Thursday, November 11, 2004

Hong Kong, 1941:
You're going to have to excuse me if I get into some questionable rhetoric for my final Remembrance Day post. As you all probably know by now, I was born in Canada to Chinese immigrants. To be honest, I don't know a whole lot about my family history. Of what I do know, I know that my grandfather on my mother's side swam to Hong Kong when the Communists took over and eventually brought the rest of his family over as well (I think my mom's family was somewhat wealthy at the time). Unfortunately, that's really the extent of my knowledge. And now, my grandparents on my mother's side have passed on and my grandmother on my father's side is the only living grandparent I have left . . . yet I've never gone to her and asked her about the war years in Hong Kong. I know I should, because my mom's told me she has a lot of history in that. Unfortunately, because of time, distance, and language, I've never asked . . . . . I seriously need to ask her about that some day, and hopefully I can understand most of it . . . because what happened in Hong Kong in the winter of 1941 is absolutely frightening, and it really affects me . . . . .


So throughout most of the 1930s, Japan swept through southeast asia, expanding its empire. In 1941, they moved down to the border of Hong Kong, which was still a British colony at the time. The logistics were simple: if the Japanese attacked Hong Kong, there was no way to defend it. Nevertheless, the governments felt it would be good to at least give a sense that they tried their hardest to defend it as a symbolic gesture if anything (sound familiar?) . . . I'll give you three guesses who they sent to defend Hong Kong . . . . .

Early in that year, without a second thought, the Canadian Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Quebec Royal Rifles were sent to Hong Kong. Both units were at a substantial lack of training, and both were already classified as "unfit for combat" by the army. Still, the mother country implored that they would not be sent in harm's way, so the 2000 soldiers made their way to the island colony . . . they joined the few British, Indian, and Chinese forces already there.

Then comes the British intelligence of the time. By their count, the Japanese had realistically about 5000 troops that could attack Hong Kong. They were off by about 45,000 . . .

50,000 able-bodied Japanese soldiers, hardened by five years of fighting in the China campaign and with superior weapons and tactics, were ready to attack Hong Kong.

Then came December 7th, 1941; the day which now lives in infamy. History often focuses on the Pearl Harbor attack, and many other instances are effectively swept under the radar. Hours after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked Malaya, the Philippines, and mainland Hong Kong.

Again, British numbers had it that the Japanese would have to take at least a week to fight their way through the mainland of Hong Kong to Kowloon (the main area of Hong Kong) and the Gin Drinker's Line, which was the name for the final defensive line before the harbour; the Japanese stormed through to it in about 12 hours. Once at the Gin Drinker's Line, they calculated that the Japanese would have to spend weeks to get through it; they took it in a few hours, and the colony's water reservoirs with it. The remaining troops evacuated to the island of Hong Kong . . . all save one young soldier from Manitoba, who was left behind, captured, and executed - John Grey was the first Canadian soldier to die in the war.

By the 11th or so, the British forces had completed their evacuation, and the mainland was to the Japanese; much like in Nanjing, all Chinese females were declared prostitutes and the rape and pillage of Hong Kong began . . .

For days the Japanese bombarded the island of Hong Kong to soften it up for an amphibious assault. The mainland was completely overrun, and all that was left between the Japanese army and the remaining troops was the small harbour. Despite that, most of the British defenses were set on the other side of the island, the generals having expected any attack to come from the sea.

The Canadian Royal Rifles defended the Lye Moon Passage, which was the closest crossing point between the island and the mainland. They, of course, were told that there was nothing to worry about. They were told that the Japanese would certainly not attack by sea, for they were "racially prone to sea-sickness." Secondly, they were told that they would definitely not attack at night, because "their narrow eyes gave them poor night vision."

On December 18th, in the middle of the night and by boat, the Japanese crossed the harbour to the island. Reports say that many Japanese soldiers enjoyed the short boat ride, and some even sang old samurai songs as they crossed.

The Royal Rifles were immediately under heavy fire from the darkness. As the story goes, one soldier radioed the British headquarters, shouting that the Japanese had come ashore - the British officer replied, "you must be seeing things."

Once the attacked was finally considered real, 7,500 Japanese troops were on the island. The island's defenders, heavily outnumbered, were forced together at the Wong Ne Chong Gap - the mountain pass in the center of the island. Once the British forces were cornered, the Japanese soldiers began making "banzai charges", or suicide attacks. The numbers were simply impossible; though about 800 Japanese soldiers died in the attack, the allied defenders couldn't win with such few numbers.

On Christmas Day, the British commanders officially surrendered Hong Kong. It didn't end there, though . . . the fact of the matter was that Japan did not follow the rules of the Geneva Convention, and prisoners of war simply had no rights whatsoever. If they weren't executed or tortured to death immediately, they would go on to spend years as slave labour for the Japanese shipyards.

In 1945, most of the Canadian POWs were sent into Japanese coal mines. The Japanese military leaders had one last plan: if Japan was invaded, the prisoners would all be executed. Luckily, the war ended before that could happen, and the prisoners were finally sent home.

* * * * *

Aside from it connecting to my Chinese and Canadian background, the Battle of Hong Kong and the subsequent years strike home for me because of the unresolved themes that go on even today. Again, much like the Rape of Nanjing (which I implore you all to please look into), there were horrendous war crimes committed to both soldiers and civilians alike. As I mentioned last year, Germany has since apologized and paid billions in reparations for the wartime labour they took advantage of, and has since made its peace with the world.

Japan, however, has yet to formally apologize for the atrocities it committed during the war especially because of the western need for it as an ally against the now-communist Republic of China. The Chinese men and women who suffered through the war are still demanding their reparations from the war, and so are the Canadian soldiers. As an important note, Nippon Ko Kon, the shipyard company which grew from the wartime labour of Canadian prisoners, is today an incredibly successful multinational company - today, there are very, very few traces of Canadians ever being there.

Thing is, these veterans and men and women who are demanding compensation are all coming on in years, and are not likely to live for a whole lot longer . . . in a way, if Japan simply waits the time out, there will be no one left to demand reparations . . . . . this worries me a great deal. Indeed, the Second World War is rarely touched upon in Japanese schools today, if at all . . .


Again, I must state that although I am extremely passionate about these issues, I hold no fault or malice towards the people of Japan, Britain, or anywhere else - my being a part of this website is a testament to that. But this is the sort of messy situation we as a world have to understand and acknowledge if we are to ever better ourselves as human beings. These times must never be forgotten . . .

As I sit here, almost two hours into this post, I have a lot of feelings churning around inside of me. I almost can't believe that such horrible things have happened within the past 60 years, and it really is a scary thought . . . . . I've no doubt in my mind that at the time it was a scary thought as well. And yet despite that, men and women were still determined to do their part and fight - not for their countries or their beliefs . . .

. . . but for their familes, friends, and loved ones . . . . .

This is why these wars were fought, this is why these sacrifices were made . . . and this is why I shall never forget them . . . . .
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