https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1111\/anti.70043<\/a><\/p>\n\nAbstract<\/p>\n\n
This essay seeks to complicate Hong Kong’s seemingly common-sensical geographical identity as an East Asian\u2014specifically, Chinese\u2014metropolis through a contrapuntal mapping of its historical connections with Southeast Asia. It takes seriously the role that this supposedly hinterland region played in catalysing urban transformations in the colony-turned-SAR.<\/p>\n\n
Building on work that theorises Hong Kong as a \u201cnon-sovereign\u201d site for the everyday workings of US empire, I explore how the colony’s relationship with Southeast Asia was reshaped by the central role that it played in securing the transcolonial logistics of the Vietnam War. Through a close reading of the archival record, I show how the US military-industrial complex used Hong Kong as an offshore hub for supporting the logistics of soldiering life. In addition to hosting US soldiers on rest and recuperation (R&R) leave, Hong Kong helped secure the financial logistics of counterinsurgency.<\/p>\n\n
These logistical entanglements remained important in the afterwar moment, when Hong Kong experienced a mass arrival of refugees from Vietnam. Saddled with the logistical burden of caring for these refugees, colonial officials gradually leveraged this \u201csurplus population\u201d to address labour shortages around the city. When read together, these contrapuntal mappings of logistical power clarify how Hong Kong’s relationship with Southeast Asia has always been shaped by asymmetrical infrastructures of outsourced industrial production, racialised indenture, and economic unfreedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Author: Wesley Attewell Source: Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography Link: https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full\/10.1111\/anti.70043<\/a> Abstract This essay seeks to complicate Hong Kong’s seemingly common-sensical geographical identity as an East Asian\u2014specifically, Chinese\u2014metropolis through a contrapuntal mapping of its historical connections with Southeast Asia. It takes seriously the role that this supposedly hinterland region played in catalysing urban transformations […]<\/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":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[776957933],"tags":[776958087,776958076,776958166,776958167],"class_list":["post-7342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category--en","tag-geopolitics","tag-newsroom","tag-southeast-asia","tag-the-vietnam-war"],"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-1Uq","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6896,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/08\/25\/article-pro-communist-mandarin-cinema-in-cold-war-hong-kong\/","url_meta":{"origin":7342,"position":0},"title":"[Article] Pro-Communist Mandarin Cinema in Cold War Hong Kong","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"25\/08\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"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 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\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":7370,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/11\/25\/article-post-colonial-geography-post-cold-war-complication-okinawa-taiwan-and-hong-kong-as-a-liminal-island-chain\/","url_meta":{"origin":7342,"position":1},"title":"[Article] Post\/Colonial Geography, Post\/Cold War Complication: Okinawa, Taiwan, and Hong Kong as a Liminal Island Chain","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"25\/11\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Chih-Ming Wang Source: Geopolitics Link: https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1080\/14650045.2021.1884547 Abstract This essay engages in border studies by articulating a \u201climinal island chain,\u201d linking Okinawa, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, as a frontier of democracy in the rise of a new Cold War. Tracing the theoretical evolution from boundary to border and bordering in\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":7364,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/11\/24\/publication-born-of-crossing-borders-mobility-and-connection-in-cold-war-asia\/","url_meta":{"origin":7342,"position":2},"title":"[Publication] Born of Crossing Borders: Mobility and Connection in Cold War Asia","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"24\/11\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Editor: Wen-Chin Chang and Lin Shu-fe Publisher: Linking Publishing Source: https:\/\/www.books.com.tw\/products\/0011036107?srsltid=AfmBOoqev9jtMo4MQrZJ4_TDZHhk2cfy29B7XIvWUKGggdxzcYk6-lCF Abstract Centred on East and Southeast Asia, Born of Crossing Borders brings together ten essays spanning history, political science, anthropology, sociology and cultural studies. The collection re-examines how the Cold War shaped migration, intelligence operations, knowledge production and cultural\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\/publication.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\/publication.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/publication.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/publication.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/typesetter.hk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/publication.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7393,"url":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/2025\/12\/02\/publication-archipelagic-cinemas-screening-southeast-asian-modernity\/","url_meta":{"origin":7342,"position":3},"title":"[Publication] Archipelagic Cinemas: Screening Southeast Asian Modernity","author":"\u624b\u6c11\u51fa\u7248\u793e","date":"02\/12\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Author: Dag S. Yngvesson Publisher: University of California Press Link: https:\/\/luminosoa.org\/books\/m\/10.1525\/luminos.247 Abstract Archipelagic Cinemas compares trajectories of cinematic and political development across Southeast Asia from the mid-twentieth century to the present, taking the Indonesian island of Java as a key point of departure. 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It terms this impulse \u2018small-store utopianism\u2019, seeing it as a cultural imagination that anchors hope in small-scale\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\/7342","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=7342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7343,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342\/revisions\/7343"}],"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=7342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/typesetter.hk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}