The Esing Bakery incident, also known as the Ah Lum affair, was a food contamination scandal in the early history of British Hong Kong. On 15 January 1857, during the Second Opium War, several hundred European residents were poisoned non-lethally by arsenic, found in bread produced by a Chinese-owned store, the Esing Bakery. The proprietor of the bakery, Cheong Ah-lum, was accused of plotting the poisoning but was acquitted in a trial by jury. Nonetheless, Cheong was successfully sued for damages and was banished from the colony. The true responsibility for the incident and its intention—whether it was an individual act of terrorism, commercial sabotage, a war crime orchestrated by the Qing government, or purely accidental—both remain a matter of debate.
In Britain, the incident became a political issue during the 1857 general election, helping to mobilise support for the war and the incumbent Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston. In Hong Kong, it sowed panic and insecurity among the local colonists, highlighting the precariousness of imperial rule in the colony. The incident contributed to growing tensions between Hong Kong's European and Chinese residents, as well as within the European community itself. The scale and potential consequences of the poisoning make it an unprecedented event in the history of the British Empire, the colonists believing at the time that its success could have wiped out their community. (Full article...)
Image 2Lion Rock is also symbolic of Hong Kong. Hong Kongers has a term - "Beneath the Lion Rock" (獅子山下) - which refers to their collective memory of Hong Kong in the second half of the 20th century. (from Culture of Hong Kong)
Image 17Hong Kong international airport was moved from Kai Tak to Chep Lap Kok. Photograph of Kai Tak taken the day after it closed. (from History of Hong Kong)
Image 27Wing Lung Wai, a walled village in Kam Tin; Hong Kong indigenous people built walled villages to protect themselves from rampant privates between 15th to 19th century. (from Culture of Hong Kong)
Image 31Main building of University of Hong Kong; Being a former British colony, Hong Kong naturally has a lot of British architecture, especially in government buildings. (from Culture of Hong Kong)
Image 34A Mazu temple in Shek Pai Wan; It clearly shows traits of classical Lingnan style - pale colour, rectangular structures, use of reliefs, among others. (from Culture of Hong Kong)
Image 35Pang uk in Tai O; Pang uks were built by Tanka people, who had the traditions of living above water and regarding it as an honour. (from Culture of Hong Kong)
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