Public Health Challenges in the Port-city under the Zenith of Cold War: Leprosy in Hong Kong as a Case Study

Hong Kong is a major port city in South China. The movement of people and the spread of infectious diseases are interwoven together. It was especially so during the Cold War. Of many diseases, Leprosy was one of the major concerns of many people. At the zenith of the Cold War, the influx of refugees fanned the anxiety of importing leprosy into the densely populated port city of Hong Kong. The colonial government created a myth that leprosy was a new issue in Hong Kong. To tackle it required resources – land for quarantine, medical personnel, and public money. This paper tried to answer such resource questions. The government made available the Isle of happy healing (Hay Ling Chau, previously known as the nun island) and created legitimacy for building a leprosarium. Meanwhile, the answers to other resource questions were met by foreign Christian missionaries and local Christian groups.