Escapes from the Cultural Revolution from Mainland China to Hong Kong?

January 31, 2013 4:28 PM

I'm looking for written narratives in the form of interviews or memoirs of people who escaped from the southern provinces of the Mainland to Hong Kong from the 1950s to the 1970s. The refugees would first journey on foot, then by swimming several hours while trying to avoid border patrol boats and sharks. I have read memoirs of escapees who have found freedom through student visas to Western universities, so there is no need to mention those.
posted by ayc200 to Society & Culture (3 answers total)

You might want to look into accounts of Kowloon Walled City residents.
posted by matkline at 4:33 PM on January 31, 2013

I don't know of escape memoirs, but a couple of early books on the Cultural Revolution were written based on interviews with people who had fled southern China to Hong Kong - Chen Village is one (and quite readable).
posted by jb at 6:11 PM on January 31, 2013

I read this exact memoir when I was visiting a friend in France- it was one of the few books in English in the house at the time.

I am trying to look it up, but I do remember the author had been a member of the Red Guard.
posted by Hactar at 11:15 AM on February 1, 2013