Underground Front

Christine Loh's 'Underground Front' traces the Chinese Communist Party's presence and strategies in Hong Kong across the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Drawing on archival material, public sources, and Loh's own experience as a Hong Kong legislator and public figure, the book explains how the CCP used fronts, propaganda, united front work, and elite co-optation to secure influence.

It situates Hong Kong's political developments within broader Chinese political shifts—from the early labor movements, through the Cultural Revolution, to Deng-era reforms and the handover.

The book analyzes how the CCP prepared for and adapted to the 1997 transfer, including its efforts to manage elections, incorporate Hong Kong elites into mainland bodies, and shift from underground to more overt engagement.

Loh offers assessments of public opinion, policy implications, and recommendations for how Hong Kong might engage strategically with Beijing while preserving its distinctiveness.