Club Lunch: Master Spy – Former U.S. Diplomat Syd Goldsmith Gives A Rare Insight into CIA operations in Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution and 1967 riots

As the U.S. Consulate General’s Hong Kong/Macau Political Officer during the 1967 riots, Mr. Goldsmith had access to everything the CIA, a Chinese “Deep Throat,” and Hong Kong Government contacts would share as the colony faced Cultural Revolution-inspired threats. He worked closely with Bill Wells, who by 1967, had risen to be the head of the CIA’s China-watching operation in Hong Kong. Wells’ work had been brought to the attention of Lyndon Johnson, the U.S. President at that time, and his role in creating what the Americans understood of China during those early stages of the Cultural Revolution was huge.

Now, with the launch of his memoir “Hong Kong on the Brink: An American diplomat relives 1967’s darkest days”, Mr. Goldsmith discussed the entire range of CIA information-gathering activities in Hong Kong at the time.

Mr. Goldsmith currently resides in Taipei, where he is a member of the Taiwan FCC.