Dr. Philip Thai (Northeastern University)

This talk explores the local consequences of a global drug war, focusing on the Anglo-American campaign to combat the heroin trade in Hong Kong. During the 1970s, the British colony emerged as a global gateway for Southeast Asian opium from the “Golden Triangle.” Its growing notoriety presented a law enforcement dilemma for the Hong Kong government while attracting attracted opprobrium from American officials who linked the domestic heroin epidemic with ostensible British permissiveness. In response to mounting international outcry and growing frictions with a key Cold War ally, the United Kingdom collaborated with the United States to bring President Richard Nixon’s “War on Drugs” to its colony. The talk will chronicle the origins, development, and significance of this joint Anglo-American campaign.