I have read several books regarding the Japanese invasion and occupation of Hong Kong, 1941 - 1945. Most have been autobiographical accounts given by those interred at Stanley during those years. The remaining texts have been historical in nature. All have been very useful to my understanding about what happened to Hong Kong and its European civilian and military population.
Which got me to thinking: are there any published accounts from the Chinese population that remained in Hong Kong during that period? I have read about a line or two about what they had to endure, but so little in detail that there might as well have been nothing written at all. I would need any text or web site to be in English.
Your help in this matter would be most appreciated.
Regards, Charles
Chinese under Japanese Occupation
I can't help specfically for HK Island, but there is a book available at HK Public LIbraries called "Traditions and Heritage in Tai Po".
Chapter 9 details life in and around Tai Po under Japanese rule. The link to the PDF is here.
Chinese Under Japanese Occupation
philk -
Thank you very much for your help in locating some information on this subject. I have gone to and read the PDF link you provided. I did not realize that so much important activity was going on with the Chinese people during the occupation. Impressive!
Again, thanks for your quick reply.
Regards, Charles
Re: Chinese under Japanese Occupation
Hi there,
If you go to HMV or similar bigger Music/Movie Stores, you should be able to find documentaries in DVD or VCD format about Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. I remember some of them are interviews. However I am uncertain if they have English subtitles and/or audio. Try to look into the Documentary racks in the stores.
Hope this helps a bit.
Best Regards,
T
Chinese under Japanese occupation
Phil, that's an interesting link, thanks. Interesting to see that the map on pg 226 shows a guerilla battalion HQ at Nam Chung, which is just next to the Japanese pillboxes at Luk Keng. So maybe those pillboxes were used to defend the hilltop against guerillas?
T, I bought a 3-DVD set in HMV a few months back. The title on the cover is 'Three years and eight months in Hong Kong: The days under occupation'. Unfortunately that's the only English to be found, so I haven't got past the first disk yet.
Charles, There is a book that's worth a look, 'Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation', ISBN 9628038656. It has a good collection of photographs from that time. There is more Chinese text than English, but each chapter has a reasonable introduction in English.
I'm also interested to learn more about this time. As you say, English-language accounts focus on the experiences of western people in the internment and POW camps.