I was surprised to see a large number of old Hong Kong flags (ie colonial) being waved during the July 1 pro-democracy march yesterday. In relation to that - and in honour of the handover - a question about the flag raising in 1841. I didn't know there was doubt over who first hoisted it. This interesting paper is old but does anyone know if the doubt been cleared up?
Gweilos sometime say that the entire upper class of Hong Kong, apart from Li Ka-Shing, speak Shanghaihua at home. This is nonsense (think, for instance, of the Lee Hysans, whom we met in the BAAG) but there is a germ of truth in it - the capital stock of Hong Kong gained immensely, both financially and intellectually, by the arrival of most of the upper class of Shanghai. Not boat people, not even yacht people, they were more like entire ship people. <Read more ...>
We now come to the events that shaped Hong Kong as we know it - the victory of the Chinese Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War, in 1949, which led to the exodus from Shanghai of the upper classes, the KMT government on Taiwan, the Chinese intervention in the Korean War, the UN Embargo on China and the arrival in Hong Kong of, literally, millions of refugees.
I started this thread because I didn't want to "hijack" the "Rolls" thread. Governor May was once a British Colonial Administrator, I am wondering what kind of position was that........something like an Assistant Governor? Did that position exit in the modern days, like just before the "handover" in 1997?
Why did some British colonies have Governors while others (especially down in the Caribbean) have Viceroys? What were the differences? <Read more ...>
SF commented:"I saw the Governor's motorcade passed by from time to time and the policeman on the beat would snap to attention and salute the Governor. As a kid, I thought it was really neat."
SF's comments inspired me to dig up these two photos of the Last Governor's Roller taken at Government House on a school visit. <Read more ...>
Facilis descensus Averno; Noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis; Sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras, Hos opus, hic labor est.
It is easy to descend into Hell; Day and night, the gates of Dis stand open; But to climb out, and to regain the heavens, That's work, that's a real struggle.
Certain histories state that Hong Kong lost most of its trees due to widespread cutting around WWII, and that all the current trees/flora that cover the mountains on the island came about as a result of reforestation efforts which started in the 1950s. However, in many old photos of HK which pre-date WWII, including this one, it appears that there were no trees whatsoever on the hills. <Read more ...>
The Japanese were not exactly welcomed into Hong Kong by the Chinese population - after all, this was the same Japanese Army that had occupied the adjoining Chinese province of Guangdong. The abuses committed by Japanese troops in looting and raping were hardly a good start, and the severity of Japanese martial law (Hong Kong was kept under martial law for the entire duration - three years and eight months - of the Japanese occupation) did nothing to bring peoples hearts and minds round to favour Japanese rule. <Read more ...>
