Bryan Ong has made it his mission to preserve items that tell the story of Hong Kong’s British colonial past even as Beijing increasingly shapes life in the territory that is firmly back in the fold of mainland China.

Ong, 42, has been collecting colonial memorabilia since he was a child and last year opened the Museum Victoria City to put his treasures on display, detached from growing acrimony between China and Britain, fuelled in part by the colonial legacy.

“Whether it’s good or bad, it’s part of Hong Kong history,” Ong said.

His two-storey museum displays military medals, badges, royal portraits, stamps, banknotes, newspaper clippings and colonial government leaflets. It doubles as a souvenir shop.

Ong’s grandmother gave him a medal of a Hong Kong-based British Gurkha soldier as a gift when he was a child, inspiring his fascination with the territory’s history.

A partially burned British flag that was recovered from a War World II battle in Hong Kong, when Japanese forces captured the territory, is among the museum’s most precious items.

Hong Kong’s colonial era ended on July 1, 1997, after 156 years.

After pro-democracy protests in 2019, China cracked down on dissent and asserted its authority over the territory in ways that Britain has said contravened its handover agreement that runs until 2047, drawing angry rebukes from Beijing.

China imposed a National Security Law on the territory in 2020 followed by reforms to remove from public posts anyone who was considered to be disloyal.

Education, the media and other sectors have been increasingly under pressure to show patriotism and support for China’s leadership.

Ong said he was not worried about the fast-changing political environment.

“I am a Hong Kong lad. Not British,” Ong said, adding that he did not think his museum would irk the authorities.

“We will try our very best to preserve the good oldies of Hong Kong,” Ong said. “Keep calm and carry on.”

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