Military Service in Cold War Hong Kong, 1946–1997

This chapter focuses on the experience of the Hong Kong servicemen between the end of the Second World War and the end of British rule in 1997. It examines the servicemen’s lives and actions during the Cold War, the changing status of the servicemen, and the attempt of the colonial elites to use military service to instil civic spirit among the locals. It first offers an overview of the strategic situation of Hong Kong and the post–Second World War garrison, and suggests that while Hong Kong became an outpost of the free world and an economic powerhouse, it faced a peculiar security problem that could not be solved by the garrison alone. Nevertheless, the garrison helped maintain the confidence of the population and supported the civil government during internal security situations. The issues arising out of the gradual British withdrawal from Hong Kong, especially the redundancy of Hong Kong servicemen, are also discussed. The last section of the chapter narrates the Hong Kong veterans’ fight for the right of abode in the United Kingdom and financial compensation during the 1980s and 1990s. To fight the bureaucrats in Hong Kong and London, the veterans formed a united front that was not bounded by class and ethnicity, and enlisted support from international civil society. These factors explained their eventual, albeit modest, success.