In and Out of the Camp, Releases, and Repatriation, 1941–1942

Abstract

Hong Kong was under the impact of Japan’s worldwide expansion, the so-called Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, which had been formally announced by the Japanese foreign minister in August 1940, included not only Japan, China, and Manzhouguo (Manchukuo, the Japanese puppet state in the Northeast of China), but former colonies of the British, Dutch, and French as well.1 After Pearl Harbor (December 1941), the Japanese invaded and assumed control of countries in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong was just one of the dominoes that had fallen prey to Japanese militarism. According to the Japanese propaganda, countries in east Asia and Southeast Asia cooperated economically and culturally to ensure the uplifting and prosperity of the Asian races, to resist the domination of Western colonialists. In Southeast Asia, Japan established puppet governments in occupied territories, in order to have the locals believe that these were ruled by the local people, and not by the former colonial masters. There were staged acts of loyalty to the Japanese empire, celebrations, festivity, but very soon, all would come crumbling down.KeywordsOccupied TerritoryPearl HarborEnglish SignJapanese OccupationBoundary StreetThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.