This talk positions 1930s Hong Kong at the forefront of global history by revealing how the colony’s radio station ZBW (established 1928) functioned as a strategic imperial broadcasting hub. Far from a peripheral local service, ZBW served as a vital retransmission node for the BBC Empire Service. Equipped with powerful shortwave transmitters, it projected British news, culture, and information “ex oriente ad orbem” (“from the East to the world”) across China, Southeast Asia, Australia, and even North America.
Drawing on archival records from the BBC Written Archives Centre and Britain’s National Archives, along with quantitative analysis of programming schedules, the talk shows how the colonial government adapted the BBC public-service model into a state-controlled monopoly. It deliberately rejected commercialisation and prioritised English-language content for British expatriates and settlers in East Asia. Only after the 1937 Sino-Japanese War and the arrival of mainland refugees did Chinese-language broadcasting expand significantly.
By highlighting radio’s unique ability to cross borders, this presentation reframes colonial Hong Kong not as an isolated outpost but as an active convergence point in imperial and transnational networks, a dynamic frontier tying the British world together.
The Speaker
James K.S. Wong is a PhD student in Communication and Culture at York University. His research interests include media history, ethnic and transnational media, media representation, and the Chinese and Hong Kong diaspora in Canada. He is currently developing his doctoral dissertation on the postwar development of Cantonese radio and the sense of belonging among Hong Kong immigrants in Canada.
James holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in History from the University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
PROGRAMME
Date: Tuesday, 9 June 2026
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm (Hong Kong Time)
Venue: Online by Zoom
Admission: $50 for members, $60 for guests /non-members
Registration: Please email <membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk> and provide your membership
number, if applicable, at the time of registration. Please kindly complete your registration by advance
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