雙十在香港：中華民國政府的政治文宣 1949—1959

Abstract

The Double Tenth Day, also known as the Double Tenth Festival, originated from the commemoration of the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911, and symbolized the establishment of the Republic of China, the first democratic republic in Asia. For Sun Yat-sen and his anti-Manchu revolutionary societies, Hong Kong was an important source and revolutionary base. Therefore, Hong Kong, the Republic of China and the Double Tenth Day were closely related. The Double Tenth Day became an important festival for Hong Kong people’s self-identity as a Chinese under the British colonial rule. The meaning of Double Tenth Day has different functions at different times, and the cultural memory it carries and inherits is extremely complex. The Beijing Government highlighted the Republic as the core value, while the Nanjing KMT Government emphasized revolutionary. By the time of the War of Resistance against Japan, the Double Tenth Festival became an important day to unite the people of all sectors of Hong Kong society. After World War II, the confrontation between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party emerged and eventually led to the Chinese Civil War. The ROC government then retreated to Taiwan after 1949. Aiming to achieve its goal of counter attacking the mainland, the ROC Government continued to use the propaganda of the Double Tenth Festival and to mobilize people and to fight against the government of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong.

This research was inspired by to the French historian Pierre Nora’s three-volume collection “Les Lieux de mémorie,” and tried to view the Double Tenth Day as les lieux de mémorie. The Government of the Republic of China has repeatedly held commemorative activities for the Double Tenth Day, which has led to the regular holding of overseas festivals, including Hong Kong. The Double Tenth Day has become a symbol of the ROC government to cultivate people's national consciousness and as an immortal site in shaping national memories. This research focuses on how the ROC Government held the Double Tenth Festival in Hong Kong in the 1950s and how its propaganda was influenced by the relationship between the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party, the Cold War, and the U.S. aid, and how it adjusted measures to local conditions. Hong Kong was under British colonial rule, and it was also the frontier area for the United States and the United Kingdom to implement the strategy of containing Communist China at that time. Governments of both sides of the Strait utilized this place to detect each other’s intelligence and influence overseas public opinion, with the goal of winning “the hearts and minds of men in Hong Kong,” thus launching a series of “Cultural Cold War” in terms of culture, intelligence, and media. The propaganda campaign of both sides even led to the “Double Tenth Riot” in 1956, a large-scale social disturbance in Hong Kong.

Precisely, this research discusses how the ROC government uses the Double Tenth Festival in Hong Kong to shape its image of “Legitimate Representatives of China”, “Cultural China” and “Free China,” and how the diplomacy and the overseas Chinese affairs of the ROC government, and KMT’s overseas affairs make use of the Double Tenth Day to fight against the Communist China; and how the British Hong Kong government take control of these activities. So that we could even analyze the relations among various forces behind the events. Furthermore, this research will explore the impact of this battle for “hearts and minds of the men in Hong Kong.” The academic paid little attention to the changes and significance of the Double Tenth Day in Hong Kong so far. Therefore, this research tries to review the history of Double Tenth Day in Hong Kong and examines it from the perspective of the Cold War in the 1950s. The research shows that Hong Kong's unique Cold War experience and may provide a complementary to the scope of Cold War history and Hong Kong history.

Date of Award	14 Jul 2023
Original language	Chinese (Traditional)
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Hok Yin CHAN (Supervisor)