The two instances when China opened itself up to criticism were swiftly followed by a crackdown on critics who stepped forward, something Hong Kong needs to be wary of.

From Lennon Wall equivalents to a largely absent leadership, there are several striking similarities between the 1967 riots and the current unrest in Hong Kong.

Kenelm Digby sought solace from early-uttered, ill-considered words in Asia, and then New Zealand, but could never completely escape the nightmares of the past.

The prolific British writer who spent three decades in Japan as well as a brief period in Hong Kong is infamous for the poem behind the last successful prosecution for blasphemy in Britain – The Love that Dares to Speak Its Name.

The force is faces a serious crisis of confidence as public trust plummets. But who is really to blame?

More than 50 children were born in Stanley internment camp during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, showing connections were made even under the most trying circumstances.

Fear of curses, spells and the ‘dark arts’ land Southeast Asian women in the dock.

Scandals surrounding the deaths of Lord Erroll in Kenya, Pamela Werner in Peking and John MacLennan in Hong Kong continue to resonate.

Though the Mao outfits and cold war-era vocabulary have gone the way of ‘the red menace’, the Communist Party’s totalitarian grip on China is as tight as ever

A lack of fresh produce as well as hygiene concerns meant most meals were made from processed imported foodstuffs that would then be jazzed up with chutneys, mustard, pickles and any manner of relish.

From the camera-gear-laden Japanese to loud-mouthed Australians, tourists always stand out no matter how hard they try to blend in

Hong Kong provided temporary refuge for the author, who arrived in 1949 after the communists assumed power in China, before he relocated in Malaya and eventually settled in Singapore.

While Western-educated émigrés from China were viewed with suspicion, local Portuguese women and the ‘fishing fleet’ from Britain were highly sought after as executive secretaries in 20th-century Hong Kong.

A sense of impermanence pervaded colonial life in tropical Asia, and was reflected in interior decor and dress choices.

A tranquil, tropical haven, or ‘a material and moral rubbish heap’? In the former Portuguese settlement, sentimentality and reality collide.

Graft is entrenched in Hong Kong society; just the face has changed from low-level bribery to high-level venality that’s virtually impossible to uncover.

Amid the countless short-lived affairs between Western men and Asian women during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there is one that stands out

Those who use the cloak of religion to gain personal advantage have long found friends among Hong Kong’s pious.

The popular wall coverings were initially conceived to insulate rooms during the long, cold winters, and, on account of its humid climate, Hong Kong almost didn’t catch on.

The absence of extradition agreements between Hong Kong, Macau, mainland China and Taiwan have made them safe havens for the corrupt and the criminal.

First stored in stoneware jars, carbonated drinks became available to the masses with the manufacturing boom of glass bottles – and Hong Kong became a key exporter of popular pops across the region

Appealingly commodified by the heritage marketing industry, imperial culture, whether British or Japanese, is eulogised by those who did not live through it.

Writer Bella Woolf Southorn, whose brother married Virginia Woolf, found fulfilment in more intellectual activities than those demanded from formal functions

By the mid-19th century, glass – once a novelty and a status symbol – had become ubiquitous in the city, effectively killing demand for the product previously used for window-glazing purposes

A must-have for newcomers to Hong Kong, customised dinner plates found their way from China, to Europe, and even the Virginia plantation of one George Washington

Indian-born Moss, who died recently in Manila aged 83, called Hong Kong home for more than four decades but the best years of his life were spent in Malaya

Philippine-Hong Kong relations run deep, with the British colony having been a safe haven for revolutionaries, illicit funds and designer shoe brands

A complete ban on fireworks was lifted in 1975 to allow government-organised displays but, in complete disregard of the law, colourful firecrackers have been lighting up the New Territories skies every Lunar New Year, as authorities look the other way

Recent viral video of school assault puts spotlight back onto the perennial problem; failure to address the issue is down to city’s culture of condoning, encouraging and cultivating passive-aggressive behaviour.

Discernible by their language and dress, Southeast Asian-born and Californian expatriate Chinese ‘uncles’ were often the butt of jokes