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From the Factories to the Streets: Revolt!

What began in May of 1967 as a series of sweatshop labour disputes developed into a six month long colony-wide social revolution. Unlike the less organised street demonstrations the year before, the mass demonstrations in 1967 had several organised factions. These included worker unions, left-wing students and local individuals who supported the Maoist aims of the Chinese Communist Party. Together they called for an end to colonial capitalist exploitation and rallied against British imperialism.

Early on in March, a series of labour disputes had already taken place at a shipping company, four taxi companies, a textile factory, a cement company and the Hong Kong Artificial Flower Works. Most of the worker organisers in these disputes were from the Federation of Trade Unions, which had alliances with the (then Maoist) Chinese Communist Party. The large numbers of agitated workers provided an opportunity for Communist organisers to establish larger networks among workers across the colony.

Generally the 1967 revolts can be divided into three phases of combined economic, political and cultural action.

From May to June, a series of labour disputes grew into larger public demonstrations after encountering police harassment. The workers called for a bettering of their work conditions and demanded basic labour rights protection while the union organisers sought to raise the anti-colonial consciousness of the people. They harnessed colony-wide public support by organising mass rallies and launching a media campaign to document police brutality and colonial capitalist
exploitation.

The main agent of the Communist media war was the official mainland Xinhua News Agency, that produced news reports that supported the protesters actions against the colonial authorities. The English colonial media, in-turn, continued to demonize the Chinese Communist Party for instigating the workers to revolt and
attempted to discredit the reports produced by the pro-Communist media. Apart from print media, the Communists also started a broadcasting campaign, employing noise-barrage tactics during their rallies as well as launching a massive colony-wide poster campaign.

By June to August, the organisers aimed to hit the colonial capitalist authorities where it hurt the most — by crippling the economy of the colony. They called for a mass General strike and initiated frequent transport and supply stoppages. Violent clashes with police increased at this time as the colonial authorities intensified their anti-union and anti-Communist assaults. Despite a drought and severe food shortages, the Communists still held the support of a large section of Hong Kong’s general public.

From August onwards, the protesters initiated their final phase of bombing attacks and urban terrorism. While they sought to liberate Hong Kong from British colonialism and gain communist party support from Beijing, they were disappointed by the lack of initiative from the leadership in the Chinese capital and gradually their popular support began to wane. The six-months of political activity had cost 51 deaths (15 were from bomb explosions, there were 10 police dead and some children killed too) and many injured — 212 police in all. But the colonial authorities were quick to take advantage of this change in public opinion and claimed the victory for themselves, while at the same time intensifying their anti-Communist propaganda campaign. >4