An account of the wartime history of Hong Kong. On Christmas Day 1941 the Japanese captured Hong Kong; and Britain lost control of its Chinese colony for almost four years. The Japanese occupation was a turning point in the slow historical process by which the British were to be expelled from the colony and from four centuries of influence in East Asia. In this narrative; Philip Snow unravels the dramatic story of the occupation from the viewpoint of all the key players - the Hong Kong Chinese; the British; the Japanese; and the mainland Chinese - and reinterprets the subsequent evolution of Hong Kong in the light of this half-buried episode. Drawing on a range of sources across continents and across languages; Snow reveals what really happened: the widespread desertion of the British by Chinese personnel during the invasion; the acquiescence of the Asian upper class in the Japanese takeover; the vicious cruelty of the Japanese conquerors to the Chinese masses; and the post-war British decision to draw a veil over the occupation's murkier aspects. Now; with Hong Kong returned to the Chinese and its future closely tied to the commercial influence of Japan; the colony's wartime nemesis may hold the key to its survival in the 21st century.
#383930 in Books 1995Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x 5.00 x 1.00l; .92 #File Name: 0300070578354 pages
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