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Wartime Experiences in Hong Kong and China (Part 2) Patrick Yu M y father as head of the family was probably the one hardest hit by the outbreak of war. The almost complete destruction of the American Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour followed by the sinking of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse off the Malayan (now Malaysian) coast must have convinced him, and, indeed, even the most optimistic believer in the Allied cause, that the war with Japan was going to last a long time, and that there would be no immediate foreseeable relief for the people of Hong Kong. News broadcasts over the radio seemed to report little else other than constant reverses suffered by the Allies everywhere. Riots and looting were known to have broken out on both sides of Hong Kong harbour. My father had a large family to support, and very little savings. To say the least, innumerable uncertainties lay ahead. His eldest son was fighting the Japanese on the Chinese mainland, while the rest of his family was trapped in Hong Kong. It must have occurred to him that if the Japanese should find out about his son in China, there was no way to predict what they might do. It was not possible even to try planning for the immediate future. The instant problem of providing for the inmates of the household - thirty in all, including the servants - was already by no means an easy one. My mother turned out to be a pillar of strength in this crisis. To the relief of everyone, especially my father, she produced surprise savings in cash, and sent several of her children into different parts of town to acquire forthwith a substantial stock of tinned food, rice, and other essentials for the household in anticipation of the siege to come. Everything in Shelley Street was thereafter ordered to be rationed until further notice. 313 314 PatrickYu Right from the beginning of the hostilities, the Japanese air force had complete command of the skies. They bombed Kai Tak airfield and whatever shipping there was in the harbour at will. The rest of Hong Kong seemed to be deliberately spared, no doubt because the Japanese army was confident of taking over the island completely before long. At first, only sporadic gunfire in the distance could be heard. Soon this became more clearly audible, after the Japanese had stormed and landed in the eastern end of the island. Ugly stories of Japanese atrocities began to filter through. Prisoners of war were murdered, and women raped. Hong Kong was bravely defended by two British battalions, two Indian battalions, and two Canadian battalions, as well as a contingent of local Volunteers which included some of my university friends. They were however no match for the seasoned Imperial Japanese army who had had years of disciplined training and hard fighting in China. Capitulation was only a question of time, and it duly came on Christmas Day 1941. The battle of Hong Kong lasted just seventeen days. Perhaps it was just as well that it did not drag on any longer because it would only have prolonged the agony, and further increased the casualties and sufferings on our side. The result was a foregone conclusion from the very beginning. On the day Hong Kong surrendered, a family council was immediately formed, to decide what we should do. An early announcement made by the Japanese Occupation Army advised the local inhabitants to leave Hong Kong if they so desired. This was a big surprise, because obviously there was nowhere they could go other than the Chinese mainland. Perhaps the Japanese knew there was no way they could feed the one and a half million inhabitants of the island. At any rate, this announcement was the first bit of welcome news for the trapped Hong Kong population. Almost immediately after the announcement became known, those who could depart forthwith did so. Others made such preparations as were necessary before following suit. Soon hundreds and thousands left by the day, and in the course of time many more followed. From day to day we heard only of relatives and friends leaving or about to leave. This mass exodus continued for a very long time until, at the end of the war, there were considerably less than half a million people remaining in Hong Kong. At one of our early family conferences, it was unanimously decided that we too must leave as soon as possible, even...

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