China and the Modern World:
Hong Kong, Britain, and China, Part II: 1965–1993
Post-WWII history of Hong Kong and its interactions with the world during the era of the Cold War

Digitised primarily from the records of British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO 40), this collection continues where Hong Kong, Britain and China, 1841–1951 (Part I) left off, and documents the process of Hong Kong manoeuvring, surviving, thriving, and transforming into a modern international metropolis and financial centre in the wider context of the Cold War.

Consisting of all declassified volumes—that are directly related to Hong Kong and those that affect all British colonies or territories—from the National Archives classes FCO 40 and 21, China and the Modern World: Hong Kong, Britain and China Part II, 1965–1993 provides scholars with essential reference material for researching Hong Kong and its interactions with mainland China, UK, US, Taiwan, and other parts of Asia. It will appeal to students and researchers around the world, particularly in Asia Pacific, Britain, Europe, and North America, who are engaged in researching the twentieth-century history of China, Britain and British Commonwealth, and Sino-British relations during the era of Cold War.

While the focus of the collection is on Hong Kong, a high proportion of the content relates well to the history of modern China and her relations with her neighbours (e.g., Japan) and the West (Britain and the US), covering many historical events such as the Vietnam War, Cultural Revolution, tensions across the Taiwan Strait, China’s reform and opening-up, and negotiations on the return of Hong Kong to China.

Types of documents include manuscripts, photographs, clippings, and ephemera. HTR (Handwritten Text Recognition) will be applied to all relevant documents, allowing users to search for handwritten as well as printed text within the documents. Gale will also create item-level metadata from scratch for all the selected volumes from FCO 40 and 21 to further enhance the research experience of scholars.