The CUHK LAW Greater China Legal History Seminar Series aims to serve as a forum to discuss the historical development of a great variety of legal issues of interest in the Greater China region. The next seminar, "Grounded at Kai-Tak: Chinese Aircraft Impounded in Hong Kong 1949-1952", will be given by Mr. Malcolm MERRY, Barrister, on 10 February 2023.
Towards the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 as Communist forces advanced southwards, aircraft of the Nationalist government's two main airlines took refuge at Kai Tak airfield in the then British Crown Colony of Hong Kong. There followed a three-year struggle for control of the aircraft on the ground, in the courts and among ministers and diplomats on three continents. In this seminar, Mr. Malcolm Merry, author of the book titled Grounded at Kai Tak, Chinese Aircraft Impounded in Hong Kong 1949-1952 (HKUP), will outline the story of the struggle. It is a saga of colourful characters, political intrigue, legal maneuverings and unexpected turns which strained the UK's relations with the authorities in the US, Hong Kong and China. The British government insisted that ownership of the planes was purely a question of law but encountered resistance from the colony's governor, its judges, the Americans and the new regime in China. The fate of the planes became entangled with international post-war tensions and domestic American politics which inevitably meant that the struggle was far more than a simple legal contest.
Details and registration: https://bit.ly/3HHc6ud