Hong Kong 1967 Leftist Riots - The Height of The Violence

The Height of The Violence

On 8 July, hundreds of armed militia from the PRC fired at the Hong Kong Police at Sha Tau Kok. Five policemen were killed in the brief exchange of fire. The People's Daily in Beijing ran editorials supporting the leftist struggle in Hong Kong; rumours that the PRC was preparing to take over control of the colony began to circulate. The leftists tried in vain to organise a general strike; attempts to persuade the Chinese serving in the police to join the pro-communist movement were equally unsuccessful.

The Hong Kong Government imposed emergency regulations, granting the police special powers in an attempt to quell the unrest. Leftists newspapers were banned from publishing; leftist schools were shut down; many leftist leaders were arrested and detained, and some of them were later deported to the PRC.

The leftists retaliated by planting more bombs. Real bombs, mixed with even more decoys, were planted throughout the city. Normal life was severely disrupted and casualties began to rise. A seven-year-old girl and her two-year-old brother were killed by a bomb wrapped like a gift placed outside their residence. Bomb disposal experts from the police and the British military defused as many as 8,000 home-made bombs. Statistics showed that one in every eight bombs was genuine.

On 19 July, leftists set up barbed wire defences on the 20-storey Bank of China building (owned by the PRC government).

In response, the police fought back and raided leftist strongholds. In one of the raids, helicopters from HMS Hermes – a Royal Navy carrier – landed police on the roof of Kiu Kwan Mansion. Upon entering the building, the police discovered bombs and weapons, as well as a leftist "hospital" complete with dispensary and an operating theatre.

The public outcry against the violence was widely reported in the media, and the leftists again switched tactics. On 24 August, Lam Bun, a popular anti-leftist radio commentator, was murdered by a death squad posing as road maintenance workers, as he drove to work. Lam Bun was barred from getting out of his car and was burned alive. Other prominent figures of the media who had voiced opposition against the riots were also threatened, including Louis Cha, then chairman of the Ming Pao News, who left Hong Kong for almost a year before returning.

The waves of bombings did not subside until October 1967. In December, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai ordered the leftist groups in Hong Kong to stop all bombings; and the riots in Hong Kong finally came to an end. The disputes in total lasted 18 months.

It became known much later that, during the riots, the commander of PLA's Guangzhou Military Region Huang Yongsheng (one of Lin Biao's top allies) secretly suggested invading and occupying Hong Kong, but his plan was vetoed by Zhou Enlai.