Advertisement

50 years on, Hong Kong protest pioneer has no regrets (but he’s got no time for today’s radicals)

When So Sau-chung started a hunger strike on April 4, 1966, to oppose a Star Ferry fare rise he unleashed forces that reverberate to this today

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
So Sau-chung is now a 75-year-old Buddhist monk. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Fifty years ago today, dressed in a turtleneck sweater, black jacket and dark sunglasses, a reedy 25-year-old staged a hunger strike outside the Star Ferry pier’s concourse in Central.

Advertisement

So Sau-chung, a translator, was protesting at the fare increase for the boat ride between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui, back then a vital link between the two areas.

His defiance drew sympathy from some members of the public. But it was his arrest the following day that prompted thousands to take to the streets of Kowloon in violent protest.

It sparked one of the biggest disturbances in Hong Kong’s recent history and led to an official inquiry, which admitted a chasm existed between the colonial government and the people. Fifty years on, the pioneer of social protest in Hong Kong has no regrets.

Advertisement

But So, who became a Buddhist monk in 1996, slammed the activists involved in the Occupy Central protests and advocates of Hong Kong independence.

loading
Advertisement