Session Name: Sailing Against the Current: Water Communities and Geopolitical Dynamics in Historical China
4 - Water's Connection in Asian Cold War: Fisherfolk between China and Colonial Hong Kong (1950-1960)
Monday, July 29, 2024
11:15 – 13:00 (GMT+7)
Presentation Abstract This paper examines the geopolitical dynamics surrounding the fluid sea border connecting China and Hong Kong from 1950 to 1960. It investigates how the Chinese government, the colonial Hong Kong administration, and the United States utilized tactics to lure fisherfolk as a defensive measure during the Cold War. Drawing on archival sources, the study reveals how the fluidity of the China-Hong Kong maritime border and the undefined Chineseness of the fisherfolk were leveraged by these Cold War rivals in the complex geopolitical context. Facing the absence of a powerful Chinese navy, the Chinese government sought to engage fisherfolk in defending China's Southeastern coast. They employed land allocation and economic incentives to win fisherfolk's support and loyalty. However, the colonial Hong Kong administration, financed by the United States Government-backed Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere (CARE), aimed to weaken China's appeal to fisherfolk by offering fisherfolk village houses onshore in the Colony. The research highlights the intricate interplay between maritime security, migration governance, and geopolitical rivalries in Southeast Asia during this period. It emphasizes state and non-state actors' efforts to win fisherfolk's hearts and minds as a Cold War strategy. The study also contributes to understanding the historical factors that shaped the fluidity of the China-Hong Kong sea border and the loyalty of Chinese fisherfolk living there.
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