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Foreword The many and varied aspects of the Second World War still hold for us a fatal fascination even though the conflict came to and end over two generations ago. Men and women were called upon to perform extraordinary tasks that in other circumstances they would have thought totally beyond them. The lives of everybody at the time were deeply affected by their individual experiences – sometimes heroic, sometimes tragic, but in the vast majority of cases unrecorded and often unrecognised. It is perhaps for this reason that even though so much has been written already, there are still new angles for historians and writers to explore. Such is the case with this book by Chan Sui-jeung. Using his deep knowledge of the subject and wide network of people who were personally involved, Mr. Chan has pieced together for the first time a full account of the activities and many achievements of the group of brave men that came to be known as the East River Column. Whilst the existence of this guerrilla group may be known to those who have delved into Hong Kong’s wartime history, what is less known is that they were very active for a number of years before the fighting came to Hong Kong and for many years afterwards. It must be remembered that for the Chinese the years of conflict were not confined to the period from Christmas 1941 to August 1945. The Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch and Hong Kong University Press are very proud of what they have achieved so far with the Studies Series. More and more people, both here and abroad, are finding that Hong Kong and its unique history and culture provides a rich and fascinating field of study. An increasing number of schools are including the history of our city and its surroundings in their curricula, for which we should be able to take some credit. We will continue to bring to the public original works that will enhance this area even further. The publications in the Studies Series have been made possible initially by the very generous donation of seeding capital by the Trustees of the Clague Trust Fund, representing the estate of the late Sir Douglas Clague. This donation enabled us to viii Foreword establish a trust fund in the name of Sir Lindsay and Lady Ride, in memory of our first Vice President and his wife. The Society itself added to this fund, as have a number of other generous donors. The result is that we now have funding to bring to students of Hong Kong’s history, culture and society a number of books that might otherwise not have seen the light of day. Furthermore, we continue to be delighted with the agreement established with Hong Kong University Press, which sets out the basis on which the Press will partner our efforts. Robert Nield President Royal Asiatic Society, Hong Kong Branch February 2009 ...

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