ABSTRACT
The prospect of Hong Kong becoming ‘ungovernable’ in the twilight years of colonial rule permeated official thinking in the 1980s. Officials were alert for any sign of ‘ungovernability’, including crime. Both the Chinese and British administrations wanted the period of transition to be marked by smoothness, prudence, caution, firmness and co-operation. Three main themes emerged in talk about crime in the 1980s. The first was that the impending handover would spark a rash of ‘get rich quick’ crimes as criminals sought to make money and flee before 1997. The second was that Hong Kong would be struck by a rash of crimes committed by illegal immigrants, flocking from Mainland China to Hong Kong’s ‘streets of gold’. The third was the problem of juvenile delinquency. In the 1980s, the agents of law and order were to become preoccupied with a vast influx of Vietnamese refugees and Chinese illegal immigrants.
