ABSTRACT
During the Cold War years, both the Chinese regimes in Beijing (PRC) and Taipei (ROC) claimed to be the sole representative of the Chinese nation, thus giving rise to a battle over which regime should be recognized by the international sporting community. The issue of recognition, however, was not the only source of contention among supporters of the two regimes during the Cold War years. This paper documents how pro-PRC forces and members of the British expat community in Hong Kong, despite their different political allegiances, formed an alliance to stop Hong Kong football players from representing the ROC in the 1966 Asian Games. This attempt was not successful, partly because of the role played by then-FIFA President Stanley Rous, and the saga eventually offered the pro-ROC forces in Hong Kong the opportunity to strengthen the identification of the Chinese population in Hong Kong with the regime.
