The Fall of Hong Kong: Britain, China, and the Japanese Occupation

by Philip Albert Snow

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 powerfully researched narrative, Philip Snow for the first time 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 an unprecedented range of sources across continents and across languages, Snow reveals what really 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 towards 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 the colony’s wartime nemesis may hold the key to its survival in the twenty-first century.

Genres: China, History, World War II, Nonfiction, Japan

528 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book a few years ago because it dealt with Hong Kong. I tried to start it a couple of times, but finally set aside some time and read it recently. While I'm not a military history buff, I thought I could learn more about Hong Kong before and during the war. So it was a nice surprise to learn that the book is not just an account of the Japanese invasion, but more of a comprehensive history of 20th century Hong Kong. I had no idea that the US played such a key role in fostering the return of HK to the British upon Japan's surrender, nor did I know that the British were close to the Communists on the mainland for quite some time. In fact, the British, just after the war, were all set to bring sweeping reforms to HK, but then when Britain's military government left and a civilian one replaced it, a conservative governor was appointed and the planned reforms were pushed aside, not to appear for years to come. I also didn't know that the handover had been discussed even before WWII and was up in the air until the early 1980s when Britain and the PRC began talks. My favorite part of the book was learning about post-WWII Hong Kong and where the major players ended up.

[Bruce Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book mostly concerns the long-term decline and fall of Britain's East Asian empire. Britain's poor planning and lack of military resources available for commitment to the Far East in 1941 doomed Hong Kong to an early and relatively painless conquest by the Japanese.

This book's major strong point is its detailing of the inner conflicts among the Japanese (Army vs Navy) and their Allied opponents. By the end of the war, the British appeared to fear the Nationalist Chinese as much as they did the Japanese. The British seemed to be more concerned with business relationships in the post-war world as they did with the eventual defeat of Japan.

The Japanese Army and Navy waged two parallel wars with the Army waging a land war in Asia while the Navy waged an ocean war in the Southwest Pacific. Their parallel and conflicting claims on resources made for a surprisingly uneasy alliance, with Hong Kong being a nuisance for both of them.

The most interesting part of the book was its description of the fluid relationships between the local Chinese population and their conquerors both old (the British) and new (the Japanese). The local Chinese generally did a good job of keeping one foot in both camps, working with the Japanese occupation government but not so closely that the British could label them collaborators if the British ever returned to power. The role of Chinese organized crime (the Triads) in both British and Japanese administration is darkly humorous.

The Japanese military defeat of the British, forever dispelling any ideas of European military superiority, was a watershed moment in the history of all of East Asia, not just Hong Kong. This book does an adequate job of capturing this moment.

[Lia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't really read the whole book since I used this as a reference for an assignment but it was very informative. The amount of detail about the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong was extremely well researched and definitely worth praising. Nice.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book in a second hand bookstore in London many years ago. Telling the story of Hong Kong's fall to Japanese rule during the Second World War, I found it one of the best books on this topic I've ever come across. The story is not told from any one side of the conflict, instead, told from the points of view of the British, Chinese, Japanese and also other foreign troops.

[sarefo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about the Japanese occupation, including the lead-up and the aftermath. Very well written, sometimes brutal, sometimes funny, always informative.

[Tony Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good and a great help when I was writing my novel The Hong Kong Circle

[Caleb Poon · Rating 5 out of 5]

With diligent research and analysis, Snow’s indelible authority on war era's Hong Kong is to Josephus on first century's Judea.