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

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.