ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses some of the key issues surrounding the 1967 riots in Hong Kong, including whether and to what extent the mayhem was triggered by discontent with social anomalies and sparked the social reforms of the early 1970s. It argues that whilst such social ills as a lack of labour rights protection and the plight of the underprivileged were problems in the middle of the 1960s, the ultra-leftist thinking prevalent in the Cultural Revolution was the primary force behind the anti-British struggle launched by the Hong Kong left wing in 1967. The chapter also notes that there was momentum within the colonial government in the mid-1960s to initiate social reform, but the proposals it put forward were shelved because of opposition from the business community. Finally, the chapter also argues that the 1967 riots reshaped Hong Kong's political landscape by reinforcing Hong Kongers' anti-communist mentality and giving the colonial government an opportunity to foster a 'Hong Kong identity'.
