Hong Kong

A commemoration of forebears and heroes

By Li Tao (HK Edition)
Updated: 2009-12-25 07:37

HONG KONG: Christmas Day 1941 was greeted, not with joy, but as an ignominious memory for the city. After a brief, but hard-fought battle, the surrender of the then British colony of Hong Kong to the Japanese was announced, after which a group of British and Chinese officers and naval crews, 68 members - mostly British, successfully made a dash to the mainland for freedom.

Exactly 68 years later, about 80 descendants, ranging in age from toddlers to 90 year-olds who came from every corner of the world, appeared in the opening of a commemorative event yesterday. Most of them had never met before, but they all bore the same aspiration - to pay tribute to their forebears and heroes, including the Chinese who aided them in the escape.

A new exhibition, which will run until the end of 2011, titled "Escape from Hong Kong - the Road to Waichow (Huizhou)", was unveiled yesterday at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, featuring the 1941 daring Christmas Day escape from Japanese-occupied Hong Kong.

The descendants were brought together by the Hong Kong Escape Re-enactment Organisation (HERO). The organisation brought together individuals who had long been fascinated by their fathers' or grandfathers' stories, and connected many families sharing this common link. Artifacts that include original diaries, letters, photographs, uniforms and memorabilia were contributed to the exhibition by the descendants, who are trying to bring the story to life for a wider audience.

Donald Chan, president of HERO, could not conceal his excitement when talking about this get-together.

"It is indeed a miracle that so many descendants of the original escape group have come together from all over the world," said Chan. "Christmas is the most important holiday in the West; nevertheless these foreign friends still have come to Hong Kong to commemorate this (wartime) event during Christmas, which I believe represents love and gratitude," Chan added.

Chan was the son of Admiral Chan Chak, one of the escapees who was China's top representative in Hong Kong when the Japanese were waging war in China. During the war, Chan Chak was liaising with British police and intelligence to carry out undercover work against Japan.

Emma Oxford, currently living in New York, is the daughter of Squadron Leader Max Oxford, one among the escapees. She said her father and many others would never have survived without help from Chinese people in the escape. It was because of the help given by the East River Column Guerrillas and local villagers who provided food and shelter, as well as intelligence, that the escapees successfully crossed Japanese lines to reach the relatively safe city of Huizhou, in Guangdong province.

The descendants will start traveling today, follow the exact route taken by the escapees in 1941. They are leaving Aberdeen after dark by boat and will head out to Ping Chau, and then proceed to the fishing village of Nan'ao on the mainland, where the escape group landed. They will conclude the journey in Huizhou, to re-enact the famous "Huizhou group photo" with the 2nd and 3rd generation descendants.

(HK Edition 12/25/2009 page1)