802 .H7 U5 B 868,056 UN OF Mica Restricted Bend in Coreen 630 HONG KONG under JAPANESE OCCUPATION A Case Study in the Enemy's Techniques of Control Prepared by ROBERT S. WARD American Consul Detailed to the FAR EASTERN UNIT U.S. BUREAU OF FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC COMMERCE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON, D. C. 1943 -11638 од . На ги5 D Heu heb. - stacks TABLE OF CONTENTS 802 .H7 15 Page Number Documents Expediter 10-14-48 INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY.. I. CONQUEST OF THE COLONY. A. The Attack. .................... B. The Siege................. ........................... 1. Resistance on the Mainland. a. Defense of the New Territories..... b. The Abandonment of Kowloon. c. The First Peace Offer. The Second Phase.................... a. The Intensified Bombing and Shelling of Hong Kong.. b. The Situation of the Besieged...... c. The Fear of a Fifth Column.. d. The Second Peace Offer. The Last Phase: Fighting on the Island. a. Landing at North Point.......... b. The Time to Advance.......... c. Christmas Eve.... c. The Surrender..... The Decision........ 3. II. THE PERIOD OF LOOTING. A. The Conqueror's Cut.......... 1. Out Shipments. 2. Sealed Stocks and Premises...... B. Individual Enterprise 1. Japanese. 2. Chinese........... 3. Foreign C. Flower Girls....... D. Chinese Reaction. III. . . . . . . . . . . THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONTROLS............ A. Administrative Organization....... 1. Martial Law.... 2. Civil Administration Department Established.......... 3. Efforts to Procure Chinese Cooperation. 4. Rehabilitation Committee Formed. Districts Demarcated.. 6. District Affairs Bureau....... 7. Isogai Takes Over as Governor...... a. Flash-back..... b. A Second Showing..... c. The General Replies............ d. Order of the Day...... e. Yazaki and Sometani Depart..... f. Japanese Consulate Closes.. - Page Number 3 - 58 TIIMS......... b. F. G. c. Economic Section............ h. Chinese Chamber of Commerce........... e. Manufacturers' Union..... 2. Exploitation. ................. a. Bribery...... b. Disposal of Stocks......... c. Japanese Partners. d. Japanese Firms.. 3. State of the Trade. Shops. Restaurants............ Companies................. d. Factories..... e. Import and Export Trade ......... Finance.......... 1. Currency... a. Hong Kong notes... b. Military Yen. ......... Banks......... a. Withdrawals. b. Liquidation.. c. Chinese....... Japanese............. e. Associations. f. Gold and Silver Exchange g. Remittances... Transport and Communications. 1. Intra-urban Transport. a. Tramways......... b. Bus Services........... c. Ferry Service....... d. Peak Tram...... e. Private Autos..... f. Other Vehicles... 2. Extra-urban Transport. a. Canton-Kowloon Railroad. b. Kai Tak Aerodrome. 3. Communications. a. Wireless.............. b. Telephones............. c. Posts... ................... Shipping....... 1. Routes Restored.. a. Shipping Schedules. b. Junk Traffic............ Salvage.. 3. New Construction..... a. Ships on the Ways..... b. Wooden Cargo Boats. Public Utilities. 1. Water Supply..... 2. Electricity.... 3. Gas. H. vase............ I. - Page Number 4- . ................... 83 84 84 K. Public Health.. 1. The Danger of Plague. 2. Prevention....... a. Anti-Cholera Bureau......... b. Fly-eradication Week... c. Cleansing Campaign....... 3. Organization......... a. Medical Department. b. Medical and Dental Associations........... c. Medical Supplies. d. Hospitals...... Social and Cultural Controls............ 1. Education.. .............. .......................... a. Shift to Japanese......... (1) Japanese Classes, (2) Japanese Place Names. (3) Required Courses... b. Regulations Governing Schools c. Teachers' Training Institute. d. East Asia Academy............ e. The General Library.... 2. Propaganda......... a. The Message....... b. Vehicles............ (1) Victories in the Field.. (2) Celebrations of Victory. (3) Broadcast Van and Picture Slides............. (4) The Press. ...... (5) Films and the Theatre..... (6) Radio. (7) Symbolic Acts... c. Organizations........... (1) Hsing Ya Chi Kuan.. (2) India Independence League. (3) East Asia Cultural Association......... (4) Labor Unions. 3. Religion........ Amusements............... a. The Pool Halls..... b. The Movies....... The Races.................. d. South China Athletic Association....... Ü Ü Ü Ü Ü O Ü 98 98 100 100 100 100 100 101 c. IV. THINGS AS THEY ARE.. A. Japanese Objectives.................. 1. In the World. 2. In Asia................ 3. In Hong Kong........... B. Techniques. 1. The Withdrawal of Security 102 102 102 102 102 102 ........... 102 . 5 Page Number . 103 2. Access. a. The Destruction of Independent Strength. b. The Reduction of the Population c. Organizational Control. d. The Control of Thought.. 3. The Vision.......... c. Estimated Dividend.... 1. On the Debit Side .......... 2. The Positive Gains..... D. The Peril........... 103 103 103 103 103 104 104 104 105 APPENDIX - 6- ILLUSTRATIONS Facing Page Number Map.......... Japanese Army Marching into Hong Kong............. HONG KONG NEWS, January 12, 1942. Lt. Gen. Isogai..... Japanese Consul-General Shaking Hands with Lt. Col. Tada.. Three Members of Council....... "Familiar Sight in Hong Kong Streets"... Removal of Statue of Queen Victoria.. INTR0DUCTI0N AND SUMMARY It is the premise of this report that the Japanese follow a consistent pattern of exploitation in the areas which they have conquered; that they tend to employ the same techniques of occupation in Hong Kong that they are using in the Philippines, in Singapore, and in the Netherlands Indies. Proceeding from that premise, the writer has attempted to present a detailed examination of that pattern and those techniques in a particular area under Japanese occupation. Kong Kong was chosen because the writer lived there prior to Pearl Harbor, was interned there for six months, and was able to bring away with him not only the recollection of the things that he saw, but a fairly complete file of the Japanese-controlled English language newspaper in which most of the offi- cial acts, as well as many of the related developments, were recorded. But apart from this circumstance, the erstwhile British Colony is an excellent case in point: there a typical British Colonial administration was succeeded by the armies of Japan, and against the background of that succession the aims of the Japanese, and the means they are using to attain them, stand out as clearly as they could anywhere. Although, as has been said, this study is properly and by its main purpose an examination of Japanese techniques of occupation, it has been carried back to the opening of the Pacific War, the story of the Japanese attack on Hong Kong, which forms its first section, serving as an essential Prologue without which the subsequent action would be in part at least unintelligible. In Hong Kong, as in Singapore and the Netherlands Indies, the manner in which the Jap- anese conquest came about conditioned the local populace, making it receptive to Japanese control and simplifying the problems of the conqueror. We could not hope to understand the quiescence of Hong Kong Chinese after the conquest, or their reaction to the British defeat, without knowing something of the ex- periences through which the Colony passed in the course of the fighting. The Japanese attack upon Hong Kong opened in the early morning of Decem- ber 8 with action against the prepared positions of the British in the New Territories north of Kowloon. It was continued by the successful bombing of Hong Kong's only airfield at 8:00 the same morning. The course of the siege which thus opened may be divided into three periods. The first, that of resis- tance on the mainland, ended abruptly with the collapse of the British left flank and the subsequent withdrawal of all British forces across the harbor to Hong Kong, a movement which was completed by Friday, December ll. The second, that of the intensified bombing and shelling of the Island, was punctuated at its opening and its close by two Japanese peace missions offering to accept the Colony's surrender — both of them being summarily rejected — and was marked by the deepening gravity of siege conditions, with the disruption of communica- tions, widespread destruction, and the growing fear on the part of the authori- ties of large-scale fifth-columnist' activities. The third period, that of the fighting on the island itself, opened on the night of Thursday the l7th with a successful Japanese landing at North Point, an operation which they extended and exploited throughout the following week, and closed when, on December 25, the defense collapsed and the Governor surrendered Hong Kong.. Formal capitulation was effected on December 26, and the Japanese Army entered the city on the morning of the 27th. There followed a period of anarchy in which wholesale looting and rape were allowed to continue until the leadir ii elements in the Chinese community were glad to respond to the overtures of the Japanese military; requested by the latter to form a committee of assistance, they promptly set up the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee. The Civil Admin- istration Department of the Japanese Army which sponsored this organization also set up a series of Chinese-staffed "District Affairs Bureaus." 0n February 25, l942, Lt. General Isogai took over the office of Governor of the "Conquered Territory," modifying the administration by centering the actual control in the "Governor's 0ffice," comprising the administrative bureaus which ran the Colony, and establishing three Japanese-staffed "Area Bureaus" for the several parts of the "Territory." To aid him in his relations with the people he created two bodies, the small "Chinese Representative Council" and the larger "Chinese Co-operative Council" to take the place of the earlier Rehabilitation Advisory Committee. Police power was vested in the Gendarmerie, and through martial law and a system of supplementary laws and police regula- tions the Japanese sought to procure complete and minute control over the move- ments and actions of every individual resident of the Colony. The problem of overcrowding was met by the systematic expulsion from Hong Kong of perhaps half the population; the food supply was manipulated to en- courage this large-scale repatriation. A rice famine was followed by rice- rationing; the individual rations were insufficient, and the authorities tended to use the issuance of ration cards as only another rope around the neck of the local resident. Control over the commerce and industry of the Colony was achieved through the Economic Section, which used as its most important implements the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, with its constituent guilds, and the Manufacturers' Union. The foreign and "hostile" Chinese banks were liquidated; the issuance of mili- tary yen good only in Kong Kong "legalized" the draining off of the Colony's resources, while the devaluation of Kcr.g Kong currency destroyed the value of private holdings. The transport and communications systems were restored to a controlled and limited functioning under military bureaus; the Kaitak aerodrome was greatly enlarged. There was a partial resumption of the Colony's shipping, and a large-scale and ambitious program of wooden-ship construction was inau- gurated. A house-cleansing campaign to clear the city of the filth and dead bodies that the fighting and lawlessness had left was undertaken by the Medical Depart- ment; its Anti-Cholera Bureau meanwhile attempted to inoculate every one in the "Territory." If in all these things the Japanese were largely successful in what they sought to do, they were even more so in the field of social and cultural con- trols. Japanese became the basic language; the training requirements of teach- ers and the regulations governing schools turned the educational system into an integrated "East-Asia" indoctrination machine; and the flood of anti-white propaganda poured over the people in Kong Kong and sprayed out from the Colony in all directions may well leave marks that this generation will not erase. It is true that the disregard which the Japanese exhibit for the welfare of the people in Hong Kong has bred a deep hostility to their rule; the ex- -ill- cesses of the soldiery, the driving out of a great part of the propertied class- es, the confiscation of factories and homes, the deliberate depression of the living standards of large sections of the population, have made the Japanese many bitter enemies among the very Chinese whom they claim they came to liber- ate. A Chinese resident driven out of Hong Kong after being robbed of all his property, or an American businessman returning on the GRIPSH0LM after seeing his business liquidated and being held for six months in internment, will neither of them bear witness to anything but the blight the Japanese bring. Everything that Kong Kong meant to them the Japanese have destroyed; they cannot forget the starvation and the suffering and the hateful acts. And it is not unnatural that their factual and moving accounts of these things should have led the West to believe that the most chaotic conditions obtain in Hong Kong, and that there — as well as in other parts of the con- quered territories — the means which the Japanese employ defeat their own ends, and prevent the full economic and political exploitation of their successes. But the one vitally important fact in the whole account of the occupation of Hong Kong is simply this: every step that the Japanese have taken in the Colony has contributed to the prosecution of their aims. They want to assure the security of their forces of occupation: they turn the police control of the city over to the Gendarmerie. They want to force the Chinese to cooperate with them: they subject the whole Colony to a dose of the worst anarchy. They want to strengthen the defense of the Island: they drive out the surplus population that so embarrassed that defense when they were the attackers. They want to ensure their control of the population that remains: they im- poverish the upper and middle classes, making all alike helpless and dependent on them. There is nothing that they would not do, however savage it might be, and no sacrifice that they would not make, however costly it might prove in the lives or treasure of their subject peoples, if they believed that it would serve the ends that they have so clearly in mind. Under the British, the shell was brittle and fragile, for all the firmness of its look, and even though the substance inside was abundant and fresh; under the Japanese the shell is as hard as steel, even though the contents have been sucked almost dry. We cannot read the lesson of the past if we will not look at the page on which it is written. If now we will pay no heed to the diligence with which the Japanese is working in his conquered lands to prepare our destruction, we will be as unready to meet the issue that will ultimately be joined in Asia as we were to defend Pearl Harbor on a December Sunday in l94l. - 1 - I. C0NQUEST 0F THE C0L0NY A. The Attack. The first official communique after the Japanese attack had begun, issued on the morning of December 8 by the Battle Headquarters of the British forces defending Hong Kong, stated that the general alarm to the garrison had been given at 5:00 a.m. that morning and that battle positions had been manned at dawn. It continued: "Demolition parties were in position at 5:30 a.m. and blew up the demolitions in the forward area successfully at that time. 0ne of the railway bridges gave trouble but it was blown up by the Volun- teers at 9:30 a.m. At 7:30 a.m. the road demolitions on the Castle Peak Road were successively blown up. "The frontier companies are in their forward defensive positions under the command of Major Gray. "The Japanese are field-bridging at the frontier at two places. Several parties of between 300 and 400 men have been seen on their side of the frontier and are expected to cross shortly. "The police from the frontier posts have been successfully with- drawn . "At 8:00 a.m. Kai Tak was bombed and dive-bombed and the Japan- ese aircraft were greeted with hot fire from the light automatic weapons of the R.A.F. and the Volunteers. It is regretted that two of our planes on the ground were hit. The raid on Kowloon caused slight damage and casualties. "All Japanese in the Colony have been rounded up. "The garrison is fully confident and everything that has happen- ed so far has happened exactly as we foresaw it. There has been no surprise of any kind." The bombing of the Kai Tak air field was the first warning that Hong Kong as a whole received that the Colony was attacked. The air raid alarm sounded at 8:00, when Japanese planes were already in full view, bombing and strafing the air port, situated just across the harbor from Hong Kong. The Clipper, scheduled to leave for Manila at eight that morning, was set on fire and de- stroyed, and it is believed that as many as seven other planes were destroyed on the field. Five planes were saved,* and it was subsequently reported that one of the attacking planes had been shot down, presumably while it was on its way back to its base. A second air raid occurred at about l:30 in the afternoon, when twelve Japanese planes attacked North Point. * On the nights of Monday and Tuesday these five planes shuttled back and forth from Hong Kong to Nam Yung, landing on and taking off from the damaged Kai Tak airport in almost total darkness, to take out of the Colony certain key Chinese and foreigners caught there. - 2 - At 2:30 in the afternoon a combined assembly of the Executive and Legis- lative Councils, the advisory bodies assisting the appointed executive in the Government of Hong Kong, heard a formal announcement by the Governor, Sir Mark Young, that a state of war existed between the British Empire and Japan. In reply to the Governor's brief statement, Mr. M. K. Lo, speaking as the repre- sentative of the Chinese in Hong Kong, pledged their wholehearted support and loyalty. There thus opened the siege of Hong Kong. Its course falls naturally into three periods: the resistance on the mainland; the bombing and shelling of Hong Kong which followed the withdrawal from Kowloon; and the fighting conse- quent on Japanese landings on the Island itself. B. The Siege. l. The Resistance on the Mainland. a. Defense of the New Territories. In some Government quarters at least it had been the confident expectation that should war break out, it would be possible to defend the New Territories from an overland Japanese attack for from two to five months, or until it might be possible to receive relief and reinforcements. All other preparations had evidently been predicated on this assumption, and there were no developments during the first two days of the fighting giving the residents of Hong Kong any indication of the fact that events in other parts of the Pacific and of the world had already rendered it untenable. The positions were maintained intact during Monday, and in the sharp skirmishing with advanced Japanese patrols which were reported to have occurred on Tuesday, the communiques pictured all attacks as having been repulsed. The official communique issued at l0:00 a.m. on Wednesday stated in part: "The Japanese launched a heavy attack on our positions at l a.m. this morning from the Shing Mun Valley and the direction of Needle Hill. Some penetration of our forward defenses occurred but the attack has for the moment been halted. Fighting is continuing. In spite of extremely poor visibility our artillery of all natures has put in some very effective shooting." A further communique issued during the afternoon of the same day said: "Two attacks from the direction of Shing Mun have been beaton off and the situation has been stabilized at approximately this morn- ing's position. There has been no substantial change. ...Two boat- loads of the enemy attempted to cross Tide Cove and land on East Shore. Both boats were sunk by machine gun fire, and the remnant of the landing party was wiped out on the beach. Reports reaching Head- quarters testify to the effectiveness of our artillery fire last night." - 3 - A third communique, issued at 5:00 p.m., stated: "Positions on the mainland were maintained during the afternoon. The enemy brought up artillery support on the Castle Peak Road and engaged Stonecutters Island. 0ur naval units in the vicinity replied, and those were later supported by Stonecutters and Island Defense guns. 0ur field artillery on the mainland hotly engaged enemy troops concentrations during the afternoon. Good results were observed. 0ur casualties during these engagements were very light." The artillery fire was particularly heavy, lasting throughout the day and well into the night. There were four fairly heavy air raids in the course of the day, although no one of them engaged more than six planes, and none during the night. Meanwhile a message "of confidence and encouragement" in their ordeal had been addressed by His Majesty the King to his government and people in Hong Kong. "I have every trust in your leadership and in the spirit of fearless devotion which will uphold the garrison and people of Hong Kong... under God's providence all the efforts of the enemy will be brought to nought." His Ex- cellency the Governor replied, "We are indeed cheered by the words which the King has addressed to his people in Hong Kong and every one of us will do his utmost to be worthy of His Majesty's confidence." 0n the same day steps were taken to meet the food scarcity created in the Colony by the action of the rice and other food shops in closing their doors at the outbreak of the war. The Government gazetted an order compelling every undertaking for the sale of food to keep open from 8 a.m. until sunset, and an official of the Food Control Department broadcast an assurance that there was plenty of food in the Colony for everyone, foreigners and Chinese alike. As a further earnest of this fact, and to quiet public fears, the opening of free Food Kitchens was begun. Although during the early hours of Thursday morning enemy shelling appeared to be appreciably closer and was very heavy, it evidently did relatively little damage to the morale of the defenders, and the communique issued during the forenoon said, reassuringly: "It has been a quiet night and there is nothing to report. Some shelling of the Island took place but it had only a nuisance value. Damage and casualties are insignificant." Newspapers and other organs in contact with the public were at the same time informed that the Military Authorities wanted it made generally known that from that time forward the north side of Hong Kong Island was under observa- tion from enemy artillery posts and would be subjected to intermittent and probably accurate enemy shelling. There were the usual series of air-alerts throughout Thursday, and the only notable development other than the more intense shelling was the issuance of an order by the Auxiliary Quartering Corps to all those persons on the Peak - 4 - or Mid-levels, who had previously been informed that in an emergency their houses would be taken over for billeting purposes, that they should pack up and be ready to move at 5:00 p.m. That evening they were given billeting cards stating the accomodations alloted to them. In the official communique of the Battle Headquarters issued on Friday morning there was no reference to the progress of operations on the mainland: "The Island was subjected to a certain amount of sporadic bom- bardment by aircraft and artillery during the day, and for a short period during the night, but casualties were very low, and damage negligible. It is probable that during the next week or so, the Island will be subjected to some bombing and shellfire, but if the public profits by its experience of taking cover and of dispersal, casualties can be kept very low. "The G.0.C.* would like to congratulate the civil population on their calm confidence and steadiness, and assures them that if they will continue in this gallant manner they have nothing to fear." b. The Abandonment of Kowloon. In the S0UTH CHINA M0RNING P0ST of Satur- day morning there appeared the following communique, issued as of Friday, 2:30 p.m.: "We have successfully evacuated our troops, supplies, and essen- tial services from Kowloon. Yesterday the enemy pressed his attack with vigor and in the face of superior numbers we had to fall back. It will be appreciated that the bulk of our garrison has, from the beginning, had to be retained on the Island to safeguard our main base. "The position we have now reached is as follows: We have re- tired within our Fortress and from the shelter of our main defenses we will hold off the enemy until the strategic situation permits of relief. "Emphasis is placed on the word 'Fortress' - every man and woman must contribute a war effort to this end. There is every reason for confidence. Both military and civil authorities have for a long time been working to a situation where reserves of food, guns and ammuni- tion are ample for a protracted defense on a siege scale. There is every reason for confidence. The garrison is in good spirits and the staunchness of the civil population is marked. The simple task before every one of us now is to hold firm. "0ur losses during all engagements on the mainland have been comparatively light, and the troops gained a valuable time lag for civil defense measures to swing into action. * General 0fficer Commanding. - 7 - 2. The Second Phase. !. a. The Intensified Bombing and Shelling of Hong Kong. Hong Kong had already entered the second phase of its struggle when this offer was rejected. The shelling on Thursday had been noticeably more intense, and continued to increase thereafter both in intensity and accuracy. The first air raid of Friday morning was the twenty-first which the Colony had undergone since the opening of hostilities, and there were five more on the same day, the air-raid alert being "on" most of the morning and early afternoon. Key-noting the more desperate situation in which the Colony now found itself, the Governor on Saturday issued a statement addressed to the Civil Defense Services, in which he thanked them, and stated: "There is before you a task that can and will be done if you go to it with all your courage and all your might. The defense of Hong Kong against the aggressor is going to be the finest page in the Colony's history. See that your name is written on that page. Good fortune to you all." The bund was now regarded as the "front line," and it had overnight flower- ed in sandbags and barbed-wire entanglements, and was deserted by pedestrians, it being widely feared that the rejection of the peace offer would be followed by a crossing directly over the harbor. Saturday passed relatively quietly, however, there being only two air raids, no new developments in the shelling and no attempt at a landing on the Island. 0n Sunday there were markedly sharper artillery exchanges, but only one air raid with six planes taking part in it. Five of these, following a prac- tice which was now becoming more and more frequent, maneuvered over the more heavily populated areas of the Island, dropping thousands of handbills in Chi- nese telling the populace of the pride and cruelty of their British rulers, who were, these documents alleged, sacrificing the Chinese community to main- tain a futile defense. As was usual when enemy planes were overhead, the anti- aircraft fire was continuious, and was credited with driving the raiders away. Monday (the l5th of December) saw both bombing and shelling again inten- sified, with eight air alerts, and continual artillery exchanges. A lone Japanese plane was shot down in Stanley Bay, and another was believed to have been winged. Two vessels could be seen burning in Kowloon Bay, set afire by British batteries. All of the steam launches, ferries, and other steam or motor craft that had been moored on the Hong Kong side were scuttled. A communique issued at l0:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning stated that the night had been quiet, with no change in the position; one at two-thirty in the after- noon repeated the assertion that there had been no change; while that issued in the evening reported: "There has been a sharp artillery duel with the enemy through- out the day, with our guns maintaining their ascendancy. We succeed- ed in silencing two of the enemy's gun positions this morning, and another one this afternoon. 0ur batteries suffered no damage." - 8 - There had been four air raids in the morning and three in the afternoon, in the course of which the city had been bombed and pamphlets had again been dropped. 0f the artillery action it was said, with literal truth, that there was a continual stream of shells overhead. Wednesday morning it was even worse: Hong Kong was experiencing perhaps the worst bombing and shelling that she had received, or was to receive, through- out the war. The objectives appeared to lie, for the first time, in the con- gested business districts in the center of the town. A simultaneous bombard- ment was carried out. The Hong Kong Hotel, the Gloucester Hotel, and the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Building were all struck, although the damage done was relatively slight and the casualties were reported to have been light. The clock on the Gloucester Tower, which had kept accurate time through all pre- vious bombardments, was evidently strafed by a dive bomber and stopped dead. b. The Situation of the Besieged. At the beginning of the second week of the war, the Controller of Land Transport issued a notice (in the "Gazette Extraordinary") stopping all private motoring, and limiting the sale of petrol to certain designated pumps, where officers of the Transport Service checked on all persons desiring to buy it. Nearly all of the privately-owned cars and trucks in the Colony had been requisitioned much earlier in the conflict; but this order stopped what remained of private traffic. The busses had been re- quisitioned, and the tram service, which for days had run only from dawn to dusk, was now indefinitely suspended. Shop fronts throughout the business district were boarded over by their proprietors, such business as was done being, with a few exceptions, carried on through little peep holes or half-sized doors in the boarding. Everywhere glass store fronts and window panes were criss-crossed with pasted slips of paper, to prevent them from shattering with the constant reverberations of shell fire and the continual thudding of exploding bombs or shells. The streets were sprayed with rubble of plaster and bricks, and were in some places piled so high with debris as to be impassable. Many houses and buildings, particularly those of the older type of construction, were pulver- ized. The unremitting shelling made whole blocks uninhabitable even in areas where the actual damage was relatively lighter. As the hostilities progressed, more and more of the Mid-level and Peak dwellings were literally blown off the side of the hill — among them the residence of the American Consul General, whose home was totally wrecked. The effects of the bombing and shelling greatly increased the congestion which the presence of a large refugee population had caused. Their influx in the years between l937 and l94l had more than doubled the number of people living in the Colony, and many of them even before the war had slept on the streets. Now the problems of public sanitation, as well as those involved in the maintenance of order, were many times multiplied. The regular collection of garbage had to be suspended, and the public was being urged to burn or bury their own refuse. The system of night-soil collection was breaking down, and on Tuesday, December l6, running water was turned off all over the city except between the hours of six and nine in the morning and 3:30 to 6:30 in the after- - 9 - noon. Later on in the week the supply to large areas was cut off altogether, and some shift had to be made with what water could be gotten from long-unused wells which were now reopened. Well over a hundred thousand people were being fed daily at the communal kitchens opened and run by the 0ffice of the Food Controller. They would begin each day to queue up at dawn, and wait patiently for their turns. There were queues also at such of the rice shops as had been prevailed upon to open, and at most of the other stores that sold essential provisions. At the better class stores it was the practice to admit only a few customers at a time, allow- ing the line to wait outside. The Medical and Sanitary Controller stated on Monday that he was making every effort to procure the reopening of at least a minimum number of chemist shops, to permit the public to obtain essential drugs. Because handbills dropped from Japanese planes had said that when the city was captured Hong Kong notes in demoninations higher than $l0 would not be accepted, the poorer Chinese began hoarding small paper notes and coins until both had almost disappeared from circulation, the consequent shortage being partially supplied by a large issuance of $5.00 Chinese National Currency notes, over-printed as Hong Kong $l.00 bills. The arcades of the Gloucester and Hong Kong Hotels and of other large buildings in the business area were crowded with families of Chinese refugees living and sleeping in them for such protection as they were believed to afford against the bombing and shelling. There were unnumbered thousands living day and night in the many air-raid tunnels throughout the city. To this situation of siege, as grim as it was, the populace as a whole adjusted itself rapidly, and the Civil Defense Services, covering air raid pre- cautions, first-aid, food, transport, fire control, etc., seemed capable of continuing their functions indefinitely. Many of the most active in these were Chinese or Eurasians, and the Chinese community seemed unified behind the Gov- ernment's efforts to maintain resistance. To these people a message from Prime Minister Churchill, published on Tuesday the sixteenth, and telling them: "We are all watching day by day and hour by hour your stubborn defense of Hong Kong ... All our hearts are with you in your ordeal ... Every day of your re- sistance brings near our certain victory," did not come amiss. c. The Fear of a Fifth Column. But there was growing evidence throughout this period that an attitude of disaffection discernible in a small minority of the Chinese was tending to dissipate the Government's own faith in the loyalty of the rank and file of the people whom it was attempting to defend. The authorities had always feared the existence of a strong "Fifth Column" in Hong Kong, and after the withdrawal from the mainland they evidently found themselves confronted with what they apprehended to be widespread defections among the Chinese populace. A sign of this apprehension was the issuance, pre- sumably at the instance of the Government, of a statement by Admiral Chan Chak, the leading Chinese citizen in Hong Kong, appealing to the Chinese residents there to assist the Government in every way possible and to keep close watch on the treacherous conduct of unruly elements. The Admiral also paid tribute to the British defenders, and asserted that the Chinese armies were advancing to effect a junction with them. A second such appeal, issued by the represen- - l0 - tative of 0verseas Chinese in Hong Kong, was published in the Chinese press on the following Tuesday, urging them to "put forth their strength to preserve order with the object of defeating the enemy." 0ver the weekend of the thirteenth and fourteenth numerous arrests were made, and on the afternoon of Monday, the fifteenth, one of the leading Can- tonese merchants in Hong Kong, one CHAN Lim-pak, renowned as a reactionary and reputed to have extensive underworld connections, was taken into custody, charg- ed with working contrary to the interests of the Government. An unsubstantiated rumor ran through the Colony at this arrest, giving it a thrill of horror: Chan was the head of an organization of some 30,000 Wang Ching-wei "fifth col- umnists"; they had procured further recruits among the disaffected Chinese in Hong Kong, and had worked out detailed arrangements for seizing the city while its garrison was engaged by the Japanese. The plot (the rumor ran) had been discovered just in time and had been frustrated by the large Chinese "Blueshirt" organization in Hong Kong which remained loyal to General Chiang Kai-shek. This story, and many others like it, pictured two different groups of Chinese gang- sters as struggling for the police control of Hong Kong. It is perhaps not to be wondered at that the reaction of some among those of the foreign residents in the Colony who credited these stories was that they would almost rather see the Island surrendered to the Japanese than either to lose control of it to one gang or to continue in control through the support of the other. Further color was lent to these fears by reports that the protection "rack- et," which had been faring so well in Kowloon since the previous Thursday and Friday, had begun to flourish in Hong Kong under the very noses of the author- ities. Merchants in the Central District, for instance, were many of them ap- proached with promises of protection on the payment of certain fees; articles in the press printed at the behest of the authorities urged them to turn down all such propositions. As of Monday a strict curfew was imposed, with the avowed purpose of curb- ing what was felt to be the growing lawlessness, and only persons bearing valid defense passes were permitted on the streets between 7:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. A complete blackout had been imposed since the beginning of the hostilities and it was hoped that the curfew would simplify police functions during the hours of darkness. 0n the following day (Tuesday, the sixteenth of December), a further police measure, calculated to simplify the search for arms on the persons of suspects, was taken: the Chinese were warned not to go about the streets with their hands in their pockets, nor — when they were wearing Chinese clothes — to put them in the backs of their gowns; they were to walk with their hands at their sides. It was found necessary also to issue repeated warnings against harmful talk and the spreading of idle rumors, on the threat of serious penalties. The recruiting of Chinese into the essential services virtually stopped, although many continued to volunteer. d. The Second Peace 0ffer. Perhaps as a propaganda effort calculated further to weaken that defense, or because they felt that their "air-blitz" of the morning might have taken effect, a second Japanese peace mission, of the same composition as the first but with the addition of a naval officer, came - ll - over to Hong Kong from Kowloon in the forenoon of Wednesday (December l7th) to deliver a letter to the Governor. They returned again at 2:30 p.m. to receive his answer.* A Government communique described the mission as follows: "The Governor has today received a letter from the Japanese Mili- tary and Naval authorities repeating the suggestion that he should enter into negotiations with them for the surrender of Hong Kong. "In his reply His Excellency has declined absolutely to enter into any negotiations, and has notified the Japanese authorities that he is not prepared to receive any further communications from them on the subject." * 0n the following day, Thursday, the Governor was informed telegraphically by the British Government that: "The stirring conduct of all defenders of the fortress is being watched with admiration and confidence by the whole Empire and by our Allies throughout the world. Hold on I" to which His Excellency replied, "We are going to hold on!" 3. The Last Phase: Fighting on the Island a. Landing at North Point. In the situation in which he found himself the Governor could have made no other reply, and there is no doubt but that all his instincts and training committed him to resistance to the end, but this first act of the longer drama was to close differently than he may have hoped. 0n Thursday evening, taking advantage of a natural smoke-screen laid across the tip of North Point (the east end of the residential district on the northern side of Hong Kong Island, and the point closest to Kowloon) by the burning of an installation there after it had been shelled — and which protected them from observation or fire from the landward artillery to the south — the Japan- ese began to land in that area. Their operations were almost uniterrupted and continued in broad daylight through Friday morning, it being subsequently ex- plained that none of the Island's gun emplacements were so constructed as to permit of artillery being brought to bear on the fairly constant stream of boats with which the Japanese were ferrying over the forces with which they were to take the Island. Landings were also made at Taikoo, and possibly simul- taneously at other points. b. The Time to Advance. Appealing to His Majesty's forces to meet this new threat, the Governor told them: "The time has come to advance against the enemy: Be strong, be resolute, and do your duty!" But the Japanese forces kept cuming on, and by Saturday had captured and lost and then captured again the vitally strategic Wongneichong Gap, the key to the defenses of the Island. Landings at other places had evidently made possible a wide infiltration of Japanese sharpshooters and advance squads throughout the whole eastern end of the Island. * 0ne of the junior members of the Japanese party, a Lieutenant, is quoted as having on this second trip asked a newspaper reporter, "Don't you think ours is a very civilized war?" - l2- An officer of the Government charged with liaison with the American Con- sulate General stated on Sunday that there was no hope, with the forces avail- able, of clearing the Island, nor could relief from Chinese forco^ on the main- land possibly arrive before the first week in January. But there still seemed to be a chance, and the defenders had the day previously released an encourag- ing communique: "0perations have been proceeding satisfactorily today. Parties of the enemy have been mopped up in the Repulse Bay area and our troops have pushed the enemy back across Happy Valley. "A message has been received from General Yu Hanmou from which it appears that his forces are now within a very short distance of Hong Kong and the relief of the Garrison can be expected in the near future." Reference was also made to the appearance of three bombers and six fighter escorts which had been observed dive-bombing the Japanese positions in Kowloon. These were generally believed to be planes of the Chinese armies coming to the Colony's relief. Sunday's communique reported that the lines were being held with difficulty, and that the enemy was attempting to reinforce his positions on the south of the Island. During the bitter and decisive fighting of the next three days the communiques continued laconic. A relatively successful effort was also being made in the problem of antic- ipating and forestalling any action by "fifth columnists": an officer of the Chinese armies, holding the rank of Brigadier General, stated on December 23 that he had been charged with acting as liaison officer with the numerous members of China's largest secret society resident in Hong Kong, and the Government was paying him $50,000 a day for distribution among them. A corps of six hundred of them had been formed to go into the North Point sector with small arms and hand grenades, and negotiations were in progress with the British military authorities to procure the necessary permission to arm them. c. Christmas Eve. The communique of December 24 read: "There has been no further Japanese advance since the last communi- que. The slight enemy penetration in the direction of Mt. Cameron is being firmly held. 0ur lines remain intact." Suddenly, and for no perceptible reason, a wave of optimism surged through the city's populace: the Chinese troops, it was said, had already engaged the Japanese rear in the New Territories, and the defenders of the Island had sur- rounded the main part of the Japanese forces on Mt. Cameron, and were proceed- ing to destroy them. People went about what little Christmas shopping they had to do in an almost festive spirit. The Japanese propaganda caption, printed beside this picture, read: "VICTORS ENTER COLONY" The British defenders of Hong Kong Island could not for long with- stand the heavy pressure exerted by the ever victorious troops of Japan, and their collapse came suddenly with the fall of the Colony. Throughout the operations, the Japanese Command paid special care to civilian lives and property, and took the greatest precautions to ensure that no harm shall befall the population. Great was the population's relief and happiness when the victorious Japanese ps entered the city. Lt.-General Takashi Sakai. Supi Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese forces in South China, is seen taking the salute in the photo on the left." HONG KONG NEWS, January 14, 1942. - l3 - 1 C. The Surrender. The Decision. 0n the morning of December 25, Christmas Day, the Governor issued his last message to his people: it urged them to have faith in the Colony's defenders, and said that there was no reason why Hong Kong could not be held indefinitely. Meanwhile the base was again crumbling away from beneath this high wall of courageous intent. The Canadian forces which had been defending the Mt. Cameron sector had been driven from it, and at about noon on that same Christmas Day the decision was taken to surrender. It is stated to have been communicated to the Japanese at 2:30 that afternoon, the surrender taking effect at 4:00. Sir Mark Young was required to proceed across the Harbor to the Peninsula Hotel in Kow- loon, where formal capitulation of the Colony was accepted on December26. The Japanese Army entered the city at dawn on the following day. i - l4 - i II. THE PERI0D 0F L00TING .~ For the first day and a half following the sudden denouement in the drama of the "Fortress," the whole colony lay in a state of dazed and quiescent ex- pectancy. The city itself was still unoccupied, such Japanese troops as were in evidence having moved in quite gradually. This lull continued until the full force of the conquering army entered the city on the morning of the 27th. ing. The phase which then opened was more than anything else a period of loot- The Conqueror's Cut. l. 0ut Shipments. The pillaging was inaugurated by the military authori- ties themselves, and it is rare in the annals of warfare that a territory as small as Hong Kong should offer such immense loot. As has been indicated, the Colony was literally a storehouse of provisions and materials of every sort. Not only had the Government forehandedly built up stocks of essential commodi- ties in preparation for resistance to a siege of from four to six months, but the shortage of shipping which had become acute in the summer of l94l had brought about an accumulation of stock-piles in the city's godowns that repre- sented in some commodities at least a supply sufficient for the Colony for from two to three years. It had been possible to destroy only a small part of these supplies, and the Japanese authorities were employed for days in locating the balance of them, assembling them, and getting them aboard the ships which were brought into Hong Kong harbor to take them away, presumably to Japan. All of the automobiles in Hong Kong were collected, most of them being placed either on the Race Course or the Cricket Field, where they stood for weeks before they were finally removed. A few of them were retained intact in the Colony; some were stripped down to procure the engines and parts, but by far the greatest number of them were eventually shipped out. Quantities of metal and scrap were removed, and some of the industrial plants were stripped of their machinery. The major part of these activities had been concluded in the first ten days of the occupation, but occasional removals of valuable lots of scrap and other things by the Japanese continued through the period for which information is available, all of this booty apparently going directly to Japan. 2. Sealed Stocks and Premises. A second action of the Japanese authori- ties, which in its effects represented an extension of the looting, was the wholesale sealing of stocks that were not to be immediately removed, and of premises which either had not yet been looted or which appeared to the authori- ties to be desirable localities for their offices or businesses. The sealing consisted simply in pasting big Japanese seals, which it would be an offense against martial law for any unauthorized person to break, over the doors of the godowns or premises affected. In this operation the Army and Navy were vigorous rivals one of the other, and to some Chinese it seemed that the two branches of the Japanese armed services were each rushing about trying to snatch as much of the booty from the other as it could. The result of this competitive spirit was that in a very short time all stocks which had not been moved to Japan and all useful premises in the business sections of Hong Kong, as well as the better class private residences, were sealed. - l5 - B. Individual Enterprise. l. Japanese. Perhaps the most picturesque phase of this period of loot- ing grew out rather of individual initiative than of the collective activities of the Japanese Army and Navy; for weeks following their entry into Hong Kong, every individual Japanese soldier seemed to be trying to outdo every other in looting, the most desired objects evidently being wrist watches and fountain pens. They appeared to be almost as much interested in wrist watches as they were in rape, and many a sturdy private marched proudly about the streets of Hong Kong in the first days of the occupation with his left arm covered from wrist to elbow with one watch after another. The process of collecting these was the simple one of sticking a gun or a bayonet into anyone they could find, in or out of doors, and pointing to their victim's left wrist to indicate what + viey wanted. Fountain pens were next in the order of preciousness and were collected by much the same means. The childishness* which marked these relative- ly minor depredations would have been amusing had there not been so many evi- dences of other much more vicious activities on the part of the same soldiery. 0f course, these looting activities spread into much wider fields, and for weeks the Chinese found it necessary to make a present of practically anything any Japanese wanted, rather than risk the consequences of irritating him by haggling over prices. 2. Chinese. The Chinese themselves, however, did not miss the opportunity which this period of anarchy afforded, although from an objective standpoint they perhaps had a far greater justification, the collapse of the ordinary life of the community having left them in many cases without food or fuel or money to buy either. Hundreds of the poorest Chinese swarmed over the higher levels of the hillside facing the harbor, where most of the better residences had been, and onto the Peak itself, looting everything that they could put their hands on. Many of these homes had suffered from the shelling, and the billeting system enforced by the British during the abortive defense of the Island had in almost every case removed the original tenants from them, so that they were in many cases fully furnished and vacant, open to anyone who passed on the road. All the most valuable objets d'arts, the higher priced radios, the other objects of easily recognizable value would already have been carted away by the Japanese, but the Chinese looters found plenty in what was left. Toward the end, when all the furniture had been broken up and every thing portable removed, the tearing down of wood work and fixtures began. In one house on May Road, for instance, after it had been completely stripped of moveable property, the loot- ers tore out all the window frames on the second story, took up the floors, tore down all the panelling, and then backed down stairs, step by step, tearing up the stairway after them as they went, taking it out completely. They then pro- ceeded on the first floor as they had on the second. * One foreigner, who happened to be Swiss and who therefore was supposed by the Japanese to be necessarily an expert on watches, was approached by various Japanese soldiers, who asked, with their rifles on him, that he evaluate such and such a watch or tell them why it wouldn.t run. More than once the writer has seen two of these mental ten-year-olds meeting on the street, each with his shirt-sleeve pulled back to his shoulder to show the other the extent and variety of his collection. - l6 - It was natural that the Japanese should resent this competition, and it was not an uncommon sight to see a Japanese gendarme or guard taking pot-shots at Chinese in the act of looting some house or other on the side of the hill. In other cases the looters were arrested and executed (after the Japanese had impounded their booty), but, generally speaking, this phase of the looting con- tinued until its resources were exhausted. 3. Foreign. Some of the foreigners in Hong Kong, that is to say, the British, American, and other "European" nationals, who themselves were in the main the chief victims of this orgy of looting, did a little looting on their own. The head butcher of the Dairy Farm, a British subject married to a Chin- ese and long a resident of Hong Kong, is said to have "turned over" to the Japanese, and to have become one of the leading spirits in the Japanese Inves- tigation Corps, where his brutality and dishonesty have been described as being remarkable even in the group with which he was working. He is reported, for instance, to have taken over all the property in two of the best apartment houses* on May Road. He is also rumored to have been interested in diamonds and precious stones of which he is said now to have a considerable collection. There were several other notable examples of European looting, and at least one group of interned American nationals were forced to loot, at considerable per- sonal risk, to acquire some of the articles absolutely essential to their well being.** C. Flower Girls. The Japanese soldiery did not stop at looting. 0n the night of the assault on the Island, when the official assurances of the Colonial Government had left the whole residential area in western Wanchai unaware of the closeness of its danger, home after home was surprised by squads of the toughest Jap soldiers in the first wave of the landing party, who made no ceremony of shooting the men and raping the women. In one well-authenticated case, a European and his daughters were at dinner together, with no intimation that anything was amiss, when suddenly a squad of Japanese burst into the room, ordering the father out onto the lawn of the house, where they bound him and left him to listen to his daughters' screams. The girls they took down to the basement, and each man of the squad is said to have raped each of them. This was just a starter: It is certainly not the only incident in which, in the days and weeks that followed, white women were brutally raped. Their officers had evidently cautioned the Japanese soldiery against the bad effects of the wholesale raping of Chinese women, because they had all learned the Cantonese "Fa Ku Niang" - "Flower Girls," a euphemism for prosti- tutes. Breaking into Chinese homes in the middle of the night, and yelling their savage orders in Japanese, that single expression was usually the only one that was intelligible to the frightened householders: the soldiers them- selves quickly reduced its use to a more formality, on the assumption that every * These reports have come to the writer's attention because the individual in question is alleged to have taken over the apartment which had been the writer's, and where a consider- able quantity of the latter's property had been stored. - RSW. ** It was necessary, for instance, for consular internees to go out and search for and take the water filters that afforded them the only protection they had against the very polluted water supply which was all that was available to them. These and other necessary articles were not supplied to them by the Japanese and they had no alternative but to take them, risking being shot by their guards the while. - l7 - woman they saw and wanted was a "Flower Girl" anyway. Women so used had no agency to which to report the fact, and usually they did their best to hide it. But there were too many detailed and factual stories for all of them to be false; and in one instance that was reported to the writer on good authority and that may be taken as typical, a Chinese woman of good family was raped three times in one night, her last attacker leaving a ten yen note in her hand. In another, a large number of women were herded in one room, and despatched one by one into another room, where squads of Japanese soldiers '.worked over" them. Later on a penalty of three months imprisonment under military law was laid down by the Japanese for soldiers against whom charges of rape could be proved to the satisfaction of their superiors, and there seems to have been some desire on the part of the authorities to lessen the evil, if not to eliminate it. There are, however, fairly well-authenticated cases as late as the latter part of August l942*. D. Chinese Reaction. It seems obvious now that Hong Kong was subjected to this unnecessarily prolonged period of anarchy as a primary "technique of con- trol" to force the Chinese population to a realization of their position, of the fact that they would have to accept Japanese domination, and their leaders would have to cooperate with the Japanese to maintain even the most basic essentials of livelihood. The looting and rape had been only phases of the situation in which the Chinese found themselves: the wholesale flight of the more well-to-do left the community without shops or commercial services, and even those who re- mained could do no business because their stores had been sealed and their stocks confiscated. Doctors, dentists, and other professional men disappeared. Leaders of integrity who had served under the Governments of Hong Kong or China faded into the masses, and many of them managed to slip away. Food was very difficult to procure; only small denominations of the Hong Kong notes were of any known value, and those had largely vanished as the result of hoarding. All of these things had come about in a very brief period. The facts were at first too hard for the public to face: not three hours after the surrender the city was alive with the most extravagant rumors and reports. Typical of these was the widely accepted assertion that a Mr. Gimson, the former British Colonial Secretary, was to be appointed Governor by the Japanese, who were to maintain British authority on the Island just as it has been prior to the fall. 0ther rumors were that Italy had laid down her arms and was suing Bri- tain for peace; that Finland had negotiated a separate peace; that Marshall Petain had committed suicide; that there had been a revolution in France against the Nazi regime; and so on, ad infinitum. These fantasies were the last projec- tions of faith in a superiority which had never really existed, and when they * Although it must also be noted that a Chinese who left Hong Kong in the fall of l942 re- ports that at that time the once dreaded appellation "Flower Girl," had come to be more com- monly used by the Japanese soldiers as a somewhat sheepish form of approach to Chinese girls rather than as a signal that they were about to rape them. It is said too that by that time some of the more attractive of the younger Chinese women had "accepted" the "protection" of particular Japanese men, preferring that form of servitude to the continual risk of rape and consequent disease. - 18 - - too burst like bubbles, there was the sharpest reaction.* Among the Chinese this reaction was naturally the most sweeping where there had been the most complete reliance upon British protection, but no literate Chinese escaped it. Perhaps the best expression of this feeling appeared in a very bitter editorial published in the Japanese controlled H0NG K0NG NEWS of January l4 (l942) which said, inter alia: "Today the British and Americans have a much greater respect for the 0riental soldier — for in Hong Kong, Malaya, and the Philippines the outcome has been the same: the vaunted supermen of the white race have melted like butter "In eighteen days of conflict it was all over — a horrible muddle of inefficiency and helplessness which has bequeathed a miserable aftermath."** This widespread feeling of betrayal and disgust was to be very cleverly ex- ploited by the Japanese in their efforts to enlist Chinese cooperation in the control of Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the first concrete evidence that the Chinese community had had enough of anarchy and would welcome almost any alternative was afforded the Japanese in a long petition drawn up on December 3l by the Executive Committee of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, comprising nineteen of its members under the Chairmanship of TUNG Chung-wei. The petition, which was early brought to the attention of the Japanese military but was not formally presented until January l0, covered nine essential services in which the disruption of supplies gravely endangered the community: food, fuel, water, electricity, telephones, public safety, currency, communications, and prostitution; the last was regarded by the city fathers as one of the most important, since as long as the regular brothels remained closed, just so long would Japan's soldiery demand the serv- ices of family women as their "Flower Girls." * A curious reflection of the inability of many Hong Kong people to understand the full im- plications of their situation appears in a letter dated the 28th of December, l94l, written by this same Mr. Gimson to one Colonel Ckada of the Japanese Military Headquarters in Hong Kong. (See Enclosure No. 2). It will be noted that in this document Mr. Gimson, who signs himself as the "Colonial Secretary, Governor's Representative," refers to one Mr. Gibson, whom he states is the "Petrol Controller," and says of him that "(he) is in charge of the petrol supplies of the Island, and could be of considerable assistance to you in arranging for the distribution and arrangement of these supplies when necessary," and adds in a second paragraph, "Any results reached as a result of this discussion will be, as usual, subject to my approval," Even if it represented an effort to comply with the terms of capitulation, it is still a strangely worded document: it brings forward into the present tense things which had ceased to be true three days before, and ignores events which, however recently they might have transpired, were already as much a part of history as was the death of Nelson. It is in all honor that Mr. Gibson's name appears here: he labored with real heroism in every place and circumstance to aid the British and American communities, seeing things more clearly than most. ** Almost certainly the work of a very intelligent Eurasian who wrote for one of the leading Hong Kong papers before the war, this editorial is believed to be an authentic reflection of the thinking of many Hong Kong Chinese after the Colony.s capture, although it was obviously published for propaganda purposes. It'swhole text is given in Enclosure No. 4 to this report. - 19 - III. THE DEVEL0PMENT 0F C0NTR0LS. As we have seen, the shock and confusion of the period affected every as- pect of Hong Kong's life, paralyzing the social organization of the city.* When, with the passage of time, it became clear to the Japanese that they could count upon at least a minimum of Chinese cooperation, they began to attempt the restor- ation of order, at the same time seeking the revival of the separate phases of the community's existence, imposing upon each the forms of control which they felt were most likely to bind it to their purposes. This process proceeded unevenly, being in some instances undertaken immed- iately, and in others only after weeks or months. Therefore, in examining the development of these controls, we will consider one by one the phases of organ- ization to which they were applied, reaching back where necessary to the date of the city's fall. A. Administrative 0rganization. It was the stated intention of the Japan- ese military upon their occupation of Hong Kong to govern it as a captured fortress under military bureaus, and although most observers were agreed that they proved much less efficient as administrators than they had been as an army in the field they never swerved from that simple program. l. Martial Law. In line with this purpose the first act of the Commander- in-Chief of the invading army was to issue on the day of the fall of Hong Kong a proclamation placing the Colony under martial law.** This proclamation asser- ted for the military governor the broadest power and made any action or rebel- lion against the Imperial Army, any act of espionage, or "any action which would endanger the safety of the members of the Imperial Army or cause any obstruction to military movement," crimes against martial law and punishable under it, the sentences enumerated being death, imprisonment, banishment, fines, and confiscation. It gave so broad a list of the articles which might be con- fiscated in connection with the commission of an offense against this law as to make it possible for the military to take over any or all of the alleged offender's property. In effect, the proclamation served simply to give some semblance of legal- ity to any action which the Japanese military wanted to take against anyone under their control. It was published regularly in the Japanese-controlled English language newspaper and in the Chinese press for the first two weeks of the occupation; but it served only to give public notice of the situation of which every resident of Hong Kong was already being made well aware, that is, that the military intended to do exactly as they pleased. Except as it served to assure the security of the forces of occupation — its primary purpose — and to intimidate to some extent the criminal fringe of the Chinese population, it probably only added to the anarchy which existed. * But death notices continued to appear; mothers kept on having children, although the lack of proper medical care made the risk both to the new life and the old a horrible one; and every day the papers carried advertisements of the intention to wed, inserted by couples who could not wait for the reopening of the office of the Registrar of Marriages. ** See Enclosure No. 5, "Proclamation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Great Nippon." - 20 - 2. Civil Administration Department Established. 0n the 2nd of January, l942, there was announced the establishment of the first regular governmental organization for the administration of the civil population of Hong Kong. It was called the "Civil Department of the Japanese Army" (later the "Civil Admin- istration Department"*). Major General Yazaki,a ranking officer of the occupy- ing army, was nominated its chief. Its office was established in the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank; the first press report describing it stated that other officers had been deputed to function on its staff, and that it had opened on January l. Some of the subordinate officers of the department were civilians and the clerical staff appears to have been largely Chinese. A Hong Kong Bureau of the Department (i.e., for Hong Kong Island) was subsequently opened under a civilian Japanese, one Mr. Sometani. In the Department's first notice, issued on the day of its establishment, it declared: "The Japanese Army seized Hong Kong with the object of sweeping out British and American influence from the Far East and establishing a New 0rder in East Asia, freeing the races of East Asia. The Jap- anese Army assumes responsibility for the protection of the lives and property of the Chinese people and they must resume their businesses, fearlessly placing their confidence in the Japanese Army. "With the object of protecting the Chinese people, the Japanese Army has established an office in the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Building, first floor, Queen's Road, for dealing with the civil affairs. All Chinese dwelling in Hong Kong must rely on the Japanese army and aid the above office to pacify the people and make Hong Kong flourish. The above office sets its hopes on this.** A second notice issued at the same time stated that the Hong Kong Govern- ment was now under the protection of the Japanese Army and that, with the excep- tion of British officials, all of those formerly serving in the Government ought to resume their functions as soon as possible; that they should not transgress the law nor act in a disorderly manner; that if they were caught doing so, no leniency would be shown them. All labor and shops were instructed to resume business as soon as possible, and not to "act contrary to law" or "else they will be dealt with." A third notice informed the people of Hong Kong that with a view to restor- ing conditions in the Colony, the Japanese Army was doing it's utmost to repair the water, electrical and gas systems, but warned that "any persons found wasting water will be dealt with according to Japanese Army law without any leniency."*** * Paralleling the "Military Administration Department" (or "0ffice") in military affairs. ** See Enclosure No. 5, "Assurance to Population," for the complete text of the notice, which appeared in the Japanese-controlled H0NG K0NG NEWS of January 2, l942. *** See Enclosure No. 7, "Chinese Civil Servants," and No. 8, "Water Supply Notice," both published January 2 (as of January 1) l942, by direction of the Civil (Administration) De- partment of the Japanese Army. VOL. XXX No. 135 MONDAY, JANUARY 12, 1942. PRICE: M.Y. 0.05. H.K. 10 Cents GENERAL SAKAI FETES HeK. CHINESE LEADERS Expresses Keen Desire For Common Prosperity A general outline of the steps taken tor the reconstruction of Hong- kong and Kowloo, was given by Lieut-General Takashi Sakai, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Japanese Forces in South China, at a luncheon given to 133 former Chinese Justices or the Peace and other distinguished leaders representing all sections of Chinese society in the Rose Room of the Peninsula Hotel on Saturday. New portrait of Lieut- General Takashi Sakai, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Forces in South China. General Sakai spoke of the currency problem and the tasks of restoring order, the cleansing of the city and the reopening of business. He said he would make every effort for the reconstruction of Hongkong and Kowloon, and expressed the hope that the Chinese guests present would do their best to co-operate in this direction. Cruiser Galatea Torpedoed - 21 - 3. Efforts to Procure Chinese Cooperation. Although the Japanese counted to no small extent on the inevitable Chinese reaction against the period of anarchy to procure their cooperation in the Government of Hong Kong, they did not limit themselves to such subtle methods. 0ne of their first steps after their entry into the Colony was to corral as quickly as possible all Chinese leaders of the Hong Kong community who could be found, together with any Chinese of national importance who happened to be caught there. These men were usually taken to one or another of the large hotels — although some of them were kept incommunicado in their own homes — and subjected to every sort of pressure and every kind of appeal to enlist their "voluntary" support for the objectives of Japan in Asia. Two of them, Dr. W. W. Yen and Eugene Ch'en, both of whom had in the course of their careers been foreign ministers in the Chinese Government, were held in adjoining rooms of the Hong Kong Hotel. They were well fed and quite well treated, but were not permitted to communicate with any one, not even with each other, although they had been in former days political opponents. In the case of these two men, however, the Japanese objectives went beyond the question of Hong Kong's government; it was reported via the "underground" that Yen was offered the post of Foreign Minister in the Nanking regime, while another minis-: terial post was to be given Ch'en.* 0n January l0, l942, l33 of the Chinese who had been recipients of these attentions, and who were described in the Japanese-controlled press as "former Chinese Justices of the Peace and other distinguished leaders representing all sections of Chinese society", were brought together at a luncheon held in the largest ball room in the Peninsula Hotel, at which Lieutenant General Takashi Sakai, the Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Forces in South China, was their host. He had commanded the army which had taken Hong Kong, and there were pres- ent with him many of his ranking subordinates. In his speech** to the assembled Chinese General Sakai stated that: (l) he had not been fighting the Chinese of Hong Kong, "for whom we have the deepest sympathy" and whom he hoped would understand the "object of co-prosperity for all the races of Great East Asia," he had not used "artillery and large bombs in order to avoid hurting the common people and damaging the city;" (2) the British Colonial Administration only planned for its own profit; in the battle it used Chinese Volunteers, Canadians, and Indians in the front line; the English soldiers "fear death and covet life;" (3) the Chinese and the Japanese are the same people and have the same literature and belong to the same "Greater East Asian race;" the many Chinese "in all the islands of South East Asia" also were members of "our race," and he hoped that his words might also be trans- mitted to them, so that they too might "join in the establishment of a Greater East Asia;" (4) he would spare no effort to make Hong Kong and Kowloon a place "where people may reside in peace." He asked his guests to form a local assist- ance committee to exert all their strength to help him. * The Japanese House of Representatives is reported to have been informed on March l, 1943, that both of these men "had agreed to cooperate with the Nanking Government." They had both been taken in the spring of 1942 to Shanghai, where they were doubtless subjected to further pressure. Of W. W. Yen it is known that he persistently refused active participation in Japanese schemes on the grounds that he had "retired from politics." ** See Enclosure No. 3 for the,complete text of the speech as well as of the replies of Sir Robert Kotewall and Sir Shouson Chow. .. . - 22 - The General then proceeded to a rough outline of his program for the "re- construction" of Hong Kong. The first item he listed was order: this was the responsibility of the military authorities, but to avoid "inconvenience" to the populace from the use of too many troops, the Chinese police were being re-employed, and the people might organize their own self-protection guards under the direction of the officials.* The second important item which, he indicated, was to receive the atten- tion of the Military Government was the currency. Describing it as the "blood of business," he said that he had "appointed people to deal with the matter;" that there was a reason for the non-acceptance of higher notes; that his guests, as the wealthy and influential element of the population, should "for the time being tell all the people not to think of hurting other people or to spread idle rumors." 0f his third "item," the relief of business, he expressed the hope that his guests would "get together and help in settling the fuel and rice problems" and that they would "devise methods for this, and apply to the Administration for permission to carry them out." Return to employment was the fourth problem the General discussed. 0f it he said, "Labor and business have stopped now for many days. You should help in advising all classes of people to return to their employment at an early date," The fifth and last "item" was cleaning up the city. 0f this the General told his guests that they should advise the people to start putting the places where they lived in order, thus helping the authorities to deal more easily with the problem of cleanliness. The Honorable Sir Robert Kotewell, KT., C. M. G., LLD., referred to in the Japanese press account of the party as "Mr. Law Kuk-wo," the undisputed leader of the Chinese community in Hong Kong during the last years of Brit- ish rule, replied. "Japan and China have the same literature and are of the same people," he parroted, thanking the Japanese for having "avoided harming the people of Hong Kong or destroying the city." "We will," he promised, "put out all our strength in Hong Kong to cooperate with the Japanese army authorities." The Honorable Sir Shouson Chow, an aged and attractive Chinese who had preceded Sir Robert Kotewell as the leader of the Chinese community, spoke * It is probable that the lack of sufficient troops, rather than a desire to avoid their use, was the determining factor in these dispositions. -23- after Sir Robert, agreeing "heartily" with all "Mr. Law Kuk-wo" had said.* 4. Rehabilitation Committee Formed. 0n the following day, the l2th of January, the Executive Committee of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, comprising 19 leading members of the Chamber with one Mr. TUNG Chung-wei as Chairman, held a meeting to "discuss ways and means of re-starting business in Hong Kong" and to comply with General Sakai's request that they form a local "assistance com- mittee" to help him. It is probable that the group selected had already been hand-picked, and that the General had assured himself that he would be able to procure compliance with his request before he made it. In any case, the meet- ing of the l2th produced a Committee of Nine, which adopted the title of "Re- habilitation Committee" (later changed to "Rehabilitation Advisory Committee"), and elected "Mr. Law Kuk-wo" as its Chairman and "Mr. Chow Shou-son" as its Vice-Chai rman.** A second meeting of the Committee, stated to have lasted some three hours, was held the following morning, and on January l4 it was received by the Japan- ese military authorities at the Peninsula Hotel, where, according to the H0NG K0NG NEWS, "they submitted their proposals for the immediate settlement of several important problems, such as rice supply, opening of communications and re-opening of business." The discussion is stated to have been a long one, and to have covered the whole field of Hong Kong's situation. Indicating the Japanese intention to proceed further with the organiza- tion of the Chinese community, there appeared in the same press article which reported the meeting of the Committee with the military, a notice requesting all former Chinese Justices of the Peace who were present at General Sakai's luncheon to register their business or profession with the Rehabilitation Com- mittee as soon as possible. * See Enclosure No. l, "List of Persons Prominently Associated with the Japanese in Hong Kong, "for brief "official"biographies of these two men. Whether as the result of deliberate selection, or "faute de mieux," the British colonial government employed as its instruments men who were rarely highly regarded by the Chinese themselves, and who were in fact often not Chinese. Sir Robert Kotewell is said to be a Parsee with Chinese, Portuguese, and probably English blood; Sir Robert Hotung, another of the men who received the patronage and support of the British Colonial administration, wore Chinese clothes and married a Chinese; by blood he was at most only half Chinese, and looked and seemed to be less than that. A very wealthy man, he succeeded to his father.s position as the head of Jardines, and gained a knighthood. Sir Shouson Chow, although relatively less effective, and less completely committed to certain phases of the colonial administration, is of good Chinese blood and not a born Quisling, in spite of the part he is now playing. During the period of his detention by the Japanese his hair went completely white; he is now a pathetic figure, and has attempted re- peatedly to communicate to the Chungking Government his entreaty that they withhold judge- ment on him. - RSW ** The other members were: L0 Man-Kam, LI Tse-fong, LI Koon-chun, TAM Nga-shi, LI Chung-po TUNG Chung-wei, and WONG Tak-Kwong. On February 5 the membership of the Committee was raised to twelve with the addition of (Dr.) W0NG Tung-ming, KONG Tai-tung, and CHENG Tit-sing. See Enclosure No. 1 for such additional information on these gentlemen as is available. Hongkong's New Governor Pays Homage At Shrine Lieut. General Rensuke Isogai, newly-appointed Governor of Hongkong, arrived at Ujiyamada on Monday where he paid homage at the Ise Grand Shrine, states a Domei message which adds that our Governor then proceeded to Kashiwars to pay respect at the tomb of the first Emperor of Japai , Emperor Jimmu. Picture shows Lieut. General Isogai at home in kimono. - 25 - he said that Japan's one desire, to be a "friend" of China's, had been blocked by CHIANG Kai-shek, a tool of Britain and America; that both General Yazaki and Mr. Sometani (head of the Hong Kong Bureau of the Civil Administration Depart- ment) were real friends of China. Shortly after the establishment of this system of district bureaus, a fur- ther subdivision of the governing units was accomplished by the setting up of wards. A little note published very inconspicuously in the H0NG K0NG NEWS of February 9 announced that the "Central District Committee" had "elected" l3l ward leaders; it was estimated, according to this statement, that there would be 2,000 ward leaders in the l2 Districts on Hong Kong Island. Presumably the same ratio per density of population was followed in the delineation of wards in the Kowloon Districts, and there, as in Hong Kong, the "ward leaders" were responsible to the Bureau of the District in which their-ward was situated. 6. District Affairs Bureau. 0ver this relatively elaborate administra- tive machinery, calculated to encompass and bind the "Captured Territory" within the network of a petty Chinese officialdom committed to the service of the Japanese, there was set a District Affairs Bureau, under the Chairmanship of Mr. P. H. SIN, who was concurrently the 0fficial in Charge of the Central District Bureau. The District Affairs Bureau was expected generally to concern itself with all matters affecting the welfare of the people on the Island, and it was to it that the various District Bureaus were directed to bring their problems, and any reports they had to make on the views and wants of the people in their respective Districts. It provided the liaison between the Districts and the Civil Administration Department. P. H. SIN worked under Major General YAZAKI, and provided an alternate channel, a check and balance, as against the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee under LAW Kuk-wo and CH0W Shou-son. In Kowloon one PANG Yuk-lan was charged with functions similar to those of SIN in Hong Kong relative to the Districts under him, although he is believed to have acted there as SIN's deputy and to have been expected to report rather to SIN than to YAZAKI. SIN came thus to be, after LAW and possibly CH0W, the most responsible Chinese in Hong Kong, and among the English-speaking Chinese of the "Captured Territory" he was called the "Mayor," although this title implies the posses- sion of powers which, as a minion of the Japanese, he did not enjoy. 7. Isogai Takes 0ver as Governor. a. Flash-back. 0n September l0, l94l, in the centenary year of the found- ing of the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, the then newly appointed Governor of the Colony, was formally inducted into office. The cere- mony took place in the King's Theatre, on a stage bedecked with flowers and the British flag, where there were seated the select of His Britannic Majesty's Chinese servants in Hong Kong, as well as the ranking members of the military and naval staffs of His Excellency the Colonial Governor. The audience was composed of the staffs of the various Consulates,* and the ranking members of British, American and Chinese business concerns and organizations in the Colony. The audience stood up as the Governor marched down the aisle, followed by the * Including the Japanese Consul General and two other members of his staff. - 26 - faithful supporters of his Government, led by Sir Robert Kotewall and Sir Shouson Chow; a military band, complete with bagpipes, played "God Save The King." When the Governor's party had reached the stage, and the audience had resumed its seats, Sir Robert Kotewall read a fervid address of welcome, and the show was on. b. A Second Showing. Five months and fifteen days later -- on February 25, 1942 -- precisely the same performance was reenacted in the same theatre: if anything, Sir Robert was even more fervid. But there were differences. The Governor who made the response was Lieutenant General Ronsuke Isogai.* and the British and Americans who had attended the early showing were in filthy intern- ment camps; the music was the Japanese national anthem. Sir Robert was now Law (or alternately Lo) Kuk-wo, and at the end of the performance he felt called upon to lead the audience in three rousing "Banzais.". c. The General Replies. In response to Mr. Lo's welcome (and that of Messrs. Chow Shou-son** and Lau Tit-shing), General Isogai asserted that: "Hong Kong has been for long an important base in the Orient for furthering the decadent materialistic civilizations based on selfish individualism... (Britain) regarded us, the Oriental races, as her subjects, supreme in her arrogant tyranny... there are some unscrupu- lous Oriental people who have often been content to be used as a cat's paw by the British people, thus seeking their own excessive gain and unhealthy pleasure. ... In the Western section of the interior of China there are still Chinese who will not realize that a wonderful opportunity is being offered them... they are content to act as the puppets of the British and Americans, having the selfish aim of pro- tecting their own power and influence. ...Should there be any person in Hong Kong who still desires the selfish European civilization that has caused so much harm to the Oriental cultures...let that person leave here at the earliest opportunity and be a slave of the British or Americans. I will try to eradicate these undesirable elements... As to the future policies for Hong Kong, they were clearly laid down in my Order of the Day issued on February 20. ..."* d. Order of the Day. This "Order of the Day," published in the HONG KONG NEWS of February 22, 1942, **** had not, however, afforded a clear blue- print of the Governor's plans. After affirming that "The base from which Brit- ain, public enemy of mankind, plotted to fulfill her unlimited ferocity of heart, has now been extinguished, which is a cause for the heartiest rejoicings amongst the millions in East Asia," it asserted that "Hong Kong, under military * Long a student of China, Isogai was sometimes called by the Chinese -- before the Sino- Japanese War -- "the Doihara of South China" because of his political interest in that area. He was therefore a logical choice for the Governorship of Hong Kong. ** Under the British regime both Sir Robert and Sir Shouson had been members of the Legisla- tive Council. Of their performance, at Isogai's welcome the sarcastic editor of the Hong Kong News wisecracked: "When Knights were bold, they were Legislative Councillors. Now, of course, they're not so bold." *** HONG KONG NEWS, February 26, 1942. **** See Enclosure No. 18 for the full text. - 27 - rule, should hereafter co-operate... to reconstruct its position and to help in the attainment of victory in the Greater East Asia War . ..the present strength and culture of the place must be elevated to the same spiritual stream in order to attain the Kingly Way, which will shine upon the eternal basic prosperity of East Asia," and exhorted the residents of Hong Kong to "eschew vices and sever themselves from easy practices iti the light of the Kingly Way and give all their energies to the service of the community..." It closed with the oft-re- peated and by no means empty threat: "As for those who transgress the path of Right... these are the enemies of East Asia's millions and are not members of our Kingly Way. Irrespective of their nationality or race, I will deal with these according to military law, without mercy." e. Yazaki and Sometani Depart. With the arrival of the Governor, General Isogai, Major General Yazaki, who had been Director of the Civil Administration Department and who had been largely responsible for the establishment of such controls of the civilian populace of Hong Kong as had so far been set up, was transferred to another post. 0n February l9 he gave a farewell luncheon party to the members of the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee at which he told them that since the Governor's arrival he would naturally look after all civil af- fairs. In the inevitable reply by Sir Robert Kotewall the General was told that everything that had been accomplished so far had been due to the latter's ef- forts, and that the Chinese community wished to thank him and to wish him every success in his new sphere of activities, especially in his efforts to improve the relationships between Japan and China. Mr. S. Sometani, the Japanese civilian head of the Hong Kong Bureau of the Civil Administration Department, was transferred at the same time. He gave his farewell party to his staff and the officials of the District Bureaus on February 2l ,taking the occasion to introduce his successor, a Mr. Matsuba, and bespeaking for the latter the same assistance which he had himself received. The Chairman of the District Affairs Bureau, Mr. Sin, and the ranking Chinese in the Civil Administration Department, Mr. WAN Shiu-ying, made "suitable re- plies."* £. Japanese Consulate Closes, 0f greater significance were the farewells for Consul General Yano and his "number two," Consul Kimura. By a notice pub- lished on February 23, l942, the public was informed of the closing of the Japanese Consulate General in Hong Kong. This was, of course, from a Japanese point of view, a logical development. As the press reports stated, since Hong Kong was now a part of the Japanese Empire, there was no further need for a Consulate - but the warmth of regard expressed for its staff by the Japanese military whose arrival had made their further functioning unnecessary was in- teresting, as was also the evident sincerity of the regard in which Kimura at least, if not Yano, was held by certain of Hong Kong's Chinese residents. The party given to Kimura on February 22 by some of the Chinese who had been asso- ciated with him was apparently a real farewell. At another party, on the 28th of February, Yano gave a history of the office, and, in a response by Lieutenant General KITAJIMA, was praised by that officer (who spoke on behalf of the occupy- ing army) for the part that the Japanese Consulate General in Hong Kong had * It is interesting that, in nearly all of these functions, the Japanese are the hosts, even though the party is a "farewell" to one of them. - 28 - played prior to the fall in helping to bring to fruition the Japanese plans for the capture of the Colony. At still another affair, given on March 2 by the Japanese community of Hong Kong, Yano himself spoke of the "preparations which had been made" for the capture of Hong Kong, noting however that "it had come about earlier than had been anticipated."* 8. Civil Court of Justice. A formal notice, "by order of the Hong Kong Govern- ment" announced onMarch l0 the establishment of a court of justice for the adjudi- cation of civil cases.** Any person wishing to institute a civil action in the Court was asked to apply to it for instructions as to how to proceed. The Court was located in the former Supreme Court Building, and several weeks later a Civil Law 0ffice was set up there also, the regulations being altered to require that anyone wishing to bring suit should first notify that office. The system of trial by jury was dispensed with as a senseless and ineffi- cient Anglicism, nor were lawyers admitted to practice before the court. State- ments of the allegations in a given case were to be taken from the parties to the action by an officer of the court, and presumably an investigation of the facts was to be undertaken by him, whereafter the Court — the presiding judge being, it was said, a judicial officer from Japan — would reach its judg- ment. Effect would be given to its decisions by the gendarmerie, the costs being five percent of the amount involved in the action. Although no defin- ite statement to that effect was made, the civil law to be followed was pre- sumably that enforced in Japan except where modified, because of the special situation of Hong Kong, by the fact that it was under a form of martial law, or by local custom, it being the declared intention of the Japanese not to violate the customs and usage of the Chinese. Press and other reports indi- cate that, for the first six or eight months at least, the Civil Court had little to do. Perhaps because of that circumstance, or possibly in tribute to the in- fluence of the legal profession, something less than a year later Chinese, Japanese, and "Manchukuoan" lawyers were given permission by the Government General of Hong Kong to resume their practice there.*** All criminal offenses, and all alleged breaches of military laws and regulations, or any act regard- ed as contrary to the numerous orders and proclamations issued under martial law, continued to be tried by military courts or courts-martial. 9. Laws for Hong Kong's Governance. "As a further measure to ensure the maintenance of peace and order as well as to stabilize the livelihood of those at present residing here," the 0ffice of the Governor of Hong Kong promul- gated an ordinance on March 28, l942, effective from that date, regulating * The exact nature of the Japanese Consulate.s services in this connection are of course not known, but it is believed that they covered (1) a very active and complete espionage (in oo-operation with the military) and (2) persistent anti-British and anti-"white" propaganda among the Hong Kong Chinese. ** See Enclosure No. 24, Hong Kong Government, Notice No. 9. *** DOMEI, Tokyo, February 20, 1943. A caption above these three pictures read: "COUNCIL MEMBERS" Photographs show the three members of the Chinese Representative Council now formed. In center is Mr. Lo Kuk-No, chairman. On left, Mr. Lau Tit-shing; on the right, Nr. Li Tse-fong". (The names are correct - Mr. "Lo" being Sir Robert Kotewall - and the pictures are likenesses of the persons named:, - rsw). The headline be- sides which they were displayed read: "GOVERNOR RECEIVED CHINESE COUNCILS" "Hopes for New Era of Hong Kong Frosperity" HONG KONG NEWS, April ?, 1942. - 3l - Press statements on the subject indicated that the Representative Council, "charged'with informing the Governor of the people's desires, and the people of the Governor's aims," was expected to receive directly from individuals or groups such suggestions or petitions as they desired to present. These were then supposed to be referred to the Cooperative Council for discussion, where- after they were to be returned to the Representative Council with appropriate recommendations. The matter might then be presented to the Governor. ll. Bureaus for the Conquered Territory. By an order issued on April l6, 1942,* the Governor took a further initiative in the elaboration of the already complicated governmental machine administering Hong Kong: he divided the ter- ritory into three "areas" over each of which he set an "Area Bureau." 0ne Bureau was to deal with "all the island of Hong Kong and the small islands around Hong Kong, including Cheung Chau Island and Ping Chau Island." Another was the Kowloon Bureau, with Kowloon, Kai Tak, and Tsun Wan; and the third, the New Territory Bureau, with all of the new territories, except those under the Kow- loon Bureau. Each of those Bureaus was to be staffed with a Chief, a Deputy Chief, three Subordinate Chiefs, and forty-two minor personnel. The Chief was charged with supervising, "under orders from the Chief of the Governor's 0ffice," the carrying out of the Governor's laws, attending to the business of the Bureau, and the direction of subordinates. In his absence, the Deputy Chief was to take over his duties. In the absence of both the Chief and his Deputy, the Chief of the Governor's 0ffice would depute one of the Subordinate Chiefs in the Bureau to act for him. The 0rder instructed each Bureau to set up three subordinate offices, a General 0ffice, an Economic 0ffice, and a Health 0ffice. The General 0ffice was to handle general business, financial plans, educational matters, and others. The Economic 0ffice was to deal with industrial economy, communications and transportation, and with "necessities from raw materials" (sic). The Health 0ffice was charged with the promotion of health, measures against disease, and medical supplies. Although the fact was nowhere stated in the press accounts of their estab- lishment, these bureaus were at least partially staffed by Japanese and it is probable that it was intended that all but the lowest ranking officials should . be Japanese. The strongest indication of this is the fact that the names of the Chiefs of these Bureaus were never directly reported as such in the press, nor were the other personnel ever listed, and such notice as the Bureau officials received was incidental. This corresponds to the treatment accorded other Jap- anese officials, military or civilian, serving in the government of Hong Kong; whereas whenever a Chinese, even one previously totally unknown, could be got to accept a position under the Japanese, the press would unfailingly publicize that fact as another proof of growing Chinese adherence to the Japanese regime. * See enclosures No. 43, Governor's 0rder No. l3, setting forth the rules governing the Bureaus, and No. 44, Governor's 0rder No. 14, delimiting the areas to be controlled by each Bureau. - 26 - faithful supporters of his Government, led by Sir Robert Kotewall and Sir Shouson Chow; a military band, complete with bagpipes, played "God Save The King." When the Governor's party had reached the stage, and the audience had resumed its seats, Sir Robert Kotewall read a fervid address of welcome, and the show was on. b. A Second Showing. Five months and fifteen days later — on February 25, l942 — precisely the same performance was reenacted in the same theatre: if anything, Sir Robert was even more fervid. But there were differences. The Governor who made the response was Lieutenant General Ronsuke Isogai.* and the British and Americans who had attended the early showing were in filthy intern- ment camps; the music was the Japanese national anthem. Sir Robert was now Law (or alternately Lo) Kuk-wo, and at the end of the performance he felt called upon to lead the audience in three rousing "Banzais." c. The General Replies. In response to Mr. Lo's welcome (and that of Messrs. Chow Shou-son** and Lau Tit-shing), General Isogai asserted that: "Hong Kong has been for long an important base in the 0rient for furthering the decadent materialistic civilizations based on selfish individualism... (Britain) regarded us, the 0riental races, as her subjects, supreme in her arrogant tyranny... there are some unscrupu- lous 0riental people who have often been content to be used as a cat's paw by the British people, thus seeking their own excessive gain and unhealthy pleasure. ...In the Western section of the interior of China there are still Chinese who will not realize that a wonderful opportunity is being offered them...they are content to act as the puppets of the British and Americans, having the selfish aim of pro- tecting their own power and influence. ...Should there be any person in Hong Kong who still desires the selfish European civilization that has caused so much harm to the 0riental cultures. . .let that person leave here at the earliest opportunity and be a slave of the British or Americans. I will try to eradicate these undesirable elements...As to the future policies for Hong Kong, they were clearly laid down in my 0rder of the Day issued on February 20. ..."*** d. 0rder of the Day. This "0rder of the Day," published in the H0NG K0NG NEWS of February 22, l942,**** had not, however, afforded a clear blue- print of the Governor's plans. After affirming that "The base from which Brit- ain, public enemy of mankind, plotted to fulfill her unlimited ferocity of heart, has now been extinguished, which is a cause for the heartiest rejoicings amongst the millions in East Asia," it asserted that "Hong Kong, under military * Long a student of China, Isogai was sometimes called by the Chinese — before the Sino- Japanese War — "the Eoihara of South China" because of his political interest in that area. He was therefore a logical choice for the Governorship of Hong Kong. ** Under the British regime both Sir Robert and Sir Shouson had been members of the Legisla- tive Council. 0f their performance, at Isogai's welcome the sarcastic editor of the Hong Kong News wisecracked: "When Knights were bold, they were Legislative Councillors. Now, of course, they're not so bold." *** HONG K0NG NEWS, February 26, l942. **** See Enclosure No. 18 for the full text. This happy picture taken shortly after the fall of Hongkong shows Lieut-Colonel Tada, of the General Staff of the Japanese South China Command and Chief of the Army Information Bureau, being greeted by the Japanese Consul-General, Mr S. Yano. The latter is at present on a visit to Tokyo. - 27 - rule, should hereafter co-operate... to reconstruct its position and to help in the attainment of victory in the Greater East Asia War ...the present strength and culture of the place must be elevated to the same spiritual stream in order to attain the Kingly Way, which will shine upon the eternal basic prosperity of East Asia," and exhorted the residents of Hong Kong to "eschew vices and sever themselves from easy practices in the light of the Kingly Way and give all their energies to the service of the community..." It closed with the oft-re- peated and by no means empty threat: "As for those who transgress the path of Right... these are the enemies of East Asia's millions and are not members of our Kingly Way. Irrespective of their nationality or race, I will deal with these according to military law, without mercy." 3. Yazaki and Sometani Depart. With the arrival of the Governor, General Isogai, Major General Yazaki, who had been Director of the Civil Administration Department and who had been largely responsible for the establishment of such controls of the civilian populace of Hong Kong as had so far been set up, was transferred to another post. 0n February l9 he gave a farewell luncheon party to the members of the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee at which he told them that since the Governor's arrival he would naturally look after all civil af- fairs. In the inevitable reply by Sir Robert Kotewall the General was told that everything that had been accomplished so far had been due to the latter's ef- forts, and that the Chinese community wished to thank him and to wish him every success in his new sphere of activities, especially in his efforts to improve the relationships between Japan and China. Mr. S. Sometani, the Japanese civilian head of the Hong Kong Bureau of the Civil Administration Department, was transferred at the same time. He gave his farewell party to his staff and the officials of the District Bureaus on February 2l .taking the occasion to introduce his successor, a Mr. Matsuba, and bespeaking for the latter the same assistance which he had himself received. The Chairman of the District Affairs Bureau, Mr. Sin, and the ranking Chinese in the Civil Administration Department, Mr. WAN Shiu-ying, made "suitable re- plies."* £. Japanese Consulate Closes. 0f greater significance were the farewells for Consul General Yano and his "number two," Consul Kimura. By a notice pub- lished on February 23, l942, the public was informed of the closing of the Japanese Consulate General in Hong Kong. This was, of course, from a Japanese point of view, a logical development. As the press reports stated, since Hong Kong was now a part of the Japanese Empire, there was no further need for a Consulate - but the warmth of regard expressed for its staff by the Japanese military whose arrival had made their further functioning unnecessary was in- teresting, as was also the evident sincerity of the regard in which Kimura at least, if not Yano, was held by certain of Hong Kong's Chinese residents. The party given to Kimura on February 22 by some of the Chinese who had been asso- ciated with him was apparently a real farewell. At another party, on the 28th of February, Yano gave a history of the office, and, in a response by Lieutenant General KITAJIMA, was praised by that officer (who spoke on behalf of the occupy- ing army) for the part that the Japanese Consulate General in Hong Kong had * It is interesting that, in nearly all of these functions, the Japanese are the hosts, even though the party is a "farewell" to one of them. - 28 - played prior to the fall in helping to bring to fruition the Japanese plans for the capture of the Colony. At still another affair, given on March 2 by the Japanese community of Hong Kong, Yano himself spoke of the "preparations which had been made" for the capture of Hong Kong, noting however that "it had come about earlier than had been anticipated."* » 8- Civil Court of Justice. A formal notice, "by order of the Hong Kong Govern- ment" announced onMarch l0 the establishment of a court of justice for the adjudi- cation of civil cases.** Any person wishing to institute a civil action in the Court was asked to apply to it for instructions as to how to proceed. The Court was located in the former Supreme Court Building, and several weeks later a Civil Law 0ffice was set up there also, the regulations being altered to require that anyone wishing to bring suit should first notify that office. The system of trial by jury was dispensed with as a senseless and ineffi- cient Anglicism, nor were lawyers admitted to practice before the court. State- ments of the allegations in a given case were to be taken from the parties to the action by an officer of the court, and presumably an investigation of the facts was to be undertaken by him, whereafter the Court — the presiding judge being, it was said, a judicial officer from Japan — would reach its judg- ment. Effect would be given to its decisions by the gendarmerie, the costs being five percent of the amount involved in the action. Although no defin- ite statement to that effect was made, the civil law to be followed was pre- sumably that enforced in Japan except where modified, because of the special situation of Hong Kong, by the fact that it was under a form of martial law, or by local custom, it being the declared intention of the Japanese not to violate the customs and usage of the Chinese. Press and other reports indi- cate that, for the first six or eight months at least, the Civil Court had little to do. Perhaps because of that circumstance, or possibly in tribute to the in- fluence of the legal profession, something less than a year later Chinese, Japanese, and "Manchukuoan" lawyers were given permission by the Government General of Hong Kong to resume their practice there.*** All criminal offenses, and all alleged breaches of military laws and regulations, or any act regard- ed as contrary to the numerous orders and proclamations issued under martial law, continued to be tried by military courts or courts-martial. 9. Laws for Hong Kong's Governance. "As a further measure to ensure the maintenance of peace and order as well as to stabilize the livelihood of those at present residing here," the 0ffice of the Governor of Hong Kong promul- gated an ordinance on March 28, l942, effective from that date, regulating * The exact nature of the Japanese Consulate.s services in this connection are of course not known, but it is believed that they covered (l) a very active and complete espionage (in uo-operation with the military) and (2) persistent anti-British and anti-"white" propaganda among the Hong Kong Chinese. ** See Enclosure No. 24, Hong Kong Government, Notice No. 9. *** DOMEI, Tokyo, February 20, l943. - 29 - the entry into or residence in Hong Kong of all persons, and controlling trans- portation and commercial transactions.* Although described in their preamble as "Laws for Rule of the Captured Territory of Hong Kong," they amount in essence to a set of closely restrictive regulations calculated to force every resident of Hong Kong to register his arrival, his presence, or his intention to depart, as well as the details of his situation and of any business in which he may be engaged. The 0rdnance is divided into nine numbered "Chapters" and covers forty-one "items." The first "item" of the four comprising "Chapter 0ne" states the subjects which the law is to cover and exempts military persons, army and navy employees, and their families, and military supplies. "Item Two," which sets forth the actual in- tent of the law, states: "All those persons entering and leaving, residing in, transport- ing goods in and out of, and establishing businesses, carrying on businesses, with commercial activities, in the areas ruled by the Governor of the Captured Territory of Hong Kong must obtain permis- sion from the Governor of the Captured Territory of Hong Kong." "Item Three" states that permission to enter or leave, reside in, transport goods in and out of, to establish businesses, to carry on businesses or commer- cial activities, will be refused by the Governor of Hong Kong to nine listed categories of people, including "enemy nationals," "foreign nationals with enemy leanings," and "persons who are unsuitable as residents with respect to their attitude towards military affairs, public safety, and local customs," etc., the terminology being purposely so vague as to be applicable to anyone. "Item Four" places the enforcement of this ordinance in the hands of the Gen- darmerie. The other eight chapters give in detail the requirements for regis- tration; the information desired; etc., and state that breaches of the regula- tion will be dealt with under military law. A press conference was held on March 30 to instruct the reporters on the part they were expected to play in convincing the Chinese populace that it would be to their advantage to support these laws. A Captain Kimura, Chief of the Police Affairs Section of the Gendarmerie Headquarters addressed the pressmen.** He described the statements which the law required as being divis- ible into two categories, "applications for permission," and "reports." The "applications" (presumably for permission to carry on business, etc.) had to be submitted in quadruplicate to the Divisional Headquarters; the "reports" were to be submitted to the Gendarme Police Stations in duplicate. Kimura empha- sized that persons already in business had to apply again for permission; that the law required the submission of "applications" and "reports" by Japanese and "third nationals" by the end of April, while Chinese were given until the end of June. Failure to comply with the laws would be punished, he warned; serious offences would be tried by court-martial; minor ones would be dealt with by the Gendarme Police. * Enclosure No. 3l for the full text of the law as published in the H0NG K0NG NEWS, March 29, 30, and 3l, l942. ** See Enclosure No. 36. - 3l - Press statements on the subject indicated that the Representative Council, "charged.with informing the Governor of the people's desires, and the people of the Governor's aims," was expected to receive directly from individuals or groups such suggestions or petitions as they desired to present. These were then supposed to be referred to the Cooperative Council for discussion, where- after they were to be returned to the Representative Council with appropriate recommendations. The matter might then be presented to the Governor. ll. Bureaus for the Conquered Territory. By an order issued on April l6, 1942,* the Governor took a further initiative in the elaboration of the already complicated governmental machine administering Hong Kong: he divided the ter- ritory into three "areas" over each of which he set an "Area Bureau." 0ne Bureau was to deal with "all the island of Hong Kong and the small islands around Hong Kong, including Cheung Chau Island and Ping Chau Island." Another was the Kowloon Bureau, with Kowloon, Kai Tak, and Tsun Wan; and the third, the New Territory Bureau, with all of the new territories, except those under the Kow- loon Bureau. Each of those Bureaus was to be staffed with a Chief, a Deputy Chief, three Subordinate Chiefs, and forty-two minor personnel. The Chief was charged with supervising, "under orders from the Chief of the Governor's 0ffice," the carrying out of the Governor's laws, attending to the business of the Bureau, and the direction of subordinates. In his absence, the Deputy Chief was to take over his duties. In the absence of both the Chief and his Deputy-, the Chief of the Governor's 0ffice would depute one of the Subordinate Chiefs in the Bureau to act for him. The 0rder instructed each Bureau to set up three subordinate offices, a General 0ffice, an Economic 0ffice, and a Health 0ffice. The General 0ffice was to handle general business, financial plans, educational matters, and others. The Economic 0ffice was to deal with industrial economy, communications and transportation, and with "necessities from raw materials" (sic). The Health 0ffice was charged with the promotion of health, measures against disease, and medical supplies. Although the fact was nowhere stated in the press accounts of their estab- lishment, these bureaus were at least partially staffed by Japanese and it is probable that it was intended that all but the lowest ranking officials should .be Japanese. The strongest indication of this is the fact that the names of the Chiefs of these Bureaus were never directly reported as such in the press, nor were the other personnel ever listed, and such notice as the Bureau officials received was incidental. This corresponds to the treatment accorded other Jap- anese officials, military or civilian, serving in the government of Hong Kong; whereas whenever a Chinese, even one previously totally unknown, could be got to accept a position under the Japanese, the press would unfailingly publicize that fact as another proof of growing Chinese adherence to the Japanese regime. * See enclosures No. 43, Governor's 0rder No. 13, setting forth the rules governing the Bureaus, and No. 44, Governor.s 0rder No. 14, delimiting the areas to be controlled by each Bureau. -32- These Bureaus were not meant to supersede or displace the Chinese-staffed District Bureaus and their ward leaders, but represented an organization paral- lel to them with much greater actual authority. In practice the District Bu- reaus came to be only supplementary in their functions to the Area Bureaus, although the former always enjoyed a channel of approach to the higher Japanese which was independent of the Bureau in whose area they happened to be. The existence of the two tended to create a certain amount of confusion as to the ultimate responsibility, but here again there was the check and counter-check which the evidently suspicious nature of the ruling Japanese required. l2. The Governor's 0ffice. With the transfer of Major General Yazaki and the assumption by Lieutenant General Isogai of the Governorship of Hong Kong, the Civil Administration Department was dissolved, and its functions taken over by the office known to Hong Kong Chinese by their reading of the Chinese charac- ters in its Japanese designation: Tsung Tu Pu £© /j|£ fiG a name rendered into English as the "Governor's 0ffice" or the "Government General." There are no press or other reports describing the division of labor within this office, and Chinese who dealt with it were often - perhaps deliberately — given a confused and inaccurate idea as to its workings; but a careful examina- tion of existing data makes possible a fairly accurate picture of its organiza- tion. Presided over by a Chief of the Governor's 0ffice, a ranking military official directly under the Governor, its most important sub-office appears to have been the Civil Affairs Bureau, under a Japanese civilian - currently a Mr. Ichiki. The Control and Supervision, Foreign Affairs, Education, Economic, Financial, and Land & Houses, Sections are believed to have been administrative divisions of this Bureau, although in practice each evidently enjoyed a consid- erable degree of autonomy and authority within its particular sphere. The Control and Supervision Section, for instance, appears to have wielded wide if ill-defined powers in such matters as the distribution of commodities, the sale of rationed articles, etc. The size of, and the number of personnel employed by, certain of these Sections was also misleading: an intelligent Chinese in- formant who had dealings with the Governor's 0ffice believed that it was com- posed of three Departments -Economic, Financial, and Land & Houses, these three being evidently the most active.* Three other Bureaus evidently functioned directly under the Chief of the 0ffice: Communications, Information, and Repatriation. The Press Section, which, with the induction of Governor Isogai, took over control of Hong Kong's press from the Japanese Army Press Bureau, was under the Information Bureau which apparently also managed the local censorship and directed propaganda. * Varying translations for the Chinese characters used in the Japanese designations of these offices is the cause of some little of the confusion: as an example, the English language H0NG K0NG NEWS refers at different times to the "Educational and Cultural Department," the "Education Department", and the "Education Section," the three being different renderings of the same name. - 33 - There also appear to have been some four "Departments" set up in the Gov- ernor's 0ffice: the Public Works Department; the Water Department (the latter seems not to have been a part of the former); the Health (or Medical) Depart- ment; and the Electrical Department. The Anti-Epidemic Bureau was under the direction of the Health Department, while the Telephone Bureau was evidently a part of the Electrical Department. With the establishment of the Governor's 0ffice and of the Bureaus and Departments among which its responsibilities and duties were divided, the ad- ministrative machinery with which the Japanese were to under take the exploita- tion of Hong Kong's potentialities was to all intents and purposes complete; subsequent reports do not suggest that any important changes have to date been made in it. l3. In_contrast. The administration of Hong Kong in the last fully normal year of British rule was officially described as follows: "The Government is administered under Letters Patent of l4th February, l9l7, and Royal Instructions of the same date and subse- quent dates, by a Governor aided by an Executive Council, composed of six official and three unofficial members, and by a Legislative Council composed of nine official and eight unofficial members. "The six official members of the Executive Council are the Sen- ior Military 0fficer, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney General, the Secretary for Chinese Affairs, the Colonial Treasurer, all of whom are members ex-officio, and the Director of Public Works, ap- pointed by the Governor. The three unofficial members. one of whom is Chinese, are appointed by the Governor. "The six official members of the Executive Council are also mem- bers of the Legislative Council; the other three official members of this Council, who are appointed by the Governor, are the Inspector General of Police, the Harbour Master, and the Director of Medical Services. 0f the unofficial members of the Legislative Council two are appointed by the Governor on the nomination respectively of the Justices of the Peace and of the Chamber of Commerce; the Governor also appoints the remaining members, three of whom are Chinese. Ap- pointment in the case of unofficial members is for five years for the Executive and four years for the Legislative Council. "The daily administration is carried out by the twenty-eight Gov- ernment departments, all officers of which are members of the Civil Service. The most important of the purely administrative departments are the Secretariat, Treasury, Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, Post 0ffice, Harbour, the Imports and Exports, Police and Prisons depart- ments. There are seven legal departments, including the Supreme Court and the Magistracies, Two departments, Medical and Sanitary, deal with public health, one, Education, with education; and one, the - 35 - Governor and his 0ffice, the latter comprising the administrative departments;* (2) the "area" Bureaus**; and (3) the Gendarmerie. No one who reads the full text of this report will doubt that the Government which these organs provide is completely ruthless, interested in the lives of the governed only insomuch as they are lived to further the aggrandizement and power of the governors. No concepts of freedom or justice or popular representation could possibly arise to embarrass their single-minded pursuit of the aims of Japanese Empire. But consider the number of Chinese that they have associated with them: the effective leaders of the Chinese community form the four-man Representative Council; the major trades and activities of the Colony are represented on the 22-man Co-operative Council; the eighteen District Bureaus, each with a Chief, a Deputy Chief, and Chinese staffs, employ several hundred Chinese in respon- sible advisory positions; and there are probably as many as 3,000 "ward leaders." The ends which the establishment of this relatively much wider "popular" base serve are, from the conqueror's standpoint, many and sound, but for the Japanese the most compelling motive was almost certainly the fact that it ap- pealed to them as a patent and obvious technique of control. Every one of the Chinese whom the Japanese associated with their administrative machinery was answerable to his superiors, and his defection could be the more readily detect- ed and punished because of the responsibilities which he had assumed. The Jap- anese by this means increased greatly the strength of their hold on many of the most prominent Chinese; for many of the latter it will not be long before the adequate performance of the tasks which have been put upon them becomes a matter of personal "face," and thereafter their self-respect; their own view of them- selves, cannot but be inextricably engaged in their being good servants of the Emperor of Japan. B. Public Safety. l. With the Army in Charge. For the first three weeks after the surren- der of Hong Kong the maintenance of public order was entrusted almost completely to the Japanese Army and gendarmerie, with results — planned or otherwise — that have already been noted in this report. Aside from its participation in the looting, and its action in decreeing martial law, the principal contribu- tion of the Army to the stabilization of the situation appeared to be the char- acteristically haphazard movement of small squads — numbering usually not more than four or five men, comprising a non-com or officer and three or four pri- vates — that went about, apparently without specific orders, searching pri- vate houses, and rummaging through the accumulations of loot. Many of the in- dignities to which the population at large was subjected were the acts of such squads. * Directed by a group of Japanese experts and administrators which— by the purest conjec- ture — this writer would estimate to number not less than 800, and probably well over a thousand. ** 0fficered, it is believed, by Japanese civilian administrators; if this is true, the min- imum of 47 officials which each of the three (later four) bureaus requires to staff it would further swell the number of Japanese administrative personnel employed. - 36 - 2. Gang Rule. The vacuum thus created sucked upward the lowest elements of Hong Kong's underworld, and the actual police power of the community fell into the hands of gangs of Chinese toughs and criminals, members of the age-old secret societies and thieves' guilds. They did no rioting, and it is not re- corded of them that they were given to rape, or even to murder on a large scale. But they levied a tremendous fiscal toll while they had the opportunity. They took control, for instance, of the cross-roads leading down from the Peak to the lower levels; they would stand around in small groups, and although they did not bother foreigners, and would disappear at the approach of one of the wandering squads of Japanese soldiery, they charged a price to every Chinese passer-by. Chinese coolie women trudging down from the Peak with loads of loot that it had taken them the whole day to gather, and that as often as not would amount to nothing more precious than some old clothing or a pile of furniture broken up for firewood, would have to surrender a part of it for the privilege of continuing safely on. During the time when the old wells, now re-opened, were the only source of water for a large percentage of the people, they col- lected around the stone well-platforms, asking a price for the use of the well; when later the Japanese opened a number of public fountains to afford free water for people ho could not pay the exhorbitant rates which were assessed for the piped supply, the gangs took them over, selling the water.* Frequently they were able, either by bribery or fraud, to represent themselves as agents of the Japanese military, and as such they forced their way into private homes, restaurants or shops, using every conceivable pretext for extortion. There was no one to stop them; they were the rulers of the city. 3. Protection, Guards, and Gates. In his speech on January l0 to the l33 prominent Chinese whom he had collected for luncheon at the Peninsula Hotel, General Sakai had suggested that the people might organize their own self-pro- tection guards "under the direction of the officials."** This was probably al- ready being done when he spoke of it: the innate desire of the Chinese for order had already begun to re-assert itself, and the wealthier of Hong Kong's residents had found a solution in regularizing the extortion to which they were being subjected. They had realized that for a lump sum they could hire the mem- bers of one particular gang to protect them against the others, and gradually the hired thugs took on the character of "Volunteer Guards" who took their duties seriously. In many sections the families living in a given block, and who might have been contributing jointly to a fund to pay their "guards," joined together to erect strong bamboo gates at each end of the street, so that no one except resi- dents and persons whom they desired to admit could enter the block. The erec- tion of such gates became so common that on February l6 the Gendarmerie issued a regulation governing their size. It was ordered that, to make traffic through them possible, they should be ten feet wide and have a clearance of twelve feet where the street was open at both ends, or be eight feet wide and have a clear- ance of eleven feet where it was not. * They preyed on the public latrines, both those for women and for men; anyone using either was very likely to be robbed. ** See above p. 22. The hiring of their own guards is said to have been mooted among Central District merchants even before the Colony's surrender, when, under circumstances described earlier in this report, the 'protection" problem first became acute in Hong Kong. - 37 - 4. Re-establishment of a Police Force. In the latter part of January it was reported that earlier in the month some 2,000 members of the former British police force in Hong Kong had been re-employed by the Japanese, including in that number Indians, Chinese, and some foreigners. * Between two and three hundred of this force, newly uniformed and heavily armed, were paraded through the business section of the city on January 17, evidently as a warning to the unruly that the police had resumed their functions. 5. Gendarmerie Takes Over The Japanese gendarmerie had been active in Hong Kong from the day of the surrender of the Island;** they had undertaken the "round-up" of leading Chinese which began after the close of hostilities, and residents saw many evidences of the work of gendarmerie "Investigation Corps"*** which was widely reported among them to have been brought in from Japan. It was supposed to have besides its list of those Chinese who might be useful to the Japanese, a roster of "dangerous radicals" and others, whom it was charged with apprehending. There were persistent "grape-vine" rumors of wholesale searches and arrests, and it was whispered that numbers of people were being executed. **** In this early period the Gendarmerie did not, however, undertake ordinary police work. One of the first acts of Isogai's regime was addressed to them, but it was in the direction of increasing rather than checking their power: he placed the Imperial Gendarmerie in direct charge of the Hong Kong Police, the Fire Brigade, and the Water Police. In discussing this change, Captain Kimura, Chief of the Police Affairs Section of the Gendarmerie Headquarters, said that, although under ordinary circumstances the preservation of peace and order was handled by both the Gendarmerie and the Police, the former for military and the latter for civil affairs, since Hong Kong was under a military administration, the preser- vation of peace and order was now to be undertaken solely by the Gendarmerie, which also controlled the Police and Fire Brigade, the former being known as the Gendarme Police***** and the latter as the Gendarme Fire Brigade. The Gendarmerie had, he continued, five divisions, East Hong Kong, West Hong Kong, Kowloon, the New Territories, and the Harbor or Water Gendarmes. All former police stations had been taken over by them and should now be called Gendarme - * A Chinese informant alleges that in several instances British policemen who had married Chinese wives were released from internment and allowed to re-enlist. ** Their interest in the Colony considerably antedated the War; British and American intern- ees were surprised to discover, for instance, that the Gendarmerie officer placed in charge of the internment camp, and to whom Japanese consular and other officials appeared to show a certain amount of deference, was none other than Yamashita, for years one of the barbers in the Japanese barber shop in the Hong Kong Hotel, patronized by many of the "Taipans" in the community. - RŞW *** Tiao Ch'a Tui < t button or Tiao Ch'a T'uan 315 31%} - RSW **** From the Stanley Prison Yard, where the executions took place, the reports of rifle fire were plainly audible nearly every morning; there would be one, two, or sometimes three shots, and then silence ***** Called Hsien Ch'a 2-11638 - 38 - Police Stations.* Referring to the discipline of the Gendarme Police, he re- called that under the former British Government there had been many scandals about the police force, but, he asserted, the Gendarmerie was determined that there should be no more such scandals; "the public should give up the idea that they could gain the favor of the Gendarmes by giving bribes or presents."** The difference in the degree of control exercised by the police as they had been at first re-organized and the new "Gendarme Police" was very marked. The latter had the widest powers and evidently received the full support of the Army. When, for instance, a large down-town restaurant was robbed in broad daylight, the whole area was cordoned off and gone over with the greatest thoroughness.*** Later on this technique was applied generally; gendarmerie squads, supplemented by fully-armed troop contingents, would rope off blocks of certain streets, or particular areas, believed to harbor dangerous persons, and search all houses and every passer-by.**** arresting anyone who could not satis- factorily explain his presence there. When the combing of one street had been completed, they would move up to the next. While these intensive searches were proceeding in particular areas, the rest of the Colony was not neglected. Day and night "emergency squads" were reported to patrol Kong Kong "around the clock." The administrative advantages of uniting the civil and military police functions in the "captured territory" are obvious: it permitted the Gendarmerie to extend its operations through an already trained corps of Indian and Chinese police which served it not only as an immediate instrument but as the nucleus around which it could build up a considerably larger body of freshly instructed and indoctrinated native police directly under Japanese control. From the stand- point of the police themselves, it placed behind them the weight of the fearful authority and prestige of the Japanese Gendarmerie. A more profound if less obvious effect of the change was to alter the di- rection of normal police activity, and to assimilate it to that of the Gendarm- es. Henceforth in Hong Kong such acts as robbery, rape, or murder, committed for the age-old motives, were to be regarded as relatively simple and uncompli- cated — almost "natural" — crimes. It was a different category of evil against which the best energies of the "Gendarme Police" was to be spent; the real criminals were the "political terrorists," the insidious spreaders of "danger- ous thoughts," the unregenerate who wilfully misunderstood the "Imperial Way." For them there was literally, as many a Government order proclaimed, no mercy. * The headquarters of the Imperial Gendarmerie were set up in the former Hong Kong Supreme Court Building, on January 25, l942. ** As any unprejudiced person who lived under both regimes would doubtless be glad to testi- fy, there was incomparably more corruption in the Imperial Gendarmerie than among either British or Chinese police. - RSW *** In vain, however. The robbers were never caught, perhaps because the Chinese instinc- tively resented all this "big-time" efficiency and would not voluntarily cooperate with the pursuers. •***A practice which outraged Chinese sensibilities was the searching of women by gendarmes, especially at the Hong Kong Ferry, where they were frequently taken intopublic latrines and stripped. - 39 - 6. Street Guards and Self-Protection Corps 0rdered Disbanded. Co-inci- dent with the transfer of police power in Hong Kong to the Imperial Gendarmerie an examination of the status of the now highly organized and flourishing "Street Guards" was undertaken. The "officials" of the latter organizations in the Western Gendarmerie District were reported in the H0NG K0NG NEWS of February 20th to have been called into conference with the Gendarme Police, where they were asked to report the exact amount being charged shops and residences for protection. The immediate reason for this inquiry was stated to have been the receipt of numerous complaints of inequality in the assessments being made, but as the Gendarmerie worked into their task it became evident that their object was the liquidation of these semi-independent, private organizations exercising the functions of public police. At the first meeting, however, they evidently were simply instructed to canvas the shop-owners in their areas, to warn them that if they did not resume business immediately their premises would be sealed, and their subsequent applications to be permitted to re-open would be refused. At a second meeting, on February 22, the Guards were ordered to submit a full statement of their income and expenditures within three days. The results of these inquiries were not revealed immediately but on April 29 the Governor's 0ffice issued an announcement to the effect that, "peace and order now having been restored," the authorities had decided to disband "Street Guards, Self-Protection Corps, and District Watchmen" as of April 30. Review- ing the history of their organization, the Chief of the Press Bureau stated that a number of residents had volunteered to undertake the formation of such groups; that some of them had been recruited under the guidance of the Army or civil authorities; they had "obeyed every order issued by the authorities" and had "played their part in the preservation of peace and order;" their duties had included fire prevention, suppression of crime, and searching for arms. Among the Guards there were, however, undesirable elements who had given rise to com- plaints against them, and since the training of the Gendarmerie Police was now making good progress, the Guards were regarded as no longer necessary. Resi- dents who felt that they still required their services might petition the author- ities individually, and it was the intention of the latter to draft as many of the Guards as possible into the new Gendarmerie Folice. But meanwhile the Guards as they were then constituted would cease to exist, as from the effective date of the order.* Residents were warned, therefore, to make no more payments to any organization for the maintenance of such Guards. Although it is unlikely that the protection "racket" has even yet been completely stamped out, the formal organization of guard units was effectively destroyed by the action described, and thenceforth the Gendarmerie had no rivals save the gangsters themselves. 7. Prohibition, of Gambling. With the dissolution of the "Self-Protec- tion Corps," et al, one of the striking phenomena characteristic of Hong Kong after its fall had been liquidated, but another — the widespread gambling, in which all elements of the Chinese population seemed to be equally engaged — * The "Street Guards" in Kowloon were disbanded at the same time, being given a gratuity of 30 Yen apiece. It is not known whether a similar payment was made to such of the Hong !long "guards" as were not reemployed (in the Gendarme Police) but it is assumed that they leceived some money settlement, probably at the expense of the citizenry. - 40 - was not so easily disposed of. In the period of enforced idleness which follow- ed the collapse of the defense, the whole Chinese population apparently turned to gambling. In the narrow streets back of Queens Road so many small tables were set up, one right after the other, along both sides of the roadway, and there were so many people moving among the tables, that the streets themselves became impassable for any other traffic* The games — "Pawn the Jewel," a kind of roulette without the wheel, and others played with dice, or by the numbers on small dominoes — started early in the morning and continued until dusk, when the darkness made it unsafe to continue. Chinese "of the better classes" who would not join the street games for fear of being robbed, gathered together in their private homes and played mah jong. In one known instance the play con- tinued frequently for eighteen hours at a stretch, in others it is said to have been continuous, the players stopping only to sleep and eat. They had no more safety than their numt3rs and a locked gate could give them, and there was nothing else to do.** The spread of this mania among people who should have been enthusiastically engaged in pressing forward the aims of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere appeared to disgust and anger the Japanese military, who may well also have feared the effects which it might have on the maintenance of order.*** On January 25 the military authorities issued a strict injunction forbidding all gambling, and ordering the closing of gambling establishments, "whether on the streets or in houses." Every effort was made to enforce this edict, and although some of the streets continued for several months to be not much more than open- air gambling casinos, the drive against them, coupled with gradual subsidence of the first feeling of panic, was successful to a considerable extent in clearing them up. Indoor gambling continued almost unaffected by the decree or by any of the ones which followed it, and was undiscouraged by police action. In one case in Kowloon four women who had been playing mah jong were made to kneel in Nathan Road for several days, holding the mah jong set and placarded with a statement of their offense. In other cases groups of as many as twenty men were arrested and imprisoned for "participating in a mah jong game." By the "Regulations for Police Punishments" issued on May 3l**** "practicing gambling and similar con- duct" was listed as one of the offenses for which a fine not exceeding 500 Yen or imprisonment for not more than three months was the penalty. None of these things made any appreciable difference; the gambling went on in spite of them. * Expressive of the near-hysteria which grips whole masses of people who have lost the feel- ing of security: they seek instinctively to find it again by losing themselves in the mob, and by engaging with it in some acceptable diversion that does not involve the issue from which they are fleeing. An American can see the same thing any night in the crowds that mill around Times Square in New York City. ** For foreigners, when there were four who could find the cards and a table, the game was bridge. *** Street gambling afforded the protection racket one of its most lucrative sources of revenue. **** See below. ***** A positive approach, involving (l) police action to clear the streets where that was necessary or desirable, directed at keeping the thoroughfares open rather than against the gambling, and (2) the resumption so far as possible of normal activities, supplemented by social or discussion groups, etc., would appear to have been a more effective way to handle the problem. - 4l - 8. Regulations of the Gendarmerie.' Perhaps as clear an insight into some of the other problems which confronted the Imperial Gendarmerie in Hong Kong may be gained from a review of the regulations through which it attempted to solve them, as in any other way. a. Espionage and Sedition. As has been indicated earlier in this report, the Gendarmerie's first task was to stairp out all activities hostile to the Japanese Army or that would in any way hamper its operations. This was the in- tent of the proclamation of material law issued on the day the city fell, and it was kept well to the fore in nearly all published orders and exhortations. A further indication that this problem too continued to be a very live one was given in the "preliminary orders" drawn up on March l0 in the name of "the Governor of the Capetured Territory," "so that the people may understand what conduct or action is treated as an offence under military law," and warning the people to refrain from such actions. The offences listed are (l) conduct of a seditious character or directed against the Imperial Japanese Army; (2) con- duct involving espionage; (3) any conduct endangering the Army or "injuring military operations." Persons who had committed one of these offenses "but who help to clear up the plotting" were promised that they might have their punishment mitigated or remitted; "those who confess before official discovery" might have their punishment mitigated. This notice appeared consecutively for a number of days, and was later from time to time re-printed.* A Chinese informant who left Hong Kong in the fall l942, and who has fairly wide Chinese contacts both in Hong Kong and Chungking, states however that there has been and is very little underground activity directed at hampering Japanese control; the situation in Hong Kong is, he believes, different from that in Europe. In the Crown Colony under British rule the Chinese had only "colonial" status; they had been submerged by the white man, and are now being "rescued" by the Japanese. The Chinese, he says may hate the Japanese military, but he tends to regard the ordinary Japanese as of the same race as himself, an attitude which makes for an easier camaraderie between them. There are thus no deep loyalties, no sound historic or political bases, from which the desperate un- derground activities which characterize Yugoslav or Greek resistance could spring in Hong Kong.** The Chinese talked quite freely among themselves, he asserts, and were not ordinarily overborne by any feeling of very strict supervision; they suffered more from the confusion of the government than from its harshness. b. "Third Nationals." By a notice issued on January l6, l942, over the name of the Commander of the Imperial Gendarmerie,*** "all alien nationals of neutral countries or countries allied with Japan, and people corresponding to the aforementioned nationalities (except 0riental races)" were instructed to * See enclosure No. 23, Hong Kong Government Notice No. 8, for the full text. ** In China itself, and especially in North China, where the Chinese communists provide the backbone of resistance to Japan, the story is of course a very different one. It should also be noted that the informant quoted was subjected to ten months of Japanese propaganda and was deeply affected, as were all Hong Kong Chinese, by the swift collapse of British resistance. •••Lieutenant Colonel Noma. - 42 - present themselves at the Foreign Affairs Section of the Civil Administration Department before January l9 to obtain passage certificates for movement in Hong Kong. Persons without such passes after that date would be regarded as enemy nationals.* "Third nationals" were by a subsequent order required to re- port in writing any change in their address;** at the end of March they were told that their passes expired on March 3l but would be extended until April 15; on April l the regulations covering the issuance of the new passes were publish- ed, and severe punishment was promised for any misrepresentation.*** 0n April l7 the neutral status of Norwegians was revoked. Foreigners generally — other than enemy nationals — were treated less considerately than the "higher class" Chinese, but somewhat better than Chinese of the "coolie class." They were, however, subjected to onerous examinations and questionings and the Gendarmerie were less liable even than troops of the regular army to miss any opportunity to make clear to as large an audience of Chinese as could be gathered at the moment the dependent and inferior position of any particular foreigner or group of foreigners.**** The big foreigner whom the Chinese had always respected and feared could only look sheepish when some little Japanese sentry slapped his face until it bled.***** For Indians and Portuguese the procedure was simplified: the former were permitted to register with the India Independence League and the latter with one Dr. Atienza, President of the Japanese-controlled Filipino Association of Hong Kong. c. Impersonation of 0fficials. An element of this confusion which seemed to exercise some at least of the Japanese authorities almost as much as it did its victims was the practice among the extortionist gangs of impersonating offi- cers in Japanese employ, either by wearing the uniform of one of the auxiliary services or wearing a Japanese armband, or by passing themselves off as being * See enclosure No. l0 for the text of the notice. The Japanese were not uniformly strict in the issuance of these passes: to escape internment, one G. S. Kennedy-Skipton, in l940 assistant financial secretary in the Colonial Secretariat and in l941 controller of food in the Government Food Control, asserted his Irish citizenship, and assumed neutral status. He did this for the sake, of his wife and children; for an even less selfish reason, Emily Hahn, the writer, assumed Chinese nationality. ** Further instructions to them were contained in a notice issued on February l, 1942, by the Chief of the General Department, Military Administration Office, which read: "All Third Nationals are required to obey the following rules: 1) Keep within Hong Kong and Kowloon City districts, as far as possible, and avoid any unnecessary going out at night, that is, from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. 2) Do not interview or communicate with enemy nationals without permission. 3) Trips beyond the border are to be avoided. If absolutely necessary, an application, with a full explanation, should be made to The General Department of Military Administration 0ffice, for permission to cross the border. 4) No activities of any sort which would benefit enemies should be indulged in. — HONG K0NG NEWS, Feb. l, l942." *** See enclosure No. 37, Hong Kong Government Public Notification No. 6. **** See below. Propaganda. ***** When white women were to be raped, the white men were usually bound or bayoneted, or first one and then the other. - 43 - employed by one of the departments. An order dated March l0, l942, was aimed at that practice, as well as at direct extortion, and warnings were published both in the Chinese and English language press. 0n one occasion these were directed against a gang of hooligans who were representing themselves as collec- tors of telephone fees. 0n another against persons claiming connection with the Army, Navy, or Government and who asked contributions for their good will; on yet another against water and electricity "rate collectors" — no such collec- tors had been despatched — and the public were asked to admit no one to their homes who was not adequately identified. d. No More Fire-crackers. Evidently afraid that the crackle of bursting fire-crackers might be used as a cover for the actual use of fire-arms, or might lead to false alarms and public disturbances, an order dated February ll forbade their further use.* e. Curfew. The Japanese military at first attempted to keep everyone off the streets "after dark;" the hour was then set at 8:00 p.m. By an order pub- lished on March 9, l942, it was extended until ll:00,** the ferry service across the harbor still terminating at l0:00, as it had for the period when the hour had been informally extended from 8:00 to l0:00. The press praised the later curfew as an evidence that the Japanese Imperial Army looked benevolently on the revival of Hong Kong's "night life." f. "Regulations for Police Punishments."*** The most interesting and revealing, and at the same time the most concrete regulations issued by the Gendarmerie in Hong Kong were those published on May 3l, l942, to be effective as of that date. A supplement to an earlier and evidently more general order on police fines, it is applicable to "all persons living in the areas ruled by the Governor of the Captured Territory of Hong Kong." Even Japanese are controlled by it: "In the case of Nipponese nationals the regulations are applicable to those cases in which there is no other Nipponese law to be applied." It then established a fine of not more than 500 Yen or imprisonment for not more than three months for seventy-four listed offenses, of which only the last — "Dis- obeying any other order issued by the police" — is general. The other seventy- three are evidently purely and simply a list of acts which had been committed by the populace — Chinese or Japanese — with sufficient regularity to make specific regulations against them desirable. At the same time the fine is high enough, the term of imprisonment long enough, and the offenses sufficiently numerous and detailed, to make it possible to arrest, with a show of legality, anyone whom the Gendarme Police wanted for any reason to intimidate or take into custody. 0ne of the first offenses listed is "making a false statement to officials, or refusing to make a statement which is called for." Several other clauses are directed at the giving of false information or the making of false reports under various circumstances. Another covered the familiar offense of "falsely assum- * Leaving the populace without any means of scaring the devils away on the traditional oc- casions for rejoicing. It may have been, however, that all the devils had already fled. ** See enclosure No. l9, Hong Kong Government Notice No. 5. *** See enclosure No. 75 for the complete text of the "Supplement to Governor's Order No. 21" which lists the offenses; Order No. 21 itself is unfortunately not available. - 44 - . ing an official rank or title or a scholastic title, or falsely wearing medals or orders, or similar matters, with the object of deceiving a third party." The eighth item, "interfering with the working or planning of any public body organized or to be organized for the public benefit, or interfering with the establishment of such a body," was aimed at brushing off such obstruction as was encountered by the Japanese in their organization of the "spontaneous" groupings through which they effected their control of nearly all phases of Hong Kong life.* A number of the strictures are against simple nuisances: "making any un- necessary noise, lying down or getting drunk in place of free traffic;" "fail- ing to chain up a fierce dog"; "practicing singing, dancing, music or making any other noise in the late hours of the night;" "wearing strange clothing, or talk- ing and behaving in a queer manner, and loitering and refusing an official order;" "making water in a street, park and other publicly visible place, or compelling another person to do so;" "spitting in a street, park and other pub- lic places;" "being naked or acting in a disgraceful manner in a public place."** 0ther items range from unethical business practices — "intending to obtain an unjust profit by inserting a boastful or false advertisement in a newspaper or magazine" — to such acts as "deceiving the public with false statements foretelling good or evil fortune, or supplying the public with charms, or giv- ing people charms to carry on their persons," and "practicing hypnotism on a person." Some of the offenses reflect even more directly the unsettled and un- happy circumstances in which they were being committed: "harboring on one's premises some young or old disabled, sick persons in need of some help without reporting them," or "having dead corpses (sic) without reporting them to the authorities;" "camouflaging a human dead body, or holding an autopsy, or burying or cremating without permission;" "burying or cremating outside of a public graveyard or cremating place."*** Perhaps only one of these regulations was not directly intended to be pro- hibitive in effect, but rather to permit of official extortion: "committing prostitution, or acting as intermediary in committing prostitution." There was never any intention on the part of the Japanese to destroy the Island's most persistent commerce, and this particular ruling must have been for some purpose other than its suppression.**** * Various of these groupings are discussed in subsequent sections of this report. ** With the exception of the "making water" and the "spitting," practices in which "lower class" Japanese and Chinese are equally unrestrained, the offenses just mentioned, and es- pecially those of lying down drunk in the street and making noises late at night, were freely committed by the Japanese but rarely if ever by the Chinese. *** Anyone interested in the actual conditions in Hong Kong at the time these regulations were issued might well read them in toto; it is unlikely that any offenses listed were in- vented by the drafters for their own amusement. **** perhaps the geishas imported by the authorities found native competition too severe. - 45 - C. Repatriaton. l. Purpose. 0ne of the major problems which confronted the British Colonial Government of Hong Kong in its efforts to defend the Colony was the swollen state of the city's population. In l93l there had been 852,932 persons, including 20,000 non-Chinese, resident in the Colony. According to an estimate of the population made as of the middle of l936 it had then reached 988,l90, of whom 2l,832 were non-Chinese. With the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war in the summer of l937, and its envelopment of the Yangtze Valley which followed in the fall, a very rapid immigration from North and Central China into Hong Kong began. It continued through l938, l939, l940, and l94l, with the result that, on December 8 of the latter year, when the Japanese attack on Hong Kong began, the population of the city was, according to an official of the Colonial Govern- ment,* very close to 2,000,000. Beyond and above the inevitable complications following upon so abnormal an accretion in numbers, the population was charac- terized by a further factor increasing its instability: it was highly fluid. In l936 — prior to the outbreak of Sino-Japanese hostilities and the last normal year in the Colony's history — 2,977,205 persons entered Hong Kong, while 2,987,772 left it in the same period.** That is to say, a number of persons totaling roughly three times the whole population of Yong Hong left the port during the year and an equal number entered it, the daily average of arrivals being 8,l34 and of departure 8,l63. While it is not unlikely that a consider- able percentage of these persons left the Colony to attend festivals, etc., in the villages on the mainland and then returned to it, and some perhaps were simply commuters, these figures do reflect what is unquestionably a fact, i.e., that the Chinese population of Hong Kong was an extraordinarily mobile one. Nothing approximating a control of this flow was attempted by the British Colonial Government until l94l, and then under regulations so lax that the Government could have only a very inaccurate knowledge of the allegiances, the composition, or even the number, of the urban mass over which it ruled.*** Because the Government knew nothing of the newcomers and could not trust them, and since it could not distinguish between a Chinese who had been in Hong Kong for a few months and one whose family had lived "on the rock" for three generations, the permanent base of the population, loyal to Hong Kong and recon- ciled to British rule, was immobilized, even had the Government sought to ex- ploit its unquestioned potentialities for the defense of the Colony.**** The Japanese, who perhaps understood these things from the beginning better than did the British, learned well the lesson that they taught: the first essen- tial of an effective defense of Hong Kong was a drastic reduction in the size of its population. * Now attached to the British Embassy in Washington. ** ANNUAL REPORT ON THE S0CIAL AND ECONOMIC PROGRESS OF THE PEOPLE 0F THE C0L0NY 0F H0NG KONG F0R THE YEAR l936. published by the Hong Kong Government. *** This situation was not as much the fault of the Hong Kong Government as might at first appear; the whole position in Asia was a delicate one, and it is said that Whitehall refused to entertain proposals for rigid control of exclusion for fear of repercussions in China. **** As we have seen, prejudice heightened this mistrust, and the resentment which it caused was only regarded as a further justification for it, so that the gulf of misunderstanding between the ruler and the ruled widened of itself, and in war a hapless government was quickly doomed. - 46 - Such a reduction would go far to solve other problems incidental to an over-large population and which had aggravated the difficulties of the defense, but which would exist even if the Island were not attacked. It would simplify the feeding of an Island that had never been self-sufficient in food. It would eliminate a good part of the demand for non-essential consumer's goods, of which wartime stocks were low. Housing problems would become less acute (and the existing air-raid shelters would be rendered more nearly adequate); the main- tenance of order would be infinitely easier. It is therefore not surprising that upon their occupation of Hong Kong the Japanese military authorities took immediate steps calculated to reduce its population as rapidly as possible to prewar levels. v 2. Means. a. Repatriation Bureau. Shortly after the surrender of Hong Kong, and perhaps even prior to the establishment of the Civil Administration Depart- ment of which it was to become a part, a Repatriation Bureau was set up by the Japanese military to organize the evacuation from the Colony of a considerable part of its population. Early in January this Bureau was successful in bring- ing about the organization of a Chinese "Repatriation Committee" composed of representatives of the various district and provincial guilds which had long functioned in Hong Kong as social and mutual benefit societies for the Chinese residents of the Colony born in their respective districts or provinces. The meetings of this Committee were held in the presence of Japanese military offi- cers from the Bureau. Sometime during the first week of January the military authorities issued — through the Repatriation Bureau — a notice warning that persons in Hong Kong who had "no employment or place of residence," or who had to "beg for their food" should be repatriated to the cities or villages in China from whence they had come. b. Function of the Guilds. The agents both of the Bureau and of its tool, the Committee, worked through the district and provincial guilds. These organ- izations had in most instances already well-established club-rooms or offices which were familiarly known to most of the villagers or provincials whom they represented, and they afforded a quick and natural means of contact with the majority of those Chinese who still had attachments with their home villages and who therefore had somewhere to go. Many of them w.ere, as has been indicated, mutual benefit societies, and not a few of them were wealthy in their own right. In ordinary times a native of Toishan who wanted assistance in returning to his village would be likely to turn to the powerful Toishan Guild without prompting; now the existence of such an organization not only greatly facilitated the ex- ercise by the Japanese of pressure aimed at forcing the individual to leave, but afforded as well a ready-made means of making the project self-supporting. The money and property and other vested interests of the guilds were now all virtually in Japanese hands, and made the guilds peculiarly accessible to Jap- anese control. Norwere the authorities slow to exploit their position: by state- ments in the press, as well as directly through the agents of the Bureau, the guilds were informed they were expected to "hasten to prepare the way for their members to return (to their native districts) either by land or by sea." - 47- c. District Bureaus.* When the outward flow had gotten well started, the District Bureaus, especially for the Central District in Hong Kong and the more centrally situated ones in Kowloon, became in practice sub-offices of the Repa- triation Bureau, and from the second half of January on were engaged in issuing literally thousands of the "repatriation certificates" without which the re- patriates were not permitted to leave.** d. The Squeeze. An editorial in the H0NG K0NG NEWS of January l9, l942, speaking of repatriation, said: "Hong Kong has for long been overcrowded with people not normal- ly resident here, who were duped by the Chungking Government into be- lieving that the Japanese were not what they professed to be; but now that they have seen with their own eyes the good intentions of Japan, they fully realize that they have been listening to nothing but lies from the Chiang Kai-shek clique. Therefore they are anxious to re- turn to their villages to resume whatever trade or business they had before they fled, and in this direction the Japanese authorities are giving them every assistance by providing escorts and means of trans- portation." This is correct so far as the overcrowding was concerned, but it was cer- tainly not because "they had seen with their own eyes the good intentions of Japan" that hundreds and thousands of Chinese were "anxious to return to their villages." It was rather because they were caught in a gigantic "squeeze" that left them with no alternative than to leave in Hong Kong whatever possessions they might have — except only , in most cases, just what they could carry — and get out — as best they could. They were trapped in the disorder created by the wholesale looting, gang rule, and rape; for such public utilities as were gradu- ally restored the Japanese authorities were demanding an exorbitant price; the cost of everything had increased many fold; there was not enough rice to eat at any price. To thousands it seemed a blessing just to get out of it alive, at what- ever cost. Those who had property had in most instances had it sealed; they knew that if they left it would be expropriated by the Japanese because they would not be in Hong Kong to comply with one regulation or another governing its registration or its management.*** The chances were that they would be leaving before any bank funds they might have had been "unfrozen".**** They were abandon ing whatever they had for a trip that they might well not survive, in the hope * See page No. 24 above. ** Later the Gendarme Police Stations also issued these permits; besides such a document, the repatriate had to have inoculation and vaccination certificates, and, for some destina tions, to have been medically examined by one of the staff doctors within 48 hours of his departure. Two photographs had to be presented wi*th the application for the "repatriation certificate." *** Persons whose residences or other properties had been sealed were ordered to apply to the Land 0ffice for their restitution; if they had not done so by the end of February, the premises were confiscated as "enemy property." 0n the other hand, an individual who obeyed the instructions laid himself open to various exactions which might even exceed in amount the value of the properties affected. **** jjot until January 30 were withdrawals by "non-hostile" Chinese of not more than H.K.$50 permitted; on March l7 it was made possible for them to withdraw up to H.K.5150; theoreti- cally they could take unlimited quantities of either Hong Kong or Chinese currency out with them (it was forbidden to take military yen) but various financial regulations made it possi- -7.T 48 - of reaching a destination where there would perhaps be no place for them: — but a planned anarchy and the cunning application of pressure left no choice. e. Routes 0ut. When this mass evacuation was first begun the techniques were evidently less developed. There are numerous reports of how, in the first week or so in January, the Japanese military gathered up many of those — es- pecially the men — left homeless by the hostilities, and herded them through Kowloon and the New Territories, and across the border into the no-man's land beyond; if they were seen trying to come back again they were shot. Chinese troops further north, made suspicious by the circumstances, sometimes shot those who did not turn back.* 0n January ll the first regular route was opened: two small river vessels sailed on that day carrying 2,000 persons destined for Pok Cn District and l,OQ0 for Shikioo; the H0NG K0NG NEWS account stated that at Pok 0n there would be ferry boats waiting to which those who wished to go to Shikioo or Chungshar. might transfer. The Canton puppet authorities were also supposed to be despatch- ing officials to meet the travellers. A third batch left three days later by the same route for Shikioo and Tamshui. January l6 the steamer traffic to Canton was resumed, the SHIR0GANE MARU leaving at 9:00 a.m. from the 0.S.K. Wharf. It was followed a few minutes later by the KAIJU MARU, the two ships carrying 2,000 people between them. Word had gotten around the day previous** that tickets would be on sale at the P. & 0. Building for 9 Yen lst class, 5 Yen 2d, and 3 Yen for 3d.*** The crush at the box office was terrific, and on the morning of the sailing, long before the ships were due to up-anchor, those who had been successful in getting tickets were lined up in a queue stretching for well over a quarter of a mile, waiting to go aboard. Later a third ship, the GIY0 MARU, was added to this run, and at least one of the three left every morning at the same hour for weeks thereafter, and always packed with repatriates. Meanwhile a thriving junk traffic, also for the benefit of Chinese fleeing Hong Kong, had sprung up between the Island and Macao. It had been forbidden by the authorities — presumably because it permitted the clandestine escape of persons who might be wanted by the Gendarmerie — but not until January l9, when regular Hong Kong — Macao steamer sailings were resumed, did it drop off markedly. The SHIROGANE MARU and the TEMP0 MARU made the opening trip, tickets which were purchasable at the dock costing 5 Yen for the first class, 3 Yen for the second, and 2 Yen for the third. This sailing was of course very crowd- ed too, but the Canton trip evidently continued the most popular, there having been, for instance, ten thousand people lined up along Connaught Road on Sat- urday to buy passage, of whom more than six thousand were there all day Sunday — hundreds and hundreds of people standing in line, or lying on the pavements, * Ramon Lavalle, who, as Consul in Hong Kong of the neutral Argentine was able to visit points in the New Territories which served as stations for evacuees being sent out through Kowloon, says that they were promised a catty of rice each at the border, but rarely received it, and when they got beyond the borders were almost invariably set upon and robbed by gang- sters who laid in wait for them. ** Spread by the Japanese? *** Aside from the price of the ticket, each repatriate was assessed (according to whether he was traveling 1st, 2d or 3d class) 5, 3, or 2 Yen for food for the twenty-four hour wait- ing period imposed by the Japanese authorities in Canton before the boat was permitted to unload there. Presumably a stool examination was required. - 49 - for forty eight hours at a stretch just for the chance to get away.* And people who had tickets would go to the docks the night before the sailing to sleep there, to be sure that they got a place on the boat: the Japanese often sold more tickets than there was space. Later on, in the first part of February, routes by sea were also opened to Swatow and Chiuchow. 0n February 20 communications with Kongmoon were for the first time resumed, to permit persons from the populous Sze Yap district to re- turn by ship to their villages. By the middle of March many more people were leaving by ship than overland through Kowloon and the New Territories, and the Kowloon district bureaus' figures for repatriates showed a sharp drop for the month of March.** In April — probably reflecting the growing shortage in shipping — de- partures by sea began to decline markedly, but since the Japanese desired the over-all totals for departures to be maintained, the Repatriation Bureau evident- ly "activated" the Chekiang and Kiangsu guilds, influencing the organization of a "Chediang-Kiangsu Residents' Association," which shortly began organization of the first group of repatriates to make their whole trip by land. 0n about April l9 a group of five hundred left under its auspices to return to Shanghai by land. A second group of three hundred left on May 27, and a third, of five hundred, on June 3. A "Swatow and Chao-chow Natives' Association" was also formed, and sponsored the evacuation by land of a number of groups of its mem- bers. The Fukien Provincial Guild served in effecting the repatriation of some fourteen large groups of Fukienese who travelled on foot and by chair back to their native province before the end of June. These overland movements, and those by water to Canton and Macao, as well as less frequent ones to Kwong- chowan, have been continuous to date, although the total numbers of those leav- ing in any given period have dropped considerably below the earlier peak. 3. Estimate of Numbers. Because no complete census of the population of Hong Kong as of December, l94l, exists, it is not possible to state accurately the numbers of those whom the Japanese military controlling Hong Kong were able to evacuate from its territories, but even the lowest of available estimates re- flects the phenomenal success with which their efforts were crowned. According to an official estimate published on February 4, l942 in the H0NG K0NG NEWS, 250,000 persons had left Hong Kong under "the repatriation scheme instituted shortly after the first week of January." If the wording of this report is precise, the departures during the last three weeks in January must have aver- aged something more than l0,000 a day. A report published in the same paper two days after, relating the part played by the District Bureaus in Kowloon in assisting the repatriates, states that "each District has attended to thousands of applications daily, and it is estimated that 350,000 Chinese from Kcwloon have left." This suggests that the earlier figure was for the Island alone, but it is unlikely — although certainly not possible — that as many as 600,000 in all were evacuated in that brief period. * The same long lines were forming late in March as there had been in the first part of January. There seemed to be no end either to the numbers of these people or to their patience. ** The Kowloon route had been and was to continue to be one of the most important, however, due to its proximity to Chinese territory, in spite of the uninterrupted depredations of troops and Chinese gangsters. - 50 - An estimate from the same source as of February 20 gave the total of those who had left the Colony since its fall up to that date as 400,000; a rough census of Kowloon taken during the first part of the month and published on March l0 gave its population as 42l,000 as atainst 800,000 prior to the Pacific War; according to perhaps more complete figures published some two months later, there were 60l,778 persons resident on the Island and 472,398 in Kowloon, making a total population of l,074,l76 as of about the 20th of May, l942. A broadcast from Tokyo in English, of January 20, l943, quoted a D0MEI despatch of that date from Hong Kong, giving the population of the Colony at the close of December, l942, as 983,5l2, of which 972,l46 were Chinese, 4,002 Japanese, and 7,364 nationals of third countries. A TRANS0CEAN broadcast from Berlin on the same day quotes Lieutenant Gen- eral Isogai, Governor of Hong Kong, as having announced, "The Japanese Adminis- tration of Hong Kong plans to reduce the population by another 300,000...at present the population of Hong Kong is l,000,000, while the city affords work and shelter for only 700,000." D. Food Supplies. l. Rice. a. Acute Shortage. Hong Kong had always depended almost completely on imports from beyond the borders of the Colony for its food supply, including the all-important staple of the Chinese population, rice. In anticipation of the gravest difficulties should the Island be cut off from its sources of im- ported rice, the Hong Kong Government had required rice dealers to stock up, and itself made large rice purchases; the accumulated supply was many times authoritatively described as being sufficient for the then population* of the Colony for a period of at least six months. According to a report which gained wide currency on the Island shortly after its capture, and which is probably true, the Japanese military immediate- ly undertook to locate as much of that store as they could, gathered it together and shipped it to Japan. Such supplies as were subsequently discovered were sealed or taken directly over. Thereafter only such rice as the Japanese military were themselves willing to sell, or which they could be persuaded to unseal so that it might be sold by Chinese dealers, was available to the popula- tion of Hong Kong. For perhaps as much as ten days after the city's surrender it was impossible to buy rice anywhere, and the suffering of the masses of the people was terrible. To check possible rice riots - there were numerous cases of individual and group assaults, as well as of robbery of places believed to contain stores of grain - the Japanese authorities opened several grain depots, which were at once literally swamped with hungry people. 0f the scene at one of them the Japanese- controlled HONG K0NG NEWS in its edition of January l4, l942, says: * "Very close to 2,000,000" - see above, REPATRIATI0N. - 5l - "Standing three abreast in lines extending from Queen's Road Central, near the Central Market, to the Queen's Theatre, and along Des Voeux Road from the Asia Company to Queen Victoria Street,* hun- dreds of Chinese were yesterday seen buying rice from one of the sev- eral sales depots that have been established. Each person was allow- ed to buy 40 cents worth, and every conceivable form of container, including hats and even a shoe, was used to hold the rice." The first reaction to this situation came from the rice merchants, who held a meeting about the middle of January to discuss means of replenishing the supply by importations from Thailand and Annam. The H0NG K0NG NEWS of January 23 reported that they had presented to the Japanese authorities, through the good offices of the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee, two proposals, one of which contemplated buying rice with the money that 0verseas Chinese in these areas would normally have remitted to villages in Kwnagtung, shipping the rice to Hong Kong and selling it, and remitting the money thus realized to the villages. The second involved an exchange of manufactured products for rice. For over a month these efforts bore no fruit, but in April it was reported amongst the Chinese that the Japanese had despatched several of the rice deal- ers to Annam to undertake the purchase of rice, and they presumably went to Thailand. The first recorded shipment of the precious grain came in on April l5 in a freighter from Thailand; the story was headlined in the NEWS: - "Tangible evidence of the authorities' concern for the welfare of the population in Hong Kong was provided by the arrival here on Wednesday evening of a large consignment of rice from Thailand .. . This news will be hailed with delight by the public ... This is the first shipment of rice to arrive here since the occupation of Hong Kong by Nippon ... The ship was filled to capacity with rice ... It was also noticed that at the godown in Kowloon large stocks of old rice was still abailable ..." 0n May l a second shipment arrived. To quote the H0NG K0NG NEWS of May 3, l942): "The second consignment of rice to reach Hong Kong from Thailand since the end of hostilities arrived here on Friday afternoon ... This cargo, which is much bigger than the first consignment that arrived here recently, consists, it is understood, of several tons of thousands of bags. With the arrival of this second rice consignment, it is ex- pected that the food problem is now definitely solved, as far as rice is concerned." The rice purchased was evidently of an inferior grade; with only two ship- ments in almost five months to feed a population of a million people who depend- ed on it as the mainstay of their diet, the demand was such that a smuggling trade grew up over the borders of the New Territories from China; that rice too was altogether insufficient in quantity and low in quality. ** * A total distance of at least ten blocks. ** It was all glutinous: writing to a friend, a Chinese who had left Hong Kong in the fall of '42 says, "Eating too much glutinous rice has produced a form of malnutrition character- ized by swelling of the feet (beri-beri- RSW). Eighty percent of the people suffer from - 53 - the supply which he had purchased. This system involved standing in long lines at the office issuing the card, at the depot to which payment was made, and every day at the rice depot to get the actual rice. The Central District Bu- reau received complaint after complaint alleging that the rice depots were re- fusing to honor the recelpts after the money had been paid; that they were giving short weight; that they would issue one day's ration but deny the next day that they had ever seen the applicant, refusing him the remainder that was due him, etc., etc. In response to this outburst, P. H. SIN, the head of the Bureau issued a pointed statement in the press emphasizing that neither he nor the Bureau uad any connection with the rationing. Perhaps as an answer to the criticism of Japanese management implicit in that statement, SIN was shortly thereafter placed in charge of rationing, and is said to have suggested the institution of a number of rice rationing depots, each to take care of a certain number of people.* This scheme was eventually adopted, and a complete census of the population was made, on the basis of which it was decided to establish 57 depots in Hong Kong and 4l in Kowloon, each depot to take care of the needs of l,l00 houses containing an average of l0 people a house. Each person was allotted 0.4 catties of rice a day**, and was allowed three days' ration at a time; the price was set at Hong Kong 40 cents a catty.*** The issuance of rice ration cards was made the responsibility of the va- rious District Bureaus; each card was divided into ten tickets: each ticket had stamped on it the due date beyond which it was invalid, the number of the people covered by it, and the amount of rice which was to be issued against it, and the personal seal of the individual who had drawn the card.**** The fact that the rice was to be received every three days was also stated, the dates being so set that one-third of the population of Hong Kong received rice each dav.***** To maintain a rice supply to the depots, ten wholesale rice shops were nominated; each had to cover a certain number of the depots, and the latter could not purchase rice from any other source. * It seems more likely that the plan had already been worked out in detail by the Japanese, and was publicized as a suggestion of Sin.s to make it more palatable to the Chinese and to provide a non-Japanese scape-goat if it aroused too much opposition. The Germans have re- peatedly used French leaders in the same way. ** This quantity was stated by the (Japanese) Director of the Civil Administration Depart- ment to be equivalent to that of the ration in Japan. The amount was later increased to 0.64 catties. - RSW *** Shortly raised to HK 6 Hong Kong Government. Showa, l7th Year, June l. - 129 - Enclosure No. 78 to report dated June 1, 1943 on the subject of "Hong Kong under Japanese Occupation." HONGKONG NEWS June 4, 1942 Hong Kong Government Public Notification No. 29. The names of the hospitals and clinics controlled by the Office of the Governor of the Captured Territory of Hong Kong, with their locations and special services, are as follows: Hong Kong Public Hospital in Nishitaisho-dori, formerly Nethersole Hospital, for medical and surgical cases. Hong Kong Maternity Hospital in Western Street, formerly Tsan Yuk Hospital, for maternity cases. Hong Kong Mental Diseases Hospital, in Eastern Street, former- ly Mental Hospital, for receiving mental cases. Hong Kong Infectious Diseases Hospital, at Sannc-dai, Hong Kong, formerly the Hong Kong Infectious Diseases Hospital, for receiving all cases of infectious diseases. Hong Kong Leprosy Hospital, at Sanno-dai, Hong Kong, formerly the Hong Kong Leper Settlement, for receiving cases of leprosy. Un Long Clinic, at Un Long, New Territories, formerly the Un Long Clinic, for medical and surgical cases. Taipo Clinic, at Taipo, New Territories, formerly the Taipo Clinic, for receiving medical and surgical cases. By Order of the Hong Kong Covernment. Showa, 17th Year, June 3. - 130 - Enclosure No. 79 to report dated June 1, 1943 on the subject of "Hong Kong under Japanese Occupation." THE HONGKONG NEWS June 4, 1942. Hong Kong Government Public Notification_No. 30 The following places are designated for bathing in the sea in the Captured Territory of Hong Kong: 1. Hong Kong Island.- From the western end of Midorigahama to the northern end of Big Wave Bay within the shore lines marked by special notices by the Governor's Office. 2. Kowloon.- From the 13th Milestone (the shore at the Hong Kong Brewery) on the east to the southwest point of Castle Peake Bay, with- in the shore lines marked by special notices by the Governor's Office. 3. In the city areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon, permission has been granted for special bathing pools. From this date, it is forbidden to bathe in the inside waters of Hong Kong (that is west of a line joining Lyemun Point and Pakshawan Point and east of a line joining the southwest point of Ching-I Island and the southwest point of Green Island), or in the waters of Motohonkon Bay and Motorhonkon Channel. By Order of the Hong Kong Government. vernm Showa, 17th Year, June 3. - 132 - Enclosure No. 81 to report dated June 1, 1943 on the subject of "Hong Kong under Japanese Occupation." HONGKONG NEWS June 6, 1942. Notice Articles held in Safe Custody by the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation, KOWLOON, except such as belong to enemy Na- tionals, will be released on the following dates: June 8th, 10 a. m. to Noon & 2 p. m. to 4 p. m. June 9th, 10 a. m. to Noon & 2 p. m. to 4 p. m. at the premises of the Kowloon Branch. The Yokohama Specie Bank, Ltd., The Liquidator of The Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation. - 133 - Enclosure No. 82 to report dated June 1, 1943 on the subject of "Hong Kong under Japanese Occupation." HONGKONG NEWS June 6, 1942 Notice By Order of Hong Kong Senryoti Sotoku, the Bank of Taiwan, Limited, have been entrusted with the liquidation of the following bank. All those who have claims against this bank must register their claims to the liquidation office of the bank during the period of 28th May to 6th June, 1942. Those who have not registered during the period mentioned above will be regarded as having their claims forfeited. Name of Bank in Liquidation Location of Liquidation Office of the Bank Credit Foncier D'Extreme-Orient Chase Bank Office, Meiji Dori No. 15. The forms for registration of claims can be obtained at the liquidation office of the bank above mentioned. THE BANK OF TAIWAN, LTD. Hong Kong, 26th May, 1942. e. - l35 - June 6, l942 ARTICLE 4. - If after censorship it has been decided that a film shall not be shown or that it shall be cut, the applicant may not repeat his application, or if it be shown the film will be confiscated. ARTICLE 5. - The Chief of the Information Bureau will grant a permit for films that have been investigated and found suitable for showing. ARTICLE 6. - Films that have been censored, if the necessity arises later, may be forbidden, cut or confiscated. ARTICLE 7. - Films to be shown will not be charged for censor- ship. e....;. Films that are being made will be charged a censorship fee for each reel. (l,000 feet) of one military yen. Films which are for the public good may be exempted from this charge. These regulations come into force on Showa, l7th Year, June 5. RENSUKE IS0GAI, Governor of the Captured Territory * Hong Kong. Showa, l7th Year, June 5. - 138 - Enclosure No.86 to report dated June 1, 1943 on the subject of "Hong Kong under Japanese Occupation." . THE HONGKONG NEWS June 11, 1942. Hong Kong Government Public Notification No. 33 When typhoon warnings are issued or broadcast, shipping must take refuge according to the following instructions: 1. Anchorage for large vessels (5,000 tons and over):- (a) Chukchow Island (Stonecutters); (b) Kai Hak Bay. Passage through Lyemun according to instructions from the Navy. (c) Thirteen "A" mooring buoys, Nos. 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 are set aside (numbers of buoys allotted according to the Water Department), ships to moor without causing obstruction. 2. Anchorage for medium-sized vessels (under 5,000 tons and above 1,000 tons):- (a) Yaumati Bay (outside typhoon shelter); (b) Buoys at that place; (c) Kowloon Bay; (d) If unable to make these places, they may anchor in the anchorages for large vessels. 3. Anchorage for small vessels (under 1,000 tons):- These may take refuge in Yaumati Bay, Causeway Bay or any other approrpiate anchorage. 4. Vessels anchoring in sheltered anchorages must not obstruct the fairway or foul another vessel. 5. Anchoring vessels must not move in such a way as to obstruct boats or military launches taking shelter in the anchorages. By Order of the Hong Kong Government. Showa, 17th Year, June 10. - 141 - Enclosure No. 89 to report dated June 1, 1943 on the subject of "Hong Kong under Japanese Occupation." THE HONGKONG NEWS June 12, 1942. Hong Kong Government Public Notification No. 32 Schedule 1. Typhoon Signals n No. 1 Signal – Typhoon approaching Hong Kong. No. 5 Signal - Gale expected from northwest. No. 6 Signal — Gale expected from southwest. No. 7 Signal — Gale expected from northeast. No. 8 Signal — Gale expected from southeast. Om S No. 9 Signal - Wind force increasing. No. 10 Signal - Typhoon centre closing but direction uncertain. Wind force increasing. Schedule 2. Subsidiary Signals No. 1 Signal - Typhoon approaching. No. 2 Signal -- Gale expected or typhoon centre closing, wind force increasing Explanation of Signals 1. No. 1 Signal means that a typhoon may come, but it is a warn- ing signal without certainty. 2. Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8 Signals do not indicate the force of the wind, but the direction from which a gale may be expected. A wind travelling from 40 to 60 miles per hour is called a gale. If these signals are hoisted small boats should make for typhoon refuges and large vessels should prepare their storm anchors. All others should prepare shelters, and houses should shut their doors and windows. 3. Subsidiary signals are for display on isolated islands or in fishing coves. - 143 Enclosure No. 91 to report dated June 1, 1943 on the subject of "Hong Kong under Japanese Occupation." THE HONGKONG NEWS June 24, 1942 The Hong Kong Government Public Notification No. 37 An alteration has been made to the method of writing the address of letters sent to Nipponese nationals residing in the Imperial Captured Territories of the Southern Regions, as laid down in Section 4 of Public Notification No. 21 of Showa 17th Year, May 1l, for "Sumatra-Palembang Field Post Office for transmission." Letters sent to the southern section of Sumatra must be ad- dressed "Sumatra-Medan Field Post Office for transmission." Letters sent to the rorthern section of Sumatra must be ad- Giessed "Sumatra-Medan Field Post Office for transmission." These alterations are effective from Showa 17th Year, June 20. By Order of the Hong Kong Government Showa 17th Year, June 20. -- - - . 146 - .146 Enclosure No. 94 to report dated June 1, 1943 on the subject of "Hong Kong under Japanese Occupation." THE HONGKONG NEWS June 27, 1942. Hong Kong Government Instructions Issued to Restaurants Restaurants and eating houses have been issued with a list of instructions by the Health Authorities regarding precautionary measures against cholera. The list contains 14 rules, which are as follows: (1) Everything must be boiled; (2) raw vegetables and fruits must be sterilized; (3) overnight foodstuffs must be used carefully; (4) ice must not be put in food; (5) iced foodstuffs must be care- fully preserved; (6) all utensils must be disinfected before being used; 17) a portion of the foods sold must be reserved for examina- tion by officials of the Health Department; (8) cloth used for wip- ing the utensils must be made of cotton and regularly disinfected; (9) utensils must only be used for the purpose for which they are intended; (10) there must be a special contraption to catch flies; (11) the kitchen should be sprayed with Jeyes fluid; (12) the staff of the kitchen must wash their hands with disinfectant; (13) they must undergo a physical examination twice a month; and (14) the cloth- ing of the staff must be kept clean.