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1The study of cultural Cold War in British colonial Hong Kong has gained increasing scholarly attention over the past decade, with historians and film, literary, and cultural scholars examining the circulation of cultural products, the history of cultural agencies, as well as the role of cultural workers in the transnational cultural makings. Po-Shek Fu’s book, Hong Kong Media and Asia’s Cold War, is an exemplary work within this trend, marked by meticulous archival research that draws from diverse contemporary sources. These sources range from newspapers and film studio releases to memoirs and previously unexplored materials from Hong Kong and the US. It offers a detailed analysis of Hong Kong media institutions and the influence of global Cold War dynamics on their cultural production.

2As a sequel to Fu’s earlier renowned work, Between Shanghai and Hong Kong: The Politics of Chinese Cinemas (2003), in which he introduced the “Shanghai-Hong Kong nexus in the cultural and entertainment business of the two cities from 1935 to 1950” (p. xiii), Hong Kong Media and Asia’s Cold War extends the timeframe from the 1950s to the 1980s, with a particular focus on Hong Kong’s media landscape during the 1950s and 1960s. It explores Hong Kong’s strategic position in Asia’s Cold War, highlighting its role as a “crossroads where the global, regional, and local [influences] intersected” (p. x, xiii). To maintain colonial stability, the British colonial administration policed ideological advocacy to prevent potential political unrest, especially through film censorship aimed at preserving colonial authority by depoliticising and deescalating the Cold War rivalry between the Communists, the Nationalists, and the Americans – all vying for influence in East Asia. Fu argues that these powers exploited the colony’s political neutrality, or “Cold War gray zone,” to conduct propaganda and psychological warfare targeting Chinese diasporas in Southeast Asia and beyond (p. x-xi).

3The book is structured with a preface, four main chapters, and an epilogue. Chapter One examines the cinematic warfare conducted by the three camps. It details the rise of leftist film companies and the evolution of pro-Communist cinematic propaganda in response to shifting colonial geopolitics in the 1950s. The Nationalist government’s propaganda efforts and the initial reluctance of local pro-Taiwan studios to engage in anti-Communist messaging until the emergence of the Motion Picture & General Investment Company Ltd. (MP & GI) film studio are also discussed. The role of the US is highlighted by its boosting of pro-“Free World” and anti-Communist media through key news agencies such as the United States Information Services (USIS), the American Consulate, and the CIA-funded Asia Foundation (TAF), which operated from Hong Kong to engage with Overseas Chinese.

4Chapter Two delves into the realm of print media and discusses the role of the student magazine China Student Weekly – published in Hong Kong between 1952 and 1974 – in the battle between the People’s Republic of China and the US for ideological dominance in Sinophone communities. After 1949, the US covertly supported prominent liberal intellectuals and politicians who migrated from Mainland China to Hong Kong, seeking to sway young people embracing “Third-Force” ideologies. This movement advocates for a middle path between the Nationalists and Communists in building a united, “democratic China” (p. 43). To challenge the Chinese Communist Party’s media influence, the US established TAF in Hong Kong and secretly financed various émigré groups with cultural, educational, and media agendas. Notably, China Student Weekly served as a discreet platform for “Cold War enlightenment” by promoting democracy, respect for rights, and Chinese cultural nationalism, while deliberately avoiding local politics and student activism.

5Chapters Three and Four shift attention from print media to cinema, as Fu claims that motion pictures were more potent in propaganda than other visual media for reaching Overseas Chinese (p. 87). Chapter Three details the unsuccessful attempts of the production company Asia Pictures, funded by the US and established by Chang Kuo-sin 張國興, to counter Communist influence. Chang aimed to use American capital to build a Hollywood-style film enterprise that would elevate Chinese cinema in exile to new standards of production and professionalism (p. 93). However, the costly and time-consuming production methods of Asia Pictures, coupled with Chang’s ambitious professionalisation of émigré cinema, led to suspicions and concerns from the US.

6As Fu points out, Chang’s lack of filmmaking experience, business acumen, and influence within the émigré film industry hindered his efforts to establish a transnational Chinese film enterprise in Hong Kong (p. 107-8). In contrast, Run Run Shaw’s “border-straddling tactic of flexibility” and apolitical stance allowed him to navigate the complex divides of pro-Taiwan, pro-Beijing, and freedom-Communism (p. 110). Chapter Four examines how Run Run Shaw leveraged Asia’s Cold War media culture environment to build the Shaw Brothers’ film business empire, particularly his strategy of “deemphasizing the political” in film production to maximise profits (ibid.). The company’s films highlighted a romanticised, depoliticised “Chinese flavour” (Zhongguowei 中國味) celebrating a pan-Chinese cultural nationalism and a shared idealised past that attracted ethnic Chinese audiences for nostalgic comfort (ibid.).

7The epilogue addresses the political unrest in Hong Kong starting in the late 1960s, the quest for “prosperity and stability” by both the colonial administration and the local population following the 1967 riots, the rise of local consciousness, and the ongoing student radicalisation and social activism throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In summary, this insightful book commendably reveals that all political parties had to neutralise their tone in colonial cultural production due to the colonial government’s balanced censorship. Building on existing scholarship on the cultural Cold War in Hong Kong, especially British colonial censorship and film companies, the book is distinguished by its masterful handling of historical materials, such as the nuanced exploration of TAF and Union Press’s internal dynamics and the strategic engagement of Third-Force intellectuals with the US, as detailed in Chapter Two. However, while Fu primarily covers pro-Nationalist and US-backed productions, he devotes less attention to pro-Communist works and their circulation – an area ripe for future research. As a historian, Fu’s expertise lies in the dynamics and agency of media corporations and individuals, rather than an in-depth dissection of primary film texts. Nonetheless, this book stands as a significant contribution to the study of the cultural Cold War in Hong Kong and East Asia. It is highly recommended for scholars and students researching the cultural Cold War, film, and media history of these regions.