The battle of hong kong through the eyes of people who. On christmas day 1941 the japanese captured hong kong, and. Civilians were raped and tortured during the occupation. This book unravels for the first time the dramatic story of the japanese occupation and reinterprets the. In july 1940, as the threat of japanese invasion intensified, the largest evacuation in hong kong history got under way. When the japanese invade and the governor surrenders no one can quite believe what happens. The first troops to engage them were the rajputs who continued to offer resistance until the regiment virtually ceased to exist. The occupation lasted for three years and eight months until japan surrendered at the end of second world war. On christmas day 1941 the japanese captured hong kong and britain lost control of its chinese colony for almost four years.
The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce fighting against the overwhelming japanese forces who had invaded on the territory. Kong was part of the shortlived japanese empire, the british occupation would last until midnight on july 1, 1997, whereupon hong kong became a special administrative region of the peoples republic of china. This chapter deals with the period of japanese occupation and the japanese attempt to use hong kong as a shipping hub to support their war effort. The book tells the stories of the battle for hong kong, daily civilian lives, hong kong mafias collaboration with the japanese imperial army, and the pows camp in hong kong during the occupation. The dirty secrets of hong kongs war hong kong free press hkfp. Massacre and atrocities in hong kong during wwii don tow. Hong kongs former colonial authorities went so far as to take a never openly. From 1970 to 1972, while researching for his ma thesis, the author interviewed twentythree. The definitive account of the wartime history of hong kong on christmas day 1941 the japanese captured hong kong, and britain lost control of its chinese colony for almost four years, a turning point in the process by which the british were to be expelled from the colony and from east asia. On christmas day 1941 the japanese captured hong kong, and britain lost control of its chinese colony for almost four years, a turning point in the process by which the british were to be expelled from the.
Their numbers are smaller when compared to the sizeable presence of american, british, and canadian expatriates. Big flow of new migrants spout to hong kong after world war ii and proclamation of. Rensuke isogai, isogai rensuke, september 3, 1886 june 6, 1967 was a general in the imperial japanese army and governor of hong kong under japanese occupation from december 24, 1942 to august 15 1945. Before dawn on monday, december 8, 75 years ago, imperial japanese troops in guangdong stole over the border into hong kong. The imperial japanese occupation of hong kong began when the governor of. The deeds written during this period contained odd grammar and did not state the reason of alienation. Now, her diary is being published as she approached 100. Colin gimson, cousin of sir franklin charles gimson who came to hong kong as colonial secretary in december 1941 but was immediately interned in stanley prisoner of war camp. Jun 22, 2012 later in the afternoon ryan, sandra and l went to the history museum and found quite a large section about the occupation. The colonial period began with the occupation of hong kong island in 1841 during the first opium war. Hong kong under the japanese occupation, 19421945 hong. This book is in very good condition, binding and pages crisp and clean. British, american, dutch and others, who were trapped in the british colony and interned behind barbed wire in stanley internment camp from 1942 to 1945.
Moving to macau during the japanese occupation of hong kong. August 15, 1945 hong kong was freed and become functioning again as port. The anglochinese underground resistance such as the british army aid group and the east river column will be discussed. The top ten books set in hong kong time out hong kong. That same morning, the japanese launched attacks on pearl harbor, the. Japanese occupation of hong kong simple english wikipedia. His thesis is that the japanese occupation, a brief period of 3 years 8 months, out of the more than 100 years that the colony was in british hands, was the critical watershed which made british relinquishment inevitable. Score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Flashbacks to peis early life in the silk factory punctuate the narrative, which skillfully traces 35 yearsthrough the japanese invasion of hong kong and its aftermath up until 1973in peis nimbly stalwart existence. Japanese occupation of china banknotes japanese occupation. The imperial japanese occupation of hong kong began when the governor of hong kong, sir mark young, surrendered the british crown colony of hong kong to imperial japan on 25 december 1941.
The japanese occupation was a turning point in the slow historical process by which the british were to be expelled from the colony and from four centuries of influence in east asia. Dec 16, 2016 before dawn on monday, december 8, 75 years ago, imperial japanese troops in guangdong stole over the border into hong kong. Best fiction and nonfiction books, novels and memoirs that take place primarily in the city of hong kong. The book has much to say about both colonial education and hong kong in general, and it tracks the fortunes of the colony from the peak of the british empires power to the destructive effects of the japanese occupation between 1941 and 1945.
Book sheds light on hong kongs war tribunals south china. Hong kong was a british colony before and after wwii, but from 12251941 to 8151945 when japan surrendered, hong kong was under the control of japan. Three years eight months the forgotten struggle of hong. It also discusses the japanese plans to defend hong kong during the possible allied counterattack. A concise history of hong kong hong kong university press. Massacre and atrocities in hong kong during wwii don tows. In this wellresearched and wellwritten book, phillip snow traces the history of the british colony of hong kong, with the intent to show why britain ultimately returned the colony to china. Rainscape of the city shancheng yujing is the only stillextent book publication in hong kong during japanese occupation 1941 1945. As white russians, we lived in a form of limbo during those years. The strategic importance of hong kong and the details of the japanese military rule. Later in the afternoon ryan, sandra and l went to the history museum and found quite a large section about the occupation. One of the opening battles of the conflict in the pacific, japanese troops commenced their attack on the british colony the same morning as their attack on the us pacific fleet at pearl harbor. On the 25 of december 1941, hong kong surrendered to. The battle of hong kong was fought december 8 to 25, 1941, during world war ii 19391945.
In short the japanese occupation of hong kong was a fiasco. This book switches between the the early 1940s and the early 1950s. After the 1931 defeat in manchuria, for six years, the tensions between china and japan continued but with no major conflict. Japans conquest in asia pacific atrocities education. The fall of hong kong is very different, and very good. Land deeds and the japanese occupation, 19411945 hong kong. The failure of the british to cultivate the loyalty of the hong kong chinese in the years prior to the war weakened their ability to. As of 2010, 21,518 japanese people had registered as residents of hong kong with the japanese consulate there. Fifteen year old kate wolseley is british and lives with her parents on the peak.
A collection of research notes on hong kong during japanese occupation, 19411945. Article also did not include a wellsourced statement concerning the japanese occupation from another article, battle of hong kong. The first part is from 1941 1945 during the japanese occupation of hong kong during wwii. The japanese occupation was a turning point in the slow historical process.
Oct 10, 2018 barbara redwood, then 23, wrote about experience under japanese occupation while living in hong kong in 1941. The length of this period later became a metonym of the occupation. Philip snows the fall of hong kong paints a vivid picture of hong kong society in the leadup to the japanese occupation of 19411945. That same morning, the japanese launched attacks on pearl harbor, the philippines, british malaya and thailand. The orchid tree is a historical drama set in hong kong. Hk writers the 5 best books about hong kong page traveller. These transactions sometimes happened without a middleman or a family council. Japanese occupation of hong kong military wiki fandom. Britain, china, and the japanese occupation, published in 2003, mainly focuses on the events that happened during the japanese occupation 25 december 194115 august 1945. Japanese troops land in hong kong on december 18, 1941, and slaughter ensues. The nationalist and communist forces were no match for the japanese. It began when the governor of hong kong, sir mark young, gave up the british crown colony of hong kong to empire of japan on 25 december 1941.
Japanese occupation of hong kong wikipedia republished. On christmas day 1941 the japanese captured hong kong, and britain lost control of its chinese colony for almost four years, a turning point in the process by which the british were to be expelled from the colony and from east asia. Where snow comes into its own is in his use of japanese and chinese as well as british sources, which offer a much more nuanced picture than has appeared before in english of life among hong kong s different communities before and during the japanese occupation. Life in the japanese civilian camp at stanley tells the story of the more than three thousand nonchinese civilians. During the christmas of 1941, the governor of hong kong, mark aitchison young surrendered hong kong and started the 3 years 8 months of the japanese imperial armys occupation of hong kong.
Japanese invasion of hong kong december 1941 arthur. End of japanese occupation pacific atrocities education. Colin gimson, cousin of sir franklin charles gimson who came to hong kong as colonial secretary in december 1941 but. Pages on the left cover the books that have spun off from this project. Japanese occupation of china banknotes japanese occupation of china paper money catalog and chinese currency history. After the united front formed between the nationalist and the communist party, the second sino japanese war 19371945 soon started, which would be the start of japans official invasion of china. Jul 11, 2004 philip snows the fall of hong kong paints a vivid picture of hong kong society in the leadup to the japanese occupation of 19411945.
Set in hong kong, it is easy to follow these jumps from from one era back and forth to the other. When japanese forces launched a surprise invasion of the territory on december 8, 1941, just six hours after they bombed pearl harbor, british leaders already knew hong kong was indefensible. How british in wartime hong kong evacuated women and. The clarity of mind snow brings to his labor of storytelling and contextualizing is amazing. I have just modified 2 external links on japanese occupation of hong kong. On christmas day 1941 the japanese captured hong kong, and britain lost control of its chinese colony for almost four years. The surviving land deeds reflected a traditional society breaking down as people sold their trust property.
It sounded like a pretty horrible time for 3 years, 8 months and the people of hong kong were very thankful for canadians who tried to help them out, with many of them dying in their attempt. This book is written with both a scholarly and a more general audience in mind. The real story of hong kongs place in the second world war. During the last year and a half of the japanese occupation of hong kong during world war two, my father, george smirnoff, with some other russian refugees, decided to move his family to the only safe place we could get to, the small neighbouring portuguese colony of macao. This article recounts the massacre and atrocities committed by the japanese troops during those three years and eight months of occupation of hong kong. Welcome to hong kong war diary a project that documents the 1941 defence of hong kong, the defenders, their families, and the fates of all until liberation. Written by a projapanese writer lu mengshu, it is generally seen as a propagandistic work. The failure of the british to cultivate the loyalty of the hong kong chinese in the years prior to the war weakened their ability to defend the colony against the japanese.
Japanese people in hong kong consist primarily of expatriate business people and their families, along with a smaller number of single women. Instead of caring for the citizens stories and wellbeings at the end of wwii, people cared about. They dont seem to have been at all interested in liberating their fellow asians from colonial rule. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple faq for additional information. Few scholarly studies have looked at its publication history and political ambiguities. Instead of caring for the citizens experiences at the end of wwii, people cared about the. The imperial japanese occupation of hong kong began when the governor of hong kong, sir mark young, surrendered the british crown colony of. Three years eight months the japanese occupation of hong kong. A week of air raids over hong kong, a british crown colony, was followed up on. The imperial japanese occupation of hong kong began when the governor of hong kong, sir mark young, surrendered the british crown colony of hong kong to the empire of japan on 25 december 1941. The road to liberation, kwongs new chineselanguage book, will shed more light on the wartime occupation, using japanese archival material on hong kong. The japanese occupation of hong kong began when the governor of hong kong, sir mark young, surrendered the british crown colony of hong kong to imperial japan on 25 december 1941. The occupation lasted for three years and eight months until.
Fiction and nonfiction dealing with japanese occupation in asia score a book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce fighting against the overwhelming japanese forces that had invaded the territory. On 18 december 1941, the imperial japanese army launched the invasion of hong kong island by landing first at north point. Many sales took place during the japanese occupation of hong kong 19411945. This page is updated monthly with a record of research and related activities. Apr 28, 20 memories of the cruelty of the japanese forces in hong kong have faded over time and even less is known about the aftermath of the citys second world war occupation. Hong kong was a lost cause but the soldiers fought anyway. The definitive account of the wartime history of hong kong on christmas day 1941 the japanese captured hong kong, and britain lost control of its chinese colony for almost four years.
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