Mission and Colonial Violence in the First World War

Under this title, Chinese historian Iris Leung Chui-wa offered fascinating insights into the history of the Basel Mission in Hong Kong under British rule. The webinar continues the series "Mission-Colonialism Revisited" and is available online.  

Chinese historian Iris Leung Chui-wa (MA & PhD cand., Hong Kong) addresses the work of the Basel Mission in China in the webinar "Mission and Colonial Violence in World War I". The Basel Mission sent its first missionaries to Hong Kong in 1847, five years after its establishment as a British colony.  

During World War I, however, the Basel Mission faced considerable difficulties and was expelled from Hong Kong after being officially classified as an enemy of the British Empire. Its missionaries were interned and its assets confiscated by the authorities. Iris Leung Chui-wa explains the reasons for the colonial government's aggressive policy and shows how the Basel Mission's absence from Hong Kong helped to hasten the independence of the Chinese churches.