1950s in Hong Kong began after the Japanese rule ended in 1945 with sovereignty returning to the British. However, the Nationalist-Communist Civil War was renewed in mainland China. It prompted a large influx of refugees from the mainland, causing a huge population surge. The government struggled to accommodate these immigrants. Unrest in China also prompted businesses to relocate their assets and capital from Shanghai to Hong Kong. Together with the cheap labour of the immigrants, the seeds of Hong Kong's economic miracle in the second half of the 20th century were sown. Chinese people in Hong Kong have adopted many western folkways, but a substantial number of them still adhere to traditional Chinese traditions on various aspects of social living; for instance family solidarity, “courtesy and face” in interpersonal relationship. ... Other Hong Kong topics Culture - Economy Education - Geography - History Hong Kong Portal Politics of Hong Kong takes place in a framework of a political system dominated by China, an own legislature, the Chief Executive as the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ... The Kuomintang of China (abbreviation KMT) (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Tongyong Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Chung1-kuo2 Kuo2-min2-tang3) [1], also often translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party in the Republic of China, now on Taiwan, and is currently the largest political party in... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... Combatants Nationalist Party of China Communist Party of China Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Mao Zedong Strength 4,300,000 (July 1946) 3,650,000 (June 1948) 1,490,000 (June 1949) 1,200,000 (July 1946) 2,800,000 (June 1948) 4,000,000 (June 1949) The Chinese Civil War... ... Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ... Wall Street, Manhattan is the location of the New York Stock Exchange and is often used as a symbol for the world of business. ... In business and accounting an asset is anything owned which can produce future economic benefit, whether in possession or by right to take possession, by a person or a group acting together, e. ... This article is about a city that serves as a center of government and politics. ... Shanghai (Chinese: ; pinyin:  ; Wu (Long-short): ZÃ¥nhae; Shanghainese (IPA): ), situated on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta in East China, is the largest city of the Peoples Republic of China and the ninth largest in the world. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...

Background

Causeway Bay 1955

As the communists drew near to a victory in early 1949, there were fears that Hong Kong was going to be invaded by the communists. The British government was determined to keep Hong Kong as a capitalist outpost within a communist sphere of influence, though the memories of the Berlin Blockade and the perceived antagonism of communist governments was still fresh in their mind. The garrison was reinforced and plans of emergency evacuation to Australia were made. However, the People's Liberation Army were ordered to stop advancing at the Shenzhen-Guangzhou border, and Hong Kong remained a British colony. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Large crowds of shoppers can be seen in Causeway Bay. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... The United Kingdom is a unitary state and a democratic constitutional monarchy. ... In economics, a capitalist is someone who owns capital, presumably within the economic system of capitalism. ... A sphere of influence (SOI) is an area or region over which an organization or state exerts some kind of indirect cultural, economic, military or political domination. ... Occupation zones after 1945. ... For people named Garrison, see Garrison (disambiguation) Garrison House, built by William Damm in 1675 at Dover, New Hampshire Garrison (from the French garnison, itself from the verb garnir, to equip) is the collective term for the body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but... Emergency evacuation is the movement of persons from a dangerous place due to the threat or occurrence of a disastrous event. ... The Chinese Peoples Volunteer Army (PVA) (Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ) was a volunteer army deployed by the Chinese government during the Korean War. ... For the graphic novel see Shenzhen Shenzhen is a sub-provincial city of Guangdong province in southern China, located at the border with Hong Kong. ... Guangzhou is the capital and the sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province in the southern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ... A United Kingdom overseas territory (formerly known as a dependent territory or earlier as a crown colony) is a territory that is under the sovereignty and formal control of the United Kingdom but is not part of the United Kingdom proper (Great Britain and Northern Ireland). ...

Hong Kong was a valuable trade centre at the mouth of China, and hoped that by retaining this connection doing business with the new government in Beijing would be easier. To give up Hong Kong to the communists without a fight would be seen as a national weakness in the face of the growing communist threat in Europe and Asia, especially the Emergency in Malaya. Talks did come up at the British Parliament to trade Hong Kong back to China in case it could not maintain entrepôt trade^[1]. The people were outraged, but was committed to turning Hong Kong into a manufacturing center. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ;  ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Weakness can mean: The opposite of strength Weakness (medical) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... Map of Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia (Malay: Semenanjung Malaysia) is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula, and shares a land border with Thailand in the north. ... An entrepôt is a trading centre, or simply a warehouse, where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit. ...

Demographics

Hong Kong Coat of Arms (1959-1997)

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Hong Kong Regional Emblem (since 1997) The current coat of arms came into use on 1 July 1997, when the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred to the Peoples Republic of China, and the emblem replaced the colonial Hong Kong coat of arms. ...

Population

After the war, the 1950s began with a large number of impoverished people without jobs and natural resources. The problem was further compounded with a flood of refugees from mainland China^[2]. The People's Republic of China was establishing in 1949 under new communist party. As many as 100,000 people fled to Hong Kong each month under the new regime. By the mid 1950s Hong Kong had increased its population to a staggering 2.2 million. By 1956 Hong Kong's population density became one of the highest in the world^[3]. 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Rising Buildings

In 1953 the Shek Kip Mei fire left 53,000 homeless. Governor Alexander Grantham drew an emergency housing program that introduced the "multi story building" capable of housing 2,500 people in a fire-flood-proof structure. The idea was to house as many and as fast as possible to deal with the homeless shelter crisis. Every floor in the building included a communial room, washing and toilet facility. Each person was granted 24 square meters of space^[4]. The high rise buildings would become the trend, since it saves space expanding vertically. Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Shek Kip Mei (石硤尾) is an area in New Kowloon, the North Eastern Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong. ... Sir Alexander Grantham Sir Alexander William George Herder Grantham (葛亮洪 1899–1978) was a British colonial governor who governed Hong Kong. ...

Culture

Cantonese Opera

Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern Chinas Cantonese culture. ...

Lifestyle

At the end of the Japanese occupation, the government held a monopoly on the purchase and distribution of food and raw materials including rice and cotton yarn. Price controls by the government were not eliminated until 1953. The period can best be summarized by low resources, and an endless increase in population. Many mainlanders would cross the border to Hong Kong and establish illegal huts on roof tops and edge of mountains^[5]. The integration of different groups from China and original tenants of Hong Kong would also create a society in which everyone had to wrestle with the overwhelming number of language dialects. Yarn Spools of thread Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibers, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A typical jungle hut in Brazilian Amazonia, made of straw and supported by stilts. ... Spoken Chinese The Chinese spoken language(s) comprise(s) many regional variants. ...

Education

Those who were born in Hong Kong were provided education and housing by the government. The first group of refugees were only granted temporary asylums since the government believed they would return to the mainland. An estimated 9% of the government's expense were spent on education and healthcare^[6]. The curriculum made it crucial that students did not feel associated with Hong Kong or China in any national sense. It emphasized that they were the middleman for the Sino-British trade relationships^[7]. Curriculum has many different conceptions. ... Anglo-Chinese relations (Traditional Chinese: 中英關係; Simplified Chinese: 中英关系; Hanyu Pinyin: ), also known as Sino-British relations, refers to the interstate relations between China and the United Kingdom. ...

An internal government paper in the period indicated about 34 schools in the urban area were actually classified as controlled by the communists including 24 in the New Territories. Another 32 schools by leftist elements such as staff and teachers. A new ordinance was passed in 1952 to allow any Director of education to shutdown a school believed to be controlled by political indoctrination^[8]. The refugees mostly seeked their education and social services from Christian churches. Actions were taken at the Heung Tao Middle school and Nanfang College^[9]. A major road, Kwong Fuk Road in Tai Po, a town in the New Territories. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      A Christian () is a person who...

Entertainment

One of the main form of entertainment in the 1950s was cantonese opera. While the art remained relatively static, if not declining in China, it was still popular in Hong Kong. Mainland China was housing new programs to train new artists at the Guangdong opera house in the 1950s, many of the artists would flee to Hong Kong and bring more addition to the art. The traditional opera form would begin to overlap with big screen cinemas starting with the 50s. The Shaw Brothers would also produce some of the first groups of martial art films. Their notable sword fighting style would be emulated on many movies and TV dramas for years to come. Cantonese opera is one of the major categories in Chinese opera, originating in southern Chinas Cantonese culture. ... Guangdong, often spelt as Kwangtung, is a province on the south coast of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Shaw Brothers Studio The Shaw Studio (邵氏片場), owned by Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd. ... Hawaiian State Grappling Championships. ...

Law and Order

The Hong Kong 1956 riots was one of the first full scale riot. It showed the government the dangers of low wages, long working hours and overcrowded condition^[10]. Tighter law control would diminish the triads in the period. Most of the social problems in the 1950s dealt with nationalist and communist factions on Hong Kong soil. The British government feared the communist would stir anti-British sentiments and pushed for any anti-communist policies in the foreign office in London. The Hong Kong 1956 riots began with looting and attacks by Pro-Nationalist on Pro-Communist citizens and property in Hong Kong during October, 1956, and soon developed into large, and violent, riots. ... Triad (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; literally Triad Society) or (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; Pinyin: ; literally Black Society, a general term for criminal organizations) is a term that describes many branches of Chinese underground society and/or organizations based in Hong Kong and Macau and also operating in Taiwan, mainland... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Economy

Hong Kong Observatory 1950

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Hong Kong Observatory (Chinese: 香港天文台; Yale: hēung góng tīn màhn tòih, Jyutping: hoeng1 gong2 tin1 man4 toi4; Mandarin Pinyin: Xiānggǎng Tiānwén Tái), known as the Royal Observatory (Chinese: 皇家香港天文台) before 1997, is a department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special...

Transportation

Hong Kong Taxi service was founded in 1947 with just a mere 329 cars. By the end of the decade in 1959, it would have expanded to 851 cars^[11]. The service became more popular, since it does not require passengers to follow a particular bus route. Urban red taxicab in Hong Kong. ... Year 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

National Service

The British Army has a unit in Hong Kong in 1953. One of the many young men Brian Knight, from Hersham UK, was known to have a woman in every street.ш

Industrial

In 1953 two land reclamation projected added 3 million square ft to Hong Kong. The first project would specifically add runway space to the Kai Tak Airport. Additional land would turn Kwun Tong and Tsuen Wan into industrial towns^[12]. The early industrial centers turned out anything that could be produced with small space from buttons, artificial flowers, umbrellas, textile, enamelware, footware to plastics. Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Land reclamation is either of two distinct practices. ... Kai Tak Airport (Traditional Chinese: ) was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. ... Kwun Tong (Traditional Chinese: ; originally 官塘) is an area in Kwun Tong District, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. ... The night scene of Tsuen Wan across Rambler Channel (View taken from Tsing Yi Island) Tsuen Wan (Traditional Chinese: , formerly also Tsun Wan) is a bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong, opposite to Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. ... For other uses of the word button, see Button (disambiguation). ... Artificial flowers made from plastic. ... Umbrella An umbrella is a device used for temporary shade or shelter from precipitation. ... “fabric” redirects here. ... In a discussion of art or technology, enamel (or vitreous enamel, or porcelain enamel in American English) is the colorful result of fusion of powdered glass to a substrate through the process of firing, usually between 750 and 850 degrees Celsius. ... High-heeled shoe Footwear consists of garments worn on the feet. ... The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. ...

Hospital and Hospitality

The handling of the refugees required the collaboration of numerous services and programs. The British Red Cross would set up their first branch in Hong Kong in July 12, 1950 as the Hong Kong Red Cross. They started in the Lai Chi Kok Hospital and began the Patient Concern Service. Blood donation also began in 1952 with 483 people donating in the first year. A Disaster Relief service was established in 1953 mostly to deal with the Shek Kip Mei fire^[13]. The Hong Kong Tourism Association was established in 1957. The British Red Cross Society is a prominent part of the largest independent humanitarian organisation in the world – the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Hong Kong Red Cross (香港紅十字會) is a Red Cross society in Hong Kong. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Year 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB[1]), is a Government-sub vented body. ... Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ...

Finance

The banks at the time were not regulated by the government. There were no central banks or monetary policies. The governor did not want to regulate the Hong Kong Stock Exchange even though it has become a serious problem in financing the fast growing economy at the time. Manufacturers constantly complained about the shortage of investments^[14]. Pressure was coming from within and outside Hong Kong to get the policies fixed. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Traditional Chinese: , also 港交所; abbreviated as HKEX ; SEHK: 0388) is the stock exchange of Hong Kong. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... February 23 is the 54th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...