Abstract
In the nineteenth century, the British acquisition of Hong Kong symbolised western imperial encroachment in China and highlighted the weakness of the Chinese empire.2 In the twentieth century, Hong Kong became a target for Chinese nationalists; in 1925 and 1926 there was a Chinese boycott of trade with Hong Kong and a general strike of Chinese workers within the colony. By the early years of the Second World War, Britain’s hold on Hong Kong seemed untenable: the colony was occupied by the Japanese, whilst the US administration pressurised the British government to return the colony to China after the war.3 Nevertheless, in the immediate post-war period, Britain retained the colony. Three changes explain this turnaround. Firstly, the new Labour government wanted an imperial possession in China; secondly, the US administration no longer pressurised Britain to return Hong Kong to a war-torn and potentially communist China; thirdly, China, weak and preoccupied by civil war, did not demand its return.4
Hong Kong is always connected with fatal pestilence, some doubtful war or some internal squabble.
The Times, 18591
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
Quoted in G.B. Endacott, A History of Hong Kong, London 1958, p. 10.
See K.C. Chan, ‘Abrogation of British Extra-territoriality in China, 1942–43: A study of Anglo-American-Chinese Relations’, Modern Asia Studies, vol. 11, no. 11, 1977, pp. 257–91.
For Anglo-American-Chinese discussions about the status of Hong Kong see Chan Lau Kit-Ching, ‘The Hong Kong Question during the Pacific War (1941–45)’, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, vol. 11, no. 1, Oct. 1973, pp. 56–79.
A. Bullock, Ernest Bevin: Foreign Secretary 1945–51, London 1983, p. 673.
For a more detailed account of government discussions in 1949 note Zhong-ping Feng, The British Government’s China Policy, Keele 1994, pp. 117–22.
A.N. Porter and A.J. Stockwell, eds, British Imperial Policy and Decolonisation, 1938–64, Vol. 2, 1951–64, London 1989, no. 14, The Defence Programme: Report by the Chiefs of Staff, 31 October 1952, CAB 131/12, pp. 180–5.
Quoted in B. Porter, The Lion’s Share: A Short History of British Imperialism 1850–1970, London 1967, p. 311.
See Mark Curtis, The Ambiguities of Power: British Foreign Policy Since 1945, London 1995, pp. 12–13.
P.J. Cain and A.G. Hopkins, British Imperialism: Crisis and Deconstruction, 1914–1990, London 1993, pp. 275–81.
Catherine R. Schenk, Britain and the Sterling Area: From Devaluation to Convertibility in the 1950s, London 1994, pp. 25 and 35.
Catherine R. Schenk, ‘Closing the Hong Kong Gap: The Hong Kong Free Dollar Market in the 1950s’, Economic History Review, vol. 47, no. 2, May 1994, pp. 343–5.
Quoted in James T.T. Tang, ‘From Empire Defence to Imperial Retreat: Britain’s Postwar China Policy and the Decolonisation of Hong Kong’, Modern Asian Studies, vol. 28, no. 2, 1994, p. 328.
Wenguang Shao, China, Britain and Businessmen: Political and Commercial Relations 1949–57, London 1991, p. 7.
H.H. Frank King, The Hong Kong Bank in the Period of Development and Nationalism, 1941–1984: From Regional Bank to Multinational Group, vol. IV of The History of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Cambridge 1991, p. 396.
C. MacDonald, Britain and the Korean War, Oxford 1990, p. 22.
Steve Tsang, Democracy Shelved: Great Britain, China and Attempts at Constitutional Reform, Hong Kong and Oxford 1988, p. 137.
See also E. Luard, Britain and China, London 1962, pp. 194–5.
N.J. Miners, ‘Plans for Constitutional Reform in Hong Kong, 1946–52’, China Quarterly, no. 107, Sept. 1986, p. 463.
Alexander Grantham, Via Ports: From Hong Kong to Hong Kong, Hong Kong 1965, p. 162.
Bruce Cumings, The Origins of the Korean War, Vol. 2: The Roaring of the Cataract 1947–1950, Princeton 1990, p. 164.
Martin Gilbert, Never Despair: W.S. Churchill, Vol. VIII 1945–65, London 1988, p. 583.
S.E. Ambrose, The President, Vol. 2, 1952–1969, London 1984, p. 182.
James Tang, Britain’s Encounter with Revolutionary China, 1949–54, London 1992, p. 186.
Sergei N. Goncharov, John W. Lewis and Xue Litai, Uncertain Partners: Stalin, Mao, and the Korean War, Stanford, Calif. 1993, p. 100.
Harry Hinton, China’s Turbulent Quest: An Analysis of China’s Foreign Policy Since 1949, New York and London 1972, p. 273 and
C.P. Fitzgerald, Revolution in China, London 1952, p. 236.
H. Trevelyan, World’s Apart: China 1953–5, Soviet Union 1962–5, London 1971, p. 60.
See H.C. Hinton, Communist China in World Politics, London 1986, p. 24.
J. Darwin, Britain and De-colonisation: The Retreat from Empire in the Post War World, London 1988, p. 310.
Alexander Eckstein, Communist China’s Economic Growth and Foreign Trade: Implications for U.S. Policy, New York 1966, p. 161.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1997 David Clayton
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Clayton, D. (1997). Empire Retained: Hong Kong, 1950–54. In: Imperialism Revisited. Studies in Military and Strategic History. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-13829-6_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-13829-6_6
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-13831-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-13829-6
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)