1967 Hong Kong riots

1967 Hong Kong riots
Confrontation between rioters and the Hong Kong Police Force
Date	May – December 1967
Location	Hong Kong
Methods	Demonstrations, strikes, assassinations, planting of bombs
Resulted in	Riots quelled British Hong Kong Government retains control of Hong Kong Government crackdown on left-wing groups
Parties to the civil conflict
British Hong Kong Royal Hong Kong Police Force Supported by: British Forces Overseas Hong Kong Pro-Kuomintang camp Pro-CCP demonstrators Struggle Committee Hong Kong and Kowloon Federation of Trade Unions Supported by: Chinese Communist Party People's Militia
Lead figures
David Trench Yeung Kwong
Casualties
Death(s)	51
Injuries	802[1]
Arrested	1,936[1]

The 1967 Hong Kong riots were large-scale riots by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sympathisers against the British Hong Kong government, in the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Beginning as a minor labour dispute, the demonstrations escalated into large-scale protests against British colonial rule. The use of roadside bombs and petrol bombs by pro-CCP demonstrators prompted the Hong Kong Police Force to storm the demonstrators' strongholds and arrest their leaders. A few police officers and several civilians were killed by the bombs, and several demonstrators were killed in the raids. As many of the bombs were made in communist-leaning schools, Governor David Trench closed those schools and banned communist publications.^[2]

It was the first series of riots since the 1956 Hong Kong riots. After the riots, the British Hong Kong government publicly reflected on its failure to address certain social grievances and carried out major social reforms.

Tensions[]

The initial demonstrations and riots were labour disputes that began as early as May 1967 in shipping, taxi, textile, cement companies and in particular the Hong Kong Artificial Flower Works, where there were 174 pro-CCP trade unionists.^[3] The unions that took up the cause were all members of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Federation of Trade Unions with strong ties to Beijing.^[4]

The political climate was tense in Hong Kong in the spring of 1967. To the north of the British colony's border, the PRC was in turmoil. Red Guards carried out purges and engaged in infighting, while the 12-3 incident sponsored by pro-CCP demonstrators erupted in the Portuguese colony of Macau, to the west of Hong Kong, in December 1966.

Despite the intervention of the Portuguese army, order was not restored to Macau; and after a general strike in January 1967, the Portuguese government agreed to meet many of the left-wing demands, placing the colony under the de facto control of the PRC.^[5] The tension in Hong Kong was heightened by the ongoing Cultural Revolution to the north. Up to 31 protests were held.^[6]

Outbreak of violence[]

In May, a labour dispute broke out in a factory producing artificial flowers in San Po Kong.^[7][8]

Picketing workers clashed with management, and riot police were called in on 6 May. In violent clashes between the police and the picketing workers, 21 workers were arrested; many more were injured. Representatives from the union protested at police stations, but were themselves also arrested.^{[citation needed]}

The next day, large-scale demonstrations erupted on the streets of Hong Kong. Many of the pro-CCP demonstrators carried Little Red Books in their left hands and shouted communist slogans. The Hong Kong Police Force engaged with the demonstrators and arrested another 127 people.^[9] A curfew was imposed and all police forces were called into duty.^[10]

In the PRC, newspapers praised the demonstrators' activities, calling the British colonial government's actions "fascist atrocities".^[11]

In Hong Kong's Central District, large loudspeakers were placed on the roof of the Bank of China Building, broadcasting pro-CCP rhetoric and propaganda, prompting the British authorities to retaliate by putting larger speakers blaring out Cantonese opera.^[10] Posters were put up on walls with slogans like "Blood for Blood", "Stew the White-Skinned Pig", "Fry The Yellow Running Dogs", "Down With British Imperialism" and "Hang David Trench", a reference to the then Governor.^[12] Students distributed newspapers carrying information about the disturbances and pro-CCP rhetoric to the public.^{[citation needed]}

On 16 May, the activists formed the Committee of Hong Kong and Kowloon Compatriots from All Circles for Struggle Against British Persecution in Hong Kong or "Struggle Committee" for short.^[13] Yeung Kwong of the Federation of Trade Unions was appointed as its chairman. The Struggle Committee organised and coordinated a series of large demonstrations. Hundreds of supporters from 17 different leftist organisations demonstrated outside Government House, chanting communist slogans.^[14] At the same time, many workers took strike action, with Hong Kong's transport services being particularly badly disrupted.^{[citation needed]}

More violence erupted on 22 May, with another 167 people being arrested. The rioters began to adopt more sophisticated tactics, such as throwing stones at police or vehicles passing by, before retreating into left-wing "strongholds" such as newspaper offices, banks or department stores once the police arrived.^{[citation needed]} Casualties began soon after. At least eight deaths of the protestors were recorded before 1 July, mostly shot or beaten to death by the police (see the incomplete list of deceased below).

The height of the violence[]

On the afternoon of the Sha Tau Kok incident, police officers stood guard at the cordon outpost. A military helicopter arrived at the scene to conduct low-altitude reconnaissance.

On 8 July, several hundred demonstrators from the PRC, including members of the People's Militia, crossed the frontier at Sha Tau Kok and attacked the Hong Kong Police, of whom five were shot dead and eleven injured in the brief exchange of fire.^[15] The People's Daily in Beijing ran editorials supporting the left-wing struggle in Hong Kong; rumours that the PRC was preparing to take over control of the colony began to circulate. The leftists tried in vain to organise a general strike; attempts to persuade the ethnic Chinese serving in the police to join the pro-CCP movement were equally unsuccessful.

The left-wing retaliated by planting bombs, as well as decoys, throughout the city. Normal life was severely disrupted and casualties began to rise. An eight-year-old girl, Wong Yee Man, and her two-year-old brother, Wong Siu Fan, were killed by a bomb wrapped like a gift placed outside their residence.^[16] Bomb disposal experts from the police and the British forces defused as many as 8000 home-made bombs, of which 1100 were found to be real.^[17] These were known as "pineapple" bombs.^[18][1]

The Hong Kong Government imposed emergency regulations, granting the police special powers in an attempt to quell the unrest. Left-wing newspapers were banned from publishing; left-wing schools alleged to be bomb-making factories, such as Chung Wah Middle School, were shut down; many activist leaders were arrested and detained; and some of them were later deported to mainland China.^[17]

On 19 July, demonstrators set up barbed wire defences on the 20-storey Bank of China Building (owned by the PRC government).^[19]

In response, the police fought back and raided activist strongholds, including Kiu Kwan Mansion.^[18] In one of the raids, helicopters from HMS Hermes – a Royal Navy aircraft carrier – landed police on the roof of the building.^[20] Upon entering the building, the police discovered bombs and weapons, as well as a leftist "hospital" complete with dispensary and an operating theatre.^[9]

The public outcry against the violence was widely reported in the media, and the activists again switched tactics. On 24 August, Lam Bun, a popular anti-activist radio commentator, was murdered by a death squad posing as road maintenance workers as he drove to work with his cousin. Lam's assailants prevented him from getting out of his car, and he was burned alive.^[21]

Other prominent figures of the media who had voiced opposition against the riots were also threatened, including Louis Cha, then chairman of the Ming Pao newspaper, who left Hong Kong for almost a year before returning.

The waves of bombings did not subside until October 1967. In December, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai ordered the left-wing groups in Hong Kong to stop all bombings; and the riots in Hong Kong finally came to an end. The disputes in total lasted 18 months.^[22]

It became known much later that, during the riots, the commander of PLA's Guangzhou Military Region Huang Yongsheng (one of Lin Biao's top allies) secretly suggested invading and occupying Hong Kong, but his plan was vetoed by Zhou Enlai.^[23]

Aftermath[]

Casualties[]

By the time the rioting subsided at the end of the year, 51 people had been killed, of whom at least 22 were killed by the police, and 15 died in bomb attacks, with 832 people sustaining injuries, while 4979 people were arrested and 1936 convicted.^[9] Millions of dollars in property damage resulted from the rioting, far in excess of that reported during the 1956 riot.^[22] Confidence in the colony's future declined among some sections of Hong Kong's populace, and many residents sold their properties and migrated overseas.

Reactions[]

The funeral of PC Lee Koon Sang on 13 December

On 22 August, in Beijing, thousands of people demonstrated outside the office of the British chargé d'affaires, before Red Guards attacked and ransacked the main building, and then burned it down.^[28]

1960s left-wing groups[]

Many left-wing groups with close ties to the PRC were destroyed during the riots of 1967. The murder of radio host Lam Bun, in particular, outraged many Hong Kong residents. The credibility of the PRC and its local sympathisers among Hong Kong residents was severely damaged for more than a generation.^{[citation needed]}

New left-wing groups and legacy[]

Some of the members who participated in the 1967 riot have since regained a foothold in Hong Kong politics during the early 1990s. Tsang Tak-sing, a CCP supporter and riot participant, later became the founder of the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong. Along with his brother Tsang Yok-sing, they continued to promote Marxism in Hong Kong.^[29]

In 2001, Yeung Kwong, a pro-CCP party activist of the 1960s, was awarded the Grand Bauhinia Medal under Tung Chee-hwa, a symbolic gesture that raised controversy as to whether the post-1997 Hong Kong government of the time was approving the riot.^[30]

In 2017, hundreds of protesters who took part in the 1967 riots were hailed as heroes in a memorial ceremony at Wo Hop Shek public cemetery to mark the 50th anniversary of the uprising. Former finance sector lawmaker Ng Leung-sing and the Federation of Trade Unions' Michael Luk Chung-hung, along with Chan Shi-yuen, head of 67 Synergy Group were some of the prominent attendees. They called for Beijing to vindicate the protests, which they have continued to refer to as a "patriotic act against British colonial tyranny".^[31]

Social reforms[]

The 1966 and 1967 riots in Hong Kong served as a catalyst for social reforms in Hong Kong, with the implementation of positive non-interventionism in 1971, while David Trench grudgingly introduced some social reforms, it was not until Murray MacLehose greatly expanded the scope of reforms which transformed lives of residents in Hong Kong, thus becoming one of the Four Asian Tigers.^[2] The 1970s marked starting of the Lion Rock Spirit.

Legacy[]

The Hong Kong Police Force was applauded for its behaviour during the riots by the British Government. In 1969, Queen Elizabeth granted the force the privilege of the "Royal" title. This remained in use until the end of British rule in 1997.^[32]

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing went on to become Hong Kong's most important Chinese real estate developer.^{[33][relevant?]} Chinese philosopher and educator Chien Mu, founder of the New Asia College (now part of the Chinese University of Hong Kong), left for Taiwan.^[34] He was appointed to the Council for Chinese Cultural Renaissance by President Chiang Kai-shek.^[35]

Police website revisionism controversy[]

In mid-September 2015, media reported that the Hong Kong Police Force had made material deletions from its website concerning "police history", in particular, the political cause and the identity of the groups responsible for the 1967 riots, with mention of communists being expunged.

For example, "Bombs were made in classrooms of left-wing schools and planted indiscriminately on the streets" became "Bombs were planted indiscriminately on the streets"; the fragment "waving aloft the Little Red Book and shouting slogans" disappeared, and an entire sentence criticising the hypocrisy of wealthy pro-Beijing businessmen, the so-called "red fat cats" was deleted.^[36]

The editing gave rise to criticisms that it was being sanitised, to make it appear that the British colonial government, rather than activists, were responsible. Stephen Lo, the new Commissioner of Police, said the content change of the official website was to simplify it for easier reading; Lo denied that there were any political motives, but his denials left critics unconvinced.^[37] The changes were subsequently reversed.

Depiction in the media[]

• In John Woo's action film Bullet in the Head, the 1967 Riots are briefly shown.
• In the play/film I Have a Date with Spring, the riots (although only briefly referenced) are a key plot point.
• Wong Kar Wai's film 2046 features backdrop of the riots, mentions of the riots and a few old newsreels of the rioting.
• The film about modern Hong Kong history Mr.Cinema depicts the riots.

See also[]

• 1960s in Hong Kong
• Chung Wah Middle School
• Chung Ying Street
• Hong Kong 1956 riots
• Hong Kong 1966 riots
• Spring Garden Lane
• 1971 JVP Insurrection, in Ceylon, (now Sri Lanka, South Asia, Asia)
• Hong Kong 1981 riots
• 12-3 incident
• Tiananmen Square protests of 1989

References[]

Further reading[]

• Cooper, John (1970). Colony in Conflict: The Hong Kong Disturbances, May 1967 – January 1968. Hong Kong: Swindon Book Company. ASIN B009M72TM4. OCLC 833430183.
• Bickers, Robert; Yep, Ray (1 August 2009). May Days in Hong Kong: Riot and Emergency in 1967. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9789622099999.
• Cheung, Gary Ka-wai (1 October 2009). Hong Kong's Watershed: The 1967 Riots. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9789622090897.
• Whitehead, Kate (22 April 2017). "1967 riots in Hong Kong, by some of those caught up in the violence". South China Morning Post.
• Ho, Ka-ki, Lawrence (2009), Policing the 1967 riots in Hong Kong : Strategies, rationales and implications (PDF), doi:10.5353/th_b4419393, archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2019 – PhD thesis of the University of Hong Kong

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hong Kong 1967 riots.

• Remaking Hong Kong, the 1967 People's Revolution
• The Sha Tau Kok Incident 1967