https:\/\/experts.illinois.edu\/en\/publications\/pro-communist-mandarin-cinema-in-cold-war-hong-kong<\/a><\/p>\n\nAbstract<\/p>\n\n
Colonial Hong Kong was a transregional hub of Cold War ideological confrontation where the United States and its Chinese ally, Chiang Kai-shek\u2019s Taiwan, struggled with Beijing for the hearts of overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and around the world. Pro-Communist \u00e9migr\u00e9 cinema in the mid-twentieth century was a prime cultural manifestation of this Cold War contest. After an initial period of radicalization and antagonism, the pro-Communist studios in Hong Kong gradually shifted to a moderate approach whose goal was not to undermine British colonial rule or espouse explicit revolutionary ideologies, but to maintain a strategic presence in the local film industry and serve as a point of contact for overseas Chinese.<\/p>\n\n
Later, with the rise of two pro-Free China giant studios, Motion Pictures & General Investment Co., Ltd. and Shaw Brothers, the cinematic ecosystem in Hong Kong was significantly changed. In order to hold on to their market presence in an increasingly more competitive environment, pro-Communist film companies embraced a more entertainment-oriented ethos that adhered to popular genre trends, while struggling to remain truthful to their political commitment.<\/p>\n\n
With in-depth analysis of two popular films by Zhu Shilin, The Dividing Wall ( Yiban zhi ge 1952) and Sweet as Honey ( Tiantian mimi 1959), the authors seek to historicize the cultural politics of the Beijing-sponsored film establishment in 1950s Hong Kong, focusing in particular on its ambivalent relationships toward entertainment and the colony\u2019s postwar cityscape as it negotiated and balanced a changing set of political, ideological, and commercial interests in pursuit of its strategic mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Author: Po-Shek Fu, Qin Yameng, Man-Fung Yip Source: The Cityscapes of Taipei, Hong Kong, and Singapore during the Cold War Link: https:\/\/experts.illinois.edu\/en\/publications\/pro-communist-mandarin-cinema-in-cold-war-hong-kong<\/a> Abstract Colonial Hong Kong was a transregional hub of Cold War ideological confrontation where the United States and its Chinese ally, Chiang Kai-shek\u2019s Taiwan, struggled with Beijing for the hearts of overseas Chinese […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145170531,"featured_media":6534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[776957933],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category--en"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pai6UY-1Ne","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8352,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2026\/07\/14\/article-victims-of-thought-radicalisation-in-the-early-cold-war-years-in-chinas-periphery-a-study-of-the-democratic-socialists-in-hong-kong\/","url_meta":{"origin":6896,"position":0},"title":"[Article] Victims of Thought Radicalisation in the Early Cold War Years in China\u2019s Periphery: A Study of the Democratic Socialists in Hong Kong","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"14\/07\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Autho: Kenneth Kai-chung Yung Source: Global Intellectual History Link: https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/23801883.2025.2487771 Abstract The communist takeover in 1949 prompted many Chinese intellectuals to flee their motherland. Many of them were democratic socialists. They were in a position when two trends of thought radicalisation collided with each other in the 1950s. First, Chinese\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hong Kong Studies Newsroom"","block_context":{"text":"Hong Kong Studies Newsroom","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7097,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/09\/17\/article-water-on-cross-border-screens-hong-kong-water-tales-from-the-1960s\/","url_meta":{"origin":6896,"position":1},"title":"[Article] Water on cross-border screens, Hong Kong water tales from the 1960s","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"17\/09\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Zimu Zhang Source: Journal of Chinese Cinemas Link: https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/17508061.2025.2510066?src=exp-la&fbclid=IwY2xjawM93BpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFFNGM2RENaeVRGQThZRDFrAR6pUCCESdPv6wv9OeCNz2Pbyuso_079UHwOD_5txp5N9o33roEy8pz0b_jTzg_aem_9UX3jyZ2lWArtzvvLLGydQ Abstract This paper examines the massive engineering of water, mediated through screen practices, in the 1960s Hong Kong-Guangdong borderscape. Facing severe water scarcity, both the communist Chinese government and the British Hong Kong colonial government launched large-scale water infrastructures as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hong Kong Studies Newsroom"","block_context":{"text":"Hong Kong Studies Newsroom","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, 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"\u9999\u6e2f\u5b78\u8853\u60c5\u5831\u5ba4"","block_context":{"text":"\u9999\u6e2f\u5b78\u8853\u60c5\u5831\u5ba4","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 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Through a number of case studies, I examine the self-exiled intellectuals by looking into their life experiences during their sojourn in Hong\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hong Kong Studies Newsroom"","block_context":{"text":"Hong Kong Studies Newsroom","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7376,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/11\/26\/article-suspicious-minds-chinese-nationalism-state-security-and-education-in-cold-war-hong-kong-1949-70s\/","url_meta":{"origin":6896,"position":4},"title":"[Article] Suspicious minds: Chinese nationalism, state security and education in Cold War Hong Kong, 1949-70s","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"26\/11\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Florence Mok and Michael Ng Souce: Cold War History Link: https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/14682745.2025.2494203 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 \u2018security\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hong Kong Studies Newsroom"","block_context":{"text":"Hong Kong Studies Newsroom","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7636,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2026\/01\/28\/article-the-politics-of-salon-photography-the-ideological-function-of-east-asian-photography-in-the-cold-war-era\/","url_meta":{"origin":6896,"position":5},"title":"[Article] The Politics of Salon Photography: The Ideological Function of East Asian Photography in the Cold War Era","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"28\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Jeehey Kim Source: Journal of War & Culture Studies Link: https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/17526272.2025.2459494 Abstract The article examines international photography contests in East Asia from the 1950s to the 1970s and the influence of select photographers on ideological struggles during the Cold War. It focuses on salon photography, a style blending conventional\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Hong Kong Studies Newsroom"","block_context":{"text":"Hong Kong Studies Newsroom","link":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/category\/%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e5%ad%b8%e8%a1%93%e6%83%85%e5%a0%b1%e5%ae%a4-en\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/article.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6896","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145170531"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6896"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6897,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6896\/revisions\/6897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}