Hong Kong Riots

The Hong Kong Riots
1956, 1966 and 1967

1956

Following the Second World War, the British reasserted their control of Hong Kong and for more than ten years there was no trouble in the colony. The garrison was reduced in the early 1950s to a level compatible with the maintenance of internal security.

On 10th October 1956, the celebration of the 1911 October Revolution, which brought about the downfall of the Ch'ing, took place. It was an important Nationalist festival, however, an officious resettlement officer ordered some Nationalist flags to be removed and shortly after, mobs spread out from the settlements to Kowloon, looting shops and attacking property known to belong to Communist sympathizers. The authorities refrained from firm intervention, hoping that the disorder would die out with the festival, but by the next day a full-scale riot had developed.

The Communist areas were the main targets of Nationalist attack, the most violent incidents taking place in the satellite town of Tsuen Wan, five miles from central Kowloon on the other side of the container port. A mob stormed a clinic and welfare centre, killing four people and ransacking the building. Prisoners were taken to the Nationalist headquarters and badly knocked about. Communist-owned factories were attacked, and some people were brutally killed. Foreigners were not especially singled out for attack, but a number inevitably became involved. The worst case being in Kowloon when a car was fired upon and a passenger, the Swiss Consul's wife, was burnt to death. Most casualties occurred in the battles in Tsuen Wan between Nationalists and Communists.

Decisive action was then taken. The armoured cars of the 7th Hussars were brought in to reinforce the police, who were instructed to fire without hesitation. Communists were given sanctuary in the police compounds, and by the 12th the riots had subsided leaving 15 killed by the rioters, and 44 dead by police action.

In the subsequent trials four people were convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

1966 and 1967

In April 1966, a protest against a rise in Star Ferry fares became focused on the hunger strike of a deranged young man and led to riots in Kowloon. These started as spontaneous demonstrations by young people. The playfulness of these riots turned more destructive as looting and arson spread. One adult rioter was killed by police fire.

In 1967, riots began again as young followers of Mao besieged Government House, which was guarded by a handful of British soldiers. All communist-owned buildings were placarded with anti-British slogans, the Bank of China's loudspeakers poured out more of the same.

As the disturbances continued through the summer, thousands of bombs were planted, which killed 15, including some children, and wounded many more. The colonial government finally stepped in with a measured reaction. Demonstrations were dispersed and the Bank of China's noise was drowned out by light music. Except to quell a disturbance on the frontier, where Red Guards killed some police, the army was not called upon.

The Hong Kong police lost ten killed and many wounded, but showed admirable restraint.

David Harvey's Recollections and photos of the riots

David Harvey's parents were posted to Hong Kong in 1951. David grew up there and experienced the 1967 riots as a young journalist. He has very kindly allowed us to publish the pictures below of the 1967 riots. David later worked in South Vietnam in 1972 and 1973 as a soundman for UPI/TV and later as a war photographer. Please take a moment to visit his web site at http://www.gedanate.com/bin/ap.pl?bswhkriots to read more about the riots

After about one week of chaos, as every schoolchild, teacher, and employee of every Leftist business or school in Hong Kong took part in the protests and petitions, the police finally blocked the bottom of Garden Road (which led to the way to the Governor's House). Police locked arms to hold back the demonstrators. Someone kicked a cop in the balls. He went down, and the whole bloody melee started. It was just outside the Hong Kong Hilton Hotel, in Central District, at the bottom of Garden Road. From then on it was street riots every night, and police raids on Communist union premises (looking for bomb factories), with bombs and booby traps everywhere.

The Chinese Communist propaganda of the times referred to all of the Europeans as 'white-skinned pigs' and the Chinese police who assisted us were labelled, 'yellow running dogs'. A friend in the HK Police told me years later that they had a special 'club tie' created for police and army personnel who took part in the 1967 'disturbances'. The striped tie, of the regimental or old school type, is covered with little white pigs and yellow dogs. I would love to own one! Please drop me a line if you know where I can obtain one.

There was a border incident at Tak Wu Ling where Communist Chinese militia opened fire on HK Police, killing and wounding about half a dozen. I remember seeing the police Saracen armoured car back at Fanling Police Station, and you could see where armour-piercing rifle shots had gone through one side and out the other. The police Land Rovers were worse. I was told that some 'Rupert', (2nd Lieutenant) straight out of Sandhurst, arrived on the scene shortly afterwards with his little armoured car and wanted to open fire and take on the whole People's Liberation Army. Fortunately, someone talked him out of it.

At another border incident, a British senior police officer walked into no-man's land to talk to a group of Chinese farmers. They knocked him to the ground and began hitting him with their hoes and hand tools as police and army onlookers watched in horror from the HK side. A lone Ghurkha soldier drew his kukri and charged into the middle of that mob. He chopped and slashed the attackers, picked up the injured officer, and ran back to the HK lines with him. The Ghurkha received the George Medal for that one.

	1967 Riots. The real McCoy. Leftist demonstrators at the front of Hong Kong's Government House chant quotes from Mao's 'Little Red Book'. Tens of thousands of demonstrators queued all day to stick posters on the walls of Government House and present petitions, one by one, to the Governor's ADC. (You can see the poor squaddy on guard in the sentry box!)
	Police control room during the same training exercise. You can just make out the incident list on the blackboard at rear of the room. A police constable makes notes in a logbook in foreground while Brit army officers discuss the next incident and responses.
	A truckload of Ghurkha soldiers also taking part in that 1972(?) exercise. Sorry. I have no idea which regiment. The army used to have Ghurkha radio ops speak Ghurkali to each other, to baffle radio intercepts, just like the USMC used native Americans to confuse the Japanese and German SIGINT during WWII.
	A British squaddy plays the part of a 'terrorist' in a bomb factory (empty buildings) during a combined police/military exercise in the early 1970s. There used to be two each year, Operation Spring Gallop and Operation Autumn Gallop.

Dave Today