The 1956 Hong Kong riots, also known as the Double Ten riots ( zh, t=雙十暴動), were the result of escalating provocations between the
pro-Kuomintang and
pro-CCP camps on
Double Ten Day
The National Day of the Republic of China ( zh, 中華民國的國慶日) or the Taiwan National Day, also referred to as Double Ten Day or Double Tenth Day, is a public holiday on 10 October, now held annually in Taiwan (officially the Republi ...
, 10 October 1956.
[HKheadline.com.]
HKheadline.com
" ''雙十暴動：香港最血腥的一天.'' Retrieved on 7 July 2010.
Most violence took place in the town of
Tsuen Wan
Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a town built on a bay in the western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite of Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged from the surrounding villages and flee ...
, five miles from central Kowloon. A mob stormed and ransacked a clinic and welfare centre, killing four civilians.
["Hong Kong: Trouble on the Double Ten"](_blank)
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' Monday, 22 Oct. 1956
The protests spread to other parts of
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
including along
Nathan Road
Nathan Road is the main thoroughfare in Kowloon, Hong Kong, aligned south–north from Tsim Sha Tsui to Sham Shui Po. It is lined with shops and restaurants and throngs with visitors, and was known in the post–World War II years as the Golden ...
. By 11 October, some of the mob began targeting foreigners. Protesters in Kowloon turned over a taxi carrying the
Swiss Vice Consul Fritz Ernst
Fritz originated as a German nickname for Friedrich, or Frederick (''Der Alte Fritz'', and ''Stary Fryc'' were common nicknames for King Frederick II of Prussia and Frederick III, German Emperor) as well as for similar names including Fridolin a ...
and his wife on Nathan Road. The rioters doused the cab in gasoline and lit it on fire resulting in the death of the driver and Mrs. Ernst who succumbed to her injuries two days later.
To quell the riots,
Colonial Secretary Edgeworth B. David
Sir Edgeworth Beresford David KBE CMG (12 June 1908 – 15 May 1965) was a colonial administrator. He was appointed as a cadet in the Colonial Office in 1930 and later became the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1955 to 1957 and the las ...
ordered extra manpower from the
British Forces Hong Kong
British Forces Overseas Hong Kong comprised the elements of the British Army, Royal Navy (including Royal Marines) and Royal Air Force stationed in British Hong Kong. The Governor of Hong Kong also assumed the position of the commander-in-chi ...
, including armoured troops of
7th Hussars, to reinforce the
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Po ...
in protecting civilians and dispersing the rioters.
In total, there were 59 deaths and approximately 500 injuries. Property damage was estimated at US$1,000,000.
[Chu, Yingchi. ]003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to:
*003, fictional British 00 Agent
*003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986)
*1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen
* OO3 gauge model railway
*''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...
(2003). Hong Kong Cinema: Coloniser, Motherland and Self. Routledge publishing.
See also
*
1950s in Hong Kong
The 1950s in Hong Kong began against the chaotic backdrop of the resumption of British sovereignty after the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong ended in 1945, and the renewal of the Nationalist-Communist Civil War in mainland China. It prompted a l ...
*
1966 Hong Kong riots
The 1966 Hong Kong riots, also known as the 1966 Star Ferry riots, were a series of disturbances that took place over three nights on the streets of Kowloon, Hong Kong in the spring of 1966. The riots started as peaceful demonstrations against th ...
*
1967 Hong Kong riots
The 1967 Hong Kong riots were large-scale anti-government riots that occurred in Hong Kong during British colonial rule. Beginning as a minor labour dispute, the demonstrations eventually escalated into protests against the British colonial go ...
*
1981 Hong Kong riots
Multiple disturbances broke out on Christmas Day of 1981 and New Year's Day of 1982 in Hong Kong. Since the majority of the participants were youths, the riots were also named as the Christmas youth riots of 1981 and New Year youth riots of 198 ...
*
2014 Hong Kong protests
A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014.
The protests began after ...
References
1956 riots
Riots
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...
56 Riots
56 Riots
Looting
Hong Kong–Taiwan relations
{{HongKong-hist-stub