100 (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia; Vol. 164).

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary WorksRGC 12 - Chapter in an edited book (Author)peer-review