B) Pre-World War II

Pre-World War II

HONG KONG, small but important outpost of the British Empire, and particularly of Australasia in the in the Pacific War, passed through a period of unusual difficulty and anxiety before the blow fell on the 8th December, 1941. Japan’s long-continued effort to ’make friends’ with China at the point of the bayonet had driven refugees, both rich and poor, into Hong Kong by hundreds of thousands, until population figures rose from 850,000 to an estimated 2,000,000.  (No building development took place to accommodate this influx;  the newcomers crowded into already overcrowded houses, or slept on the sidewalks.) War in Europe had already increased food costs; pressure of population had stepped-up rents. The poor became poorer, and malnutrition was rife. It was a matter of common observation that never had so many half-starved Chinese been seen on the streets as in 1941.

On the other hand, deviation to Hong Kong of business, previously done through other ports on the China coast, brought about a great increase of trade, done on an ever-rising market. Merchants confessed that it was impossible not to make exceptional profits. In the week before the Japanese struck, Government revenue reached a record level: HK $2,000,000* was paid into the Treasury.

* Note: The HK$ = 1s. 3d. (sterling)