Week 6: The Fallen City

I. Sino-Japanese War (1937–45)

1. Background—”Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere“
2. Roles of Hong Kong—declared neutral zone (September 1938) . . . 50 tons of ammunitions and supplies per month (< 1938) . . . relocation of Chinese newspapers . . . relief organizations . . . CCP/KMT(GMD) operations . . .
3. Impacts on Hong Kong—~500,000 refugees (1938) . . . pop. > 1.5 million (1941) . . . Emergency Powers Ordinance (reinstated 1938) . . . conscription (July 1939) . . . air-raid tunnels (1940) . . . evacuations (1940)

II. The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941)

1. Preparation—10,000-strong force (2 British battalions, the Hong Kong Volunteers, 2 Indian infantry battalions, and 2 battalions of infantry from Canada) vs. >20,000 Japanese troops
2. The battle—The Royal Rifles of Canada . . . The Winnipeg Grenadiers . . . 1,975 (1,050 killed or wounded)

III. Life during the Occupation

1. Imprisonment of Euro-Americans
2. repatriation of Chinese population—pop. < 600,000 (August 1945) . . . at least 10,000 executed . . . Kenpeitai (Japanese military police) . . . shortages
3. “Asia for Asians” / “Hong Kong for the East Asians”—Meiji Road (formerly Queen’s Road) . . . calendar . . . holidays . . . East Asia Academy (1943)
4. Collaboration and Resistance—Chinese Representative Council . . . Chinese Cooperative Council (chaired by Chow Shouson) . . . British Army Aid Group (BAAG) . . . East River Column (~6,000)

IV. Future of Hong Kong

Discussion

1. How had the war affected the people of Hong Kong before December, 1941?
2. Apart from those who had been sent to the internment camp at Stanley, how did people in Hong Kong negotiate their daily lives during the War? Do a quick research. In addition to the assigned readings, what other first-hand accounts could you locate?
3. Consider the document on "cultural activities" (pp. 225–227). What functions was this piece of propaganda supposed to serve? And why might it work?
4. In general, reflect on the primary sources available. What are their limitations? In what ways were the wartime experiences of Hong Kong distinctive, and in what ways were they part of a broader pattern of human sufferings?

Maps

Images

External Links to Images:

History in Pictures: The Japanese Occupation

Media

External Links to Media:

The Battle of Hong Kong 1941

Hongkong News Online

Hong Kong’s War Crimes Trials Collection

Memories of Hong Kong

Savage in Christmas

East River Column

 

References

• Chan Sui-jeung. East River Column: Hong Kong Guerrillas in the Second World War and After . Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2009.
• Emerson, Geoffrey Charles. Hong Kong Internment, 1942–1945: Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley . Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2008.
• Greenfield, Nathan M. The Damned: The Canadians at the Battle of Hong Kong and the POW Experience, 1941–45. Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2010.
• Linton, Suzannah, ed. Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
• Snow, Philip. The Fall of Hong Kong: Britain, China and the Japanese Occupation. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2003.
• Tsang, Steve. Democracy Shelved: Great Britain, China, and Attempts at Constitutional Reform in Hong Kong, 1945–1952. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1988.