From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Russians in Hong Kong form one of the territory's smaller groups of expatriates and a minor portion of the worldwide Russian diaspora. White Russians in the pre-World War II period were looked down upon by the British; their lifestyles, employment, and poverty were seen to "undermine 'white privilege'", and other Europeans tried to avoid any interaction with them.[1] Nevertheless, some were also hired on to Royal Hong Kong Police Force, though they were paid less than other Europeans; at one point, Russians composed 12-15% of all Europeans in the Hong Kong police.[2][3] In the 1950s, the People's Republic of China threatened to deport all the White Russians from its territory to Hong Kong; in the end, they relented, and only deported those who had been able to secure a final destination outside of Hong Kong. A site for a refugee camp had been picked out for them at Chi Ma Wan on Lantau Island, but it was never built.[4]
Russians in Hong Kong have also been the subject of works of fiction; The Back Door, an 1897 war novel, imagined a naval invasion of Hong Kong by the Russians and the French.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Horne 2003: 25
- ^ Horne 2003: 73
- ^ Vaid 1972: 39
- ^ Bray 2001: 47
- ^ Bickley 2001: 1
[edit] Sources
- Bickley, Gillian (2001). Hong Kong Invaded!: A '97 Nightmare. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9622095267.
- Bray, Denis (2001). Hong Kong Metamorphosis. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962209550X.
- Horne, Gerald (2003). Race War!: White Supremacy and the Japanese Attack on the British. New York City: New York University Press. ISBN 0814736408.
- Vaid, K. N. (1972). The Overseas Indian Community in Hong Kong. Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong.
[edit] External links
