1963

This chapter outlines a rash of prosecutions, imprisonments and deportations in Hong Kong against Kuomintang (KMT) agents in 1963. The British colonial administration denied that the activities were a result of closer diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic. The chapter shows that communist influence in British law and order priorities in Hong Kong grew throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s. It considers the reasons for the raids and prosecutions against KMT militants, and the British admissions of working with the communist Chinese to give effect to them. In 1963, a noticeable increase in American support for KMT special operations units operating in mainland China forced the British administration to tighten up its approach. In 1963, the British policy of pretending vigilance over the KMT violence changed abruptly into a policing action that stopped it from abusing the hospitality of the colony.