When Hong Kong Waged War on the New Territories

Under the Second Convention of Peking signed in 1898, the Qing dynasty leased the New Territories to Great Britain for 99 years. Although the convention was signed on June 9 of that year, it only became effective on July 1. Regardless, local Punti clans initially continued living under Qing administrative norms.

However, things took a turn for the worse in March 1899 when British officials moved in to take official administrative control over the territory. Worried that the British Government of Hong Kong might forcefully seize their land and upend traditional customs, the local gentry of Ping Shan, Kam Tin, Ha Tsuen and Tai Po (to name a few) raised a militia of about 2,600 men.

In response, the Government of Hong Kong deployed 525 well-trained troops to the New Territories to suppress the unrest. On April 14, 1899, two days before the official possession-taking ceremony, villagers burned the mat-sheds that had been prepared for the flag-raising ceremony.

In the days that followed, the militia bombarded British Police barracks and ambushed British soldiers moving through the Lam Tsuen valley. The unrest reached its climax in Shek Tau Wai, on April 18, 1899, when poorly trained and equipped villagers confronted professionally trained British troops armed with modern artillery, and tactical command.

This lopsided war eventually ended on April 19, 1899, only six days after the onset of what came to be known as the Six Day War. While the British only recorded two wounded soldiers, local clans reported over 500 casualties.