New ‘Hong Kong Story’ museum exhibition to include controversial events, from 1967 riots to July 1 march and Occupy

Long-awaited revamp at Museum of History will take into account survey findings and drop least favoured natural environment gallery content

Expert says existing coverage on violent historical events ‘ridiculously low’

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Riot police readying tear gas shells to disperse left-wing protesters at Tung Tau resettlement estate in 1967. Photo: SCMP

Published: 2:01pm, 24 Nov 2018Updated: 11:21pm, 24 Nov 2018

Controversial events such as one of Hong Kong’s largest protest marches in 2003 against national security laws are expected to feature in an exhibition on the city’s history at a government-run museum in 2022.

With renovations planned for “The Hong Kong Story”, a permanent exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of History, Lingnan University historian Lau Chi-pang said he and fellow members of the expert advisory panel on the works agreed contentious periods such as the large riots in 1956 and 1967 should be given more coverage.

The comments come amid growing interest in Hong Kong’s history in recent years.

Riots in Sham Shui Po in 1956. Photo: SCMP

Au Nok-hin, deputy chairman of the Legislative Council’s panel on home affairs, said that while he agreed post-handover incidents should be documented in the new exhibition, it would not be easy to present deeply divisive events such as the July 1, 2003 march, or 2014’s Occupy movement for greater democracy.

“It would depend on the perspective and framework adopted by the curators and I’m concerned if it would be influenced by the government,” Au said.