Special Branch (Hong Kong)

Special Branch
政治部
AbbreviationSB
Agency overview
Formed1934
Dissolved1 July 1995
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionBritish Hong Kong
General nature
Operational structure
Parent agencyRoyal Hong Kong Police Force
Victoria Road Detention Centre was used by the Special Branch

Special Branch (Chinese: 政治部; lit. 'Political Department'), abbreviated as SB,[1] was established in 1934 under the Crime Department of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. The Branch disbanded in 1995 in the final days of colonial period.

History

Early days

In the face of a perceived direct Communist threat to Hong Kong, an Anti-Communist Squad was established in the Criminal Investigation Department of the then Royal Hong Kong Police Force by 1930. It was named the Political Department in Chinese (政治部). In 1933 (some sources said 1934), the squad's English name became "Special Branch" while its Chinese name remained unchanged.[2]: 203  The Branch was said to be under MI5 with assistance from MI6, and became part of the Hong Kong police in 1946, focusing on the prevention of pro-CCP leftists and pro-KMT rightists infiltrating Hong Kong.

In addition to anti-subversion operations, its role during its first two decades also included immigration, passport control and registration of persons.[2]: 204 

By 1949, then an elite division of the Criminal Investigation Division, Special Branch was manned by a large cohort of British officers brought in that year by Deputy Commissioner Peter Erwin, the Director Special Branch (DSB), to replace remnants of the prewar Shanghai Settlements police. Under DSB John Prendergast (later Sir John),[3] appointed Deputy Commissioner in 1960 to lead the division, Special Branch was considered a highly professional security apparatus, pursuing anti-corruption and anti-Triad duties in addition to intelligence and counter-subversion operations.[4] By 1977, the branch strength had reached almost a thousand.[2]: 206 

SB officers assigned to work in Hong Kong were encouraged to work alongside MI6 agents in penetrating mainland China due to a lack of intelligence success with their Far East Controller.[5]

1980s and 1990s

SB descriptions from 1983 did not mention its role of monitoring subversive activities due to the then ongoing Sino-British negotiations on returning Hong Kong back to China.[2]: 211  In 1988, the SB stopped accepting new recruits.[2]: 211 

The Branch provided help in the Operation Yellowbird, rescuing student activists following the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.[6]

As the handover of Hong Kong was approaching, the Intelligence Wing was gradually dismissed, with the officials being settled in the United Kingdom after signing life-long non-disclosure agreements.[7] The division was disbanded in 1995, prior to the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997.[8] Units of SB were reassigned under the Security Wing (Department B) – Crime and Security.[9]

The Security Wing, on the other hand, was merged to the Crime and Security Department on 1 July 1995, and is now responsible for the VIP Protection Unit. It took charge for continuing the work of the SB.[2]: 212  The Intelligence Wing was eliminated and all related information was deleted to prevent it from being transferred to Chinese hands, although some files were sent back to London.[10] The RHKPF's Special Branch did not leave any record of their work, owing to their intelligence duties.[11] Some of them were turned over to the Hong Kong SAR government after it was established.[12]

Recent declassified documents showed that the RHKPF's Special Branch was infiltrated by the intelligence service of the government of the Republic of China during the Cold War.[8]

RHKPF SB officers were involved in using the Victoria Road Detention Centre, known as "White House", to interrogate pro-KMT agents trying to bring explosive into mainland China through Hong Kong and pro-communist agitators in the 1960s.[13]

Organisation

The Branch was consisted of two Wings: Intelligence Wing and Security Wing, and led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police, and a Chief Superintendent of Police.[14]

Eight divisions were established, handling political vetting, anti-terrorism, intelligence, espionage, bugging socialists in Hong Kong, and preventing spies from China.[15]

  • Special Branch
    • Intelligence Wing
      • Intelligence Division: preventing the infiltration of communists, gathering intelligence over socialist states.
      • Support Division: providing technical support for counterintelligence, translation and intelligence analysis
    • Security Wing
      • Operations Division: monitoring communists across the globe and deal with subversions by CCP
      • Counterintelligence Division: monitoring communists in Hong Kong, vetting police and protecting VIPs in Hong Kong

References

  1. ^ "神秘部門". hk.news.yahoo.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Fu, H L; Cullen, R (2003). "Political Policing in Hong Kong" (PDF). Hong Kong Law Journal. 33. hdl:10722/75000.
  3. ^ Sinclair, Georgina (2012). Elizabeth Sinn (ed.). Dictionary of Hong Kong Biography. Hong Kong University Press. p. 360.
  4. ^ Smith, IC; West, Nigel (4 May 2012). Historical Dictionary of Chinese Intelligence. Scarecrow Press. p. 225. ISBN 9780810873704.
  5. ^ Shaw, Alexander Nicholas (2017). "MI5 and the Cold War in South-East Asia: Examining the performance of Security Intelligence Far East (SIFE), 1946–1963" (PDF). Intelligence and National Security. 32 (6): 797–816. doi:10.1080/02684527.2017.1289695. S2CID 73533752.
  6. ^ "司徒華回憶錄講黃雀行動". Oriental Daily. 2011-07-12. p. A27.
  7. ^ 梁寶龍 (2017-01-14). "抗戰時中共在香港的情報組織" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 獨立媒體. Archived from the original on 2017-01-15. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  8. ^ a b Seawright, Stephen. "KMT spies infiltrated colonial police". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  9. ^ Goodsir, Darren (1 June 1995). "FBI-style security squad to start up". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2 June 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Lam unlikely to act on 'explosive' CPU recommendation". 2017-07-13.
  11. ^ Luk, Helen (15 January 1998). "Changes backed despite intelligence unit mystery". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  12. ^ May Sin-mi Hon, "Security Chiefs Allow Protester To View His File: Complaint Over Police Surveillance", SCMP, 2 Mar 1998
  13. ^ "Hong Kong security law suspects may be held in special detention centres". 22 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Finance Committee -- Establishment Subcommitee (Papers) 9 Jul 96". www.legco.gov.hk. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  15. ^ 黃舜煬 (2020-06-24). "【港區國安法．深度】港英「政治部」怎樣運作？". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2022-04-08.

Further reading

See also