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Wartime Intelligence in China Oswald Cheung Oswald Cheung, educated in the Diocesan Boys' School, was a King Edward VII Scholar at the University of Hong Kong (Morrison Hall, 1938-1941) where he received an honorary Doctor ifLaws degree in 1979. During the war he served with the British General Liaison Office in China and India (19421945 ) and later became an Honorary Colonel ifthe Royal Hong Kong Regimel1t (1977-1982). At war's end he was appoil1ted Actil1g Headmaster ifthe DBS, bifore proceeding to England on a government scholarship to enter University College, Oxford (1947-1949) where he obtained al1 MA degree. Called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1951, he became a Bencher in 1987. Returning to Hong K011g he began as a Magistrate (1951-1952) admitted to the Hong Kong Bar in 1952, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1965. He became a member ofthe Legislative Council (197{}-1981) al1d of the Executive Council (1974-1986). At the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club he served as Steward (1977-1992) and Chairman (1986-1989). He has been a Director of Mass Transit Railway (1975-1989) and of Hong Kong Electric Company, Ltd. (1985-1994). Honours awarded include an OBE (1974), eBE (1976) and a Knighthood in 1987. I n August 1942 my family ran out of money. In Hong Kong my father, who had worked for Shell since he graduated from the university, found himself out of a job. As for money in the bank, the Japanese allowed withdrawals of one quarter of deposits. Matters were made worse by a 50% devaluation of the Hong Kong dollar, and later by another 25%, leading to a rate of four dollars to one military yen. My father decided we should leave Hong Kong for Kwang Chow Wan, where Shell had an agent whom he thought would help us. We had a farewell party for our neighbours, some of whom were later 335 336 Oswald Cheung arrested by the Japanese gendarmerie for suspected espionage, and tortured: indeed one was executed. Next day we embarked on a Japanese ship, and left Hong Kong via Kap Sui Mun: looking back on our city, which even then was impressive, I said to myself that if any opportunity arose to help the war effort to bring the Japanese down I would take it. In the afternoon the ship docked in Macao. It was a great relief not to see any Japanese around, not Japanese in uniform anyway; whether there were any in civilian clothes I could not tell. That night friends of ours gave us our first square meal in eight months. Kwang Chow Wan was administered by the French, who themselves stayed in Fort Bayard; Chinese lived in Chek Hom, about 10 miles inland. There the Shell agent treated us with singular kindness. He gave us a flat in a new building that he owned, and advanced money to my father for everyday necessities. Chinese currency, called fa pi, was at a substantial premium to the Hong Kong dollar, I forget how much. My family sat down to gather our wits, and my father cast round for something to do. The Ko family came to our rescue. My father had known Mr Ko Ho Ning in Hong Kong, and one of his sons Mr Ko Fook Sing told my father his family could employ him in trading with the interior, which they did for the next three years. For my own part, it was decided I should go to Kweilin, and join the Science Faculty of Kwangsi University to continue my studies. We had also heard that the British Consulate in Kweilin gave relief to students from Hong Kong University. I therefore set out in September, with 2000 yuan from my father, augmented by another 2000 yuan from Mr Ko Fook Sing. The first part of the journey was in a sedan chair for six days. We passed through the beautiful Kwangtung countryside. We generally walked the first part of the day until about 8 or 9, when we would have lunch at a wayside eatery, and we would then be carried in our sedan chair to the night stop, where we would arrive early in the afternoon, with a ravishing appetite - at one evening meal I ate seven bowls of rice. I was fortunate to have Hong Kong University companions, Tommy Chan and Lew On Seng, who both had been at school and university with me. Lew had been married a year...

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