Chinese nationalism, state security and education in Cold War Hong Kong, 1949-70s (Cold War History)

“Suspicious minds: Chinese nationalism, state security and education in Cold War Hong Kong, 1949-70s“
Florence Mok, Michael Ng
Cold War History
Published online: October 2025

Abstract: Using archival records and leftist memoirs, this article examines how the Chinese Communist Party expanded its influence through left-wing schools in Hong Kong during the Cold War, and documents how the colonial state contended with this ‘security threat’. The CCP utilised Hong Kong’s capitalist environment to its advantage and expanded its influence in the education sector. To avoid provoking retaliatory actions from China, the colonial authorities employed different strategies to constrain left-wing schools, which however were only outcompeted by free compulsory education in the 1970s. This case study contributes to debates about the particularistic forms of Hong Kong’s Cold War.