Introduction
New scholarship on the Cold War in Hong Kong has emerged in the past two decades, offering a fresh perspective for understanding the Cold War within the East Asian context. Starting with Chi-kwan Mark (2004), the Cold War in Hong Kong is analysed through the lens of great power rivalry, focusing on military defence, covert intelligence, diplomacy, and economics. Christopher Sutton (2017) highlights Hong Kong’s proactive role in addressing the Communist threat through stringent public order measures. Pricilla Roberts and John M. Carroll’s (2016) edited volume makes a major contribution to studies on Cold War Hong Kong. Why do stories about Hong Kong matter in Cold War studies? The rules of the global Cold War established by the US and USSR were sometimes disregarded in Hong Kong. The Cold War in East Asia developed its own internal dynamics and trajectories, independent of the major powers’ influence. Describing Hong Kong as the “Berlin of the East” can therefore be misle...