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28/4/2006

Hong Kong

University Museum and Art Gallery - UMAG, Hong Kong

During the Japanese Occupation

On 7 and 8 December 1941, Japanese forces carried out a series of attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Malaya and Hong Kong in a gambit to seize the Southeast Asian colonies while attempting to cripple the United States Pacific fleet. The battle for Hong Kong was part of Japan!¦s ambition to conquer East and South-East Asia, and become a colonial power equal in stature to the dominant countries in the West.

Hong Kong fell into Japanese hands after eighteen days of gallant resistance, and was integrated into Japan's 'Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere'. This period of occupation, which lasted until the Japanese surrendered in August 1945, is the subject of an exhibition presented by the University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, in collaboration with Mr Cheng Po Hung.

The exhibition mainly consists of some seventy historical photographs provided by Mr Cheng, offering a sense of everyday life in Hong Kong under Japanese rule. There is no doubt that life was difficult during this period. The Japanese commandeered Hong Kong's resources and absorbed its dollar currency by excessive issues of military yen notes, leading to severe shortages in food and other commodities as well as inflated prices. The local population was drastically reduced due to a brutally implemented policy of repatriation. People lived in fear of the Japanese military police as well as allied air raids while captured foreigners suffered in internment camps. The exhibition and the accompanying catalogue written by Mr Cheng acknowledge these hardships as well as reveal the resilience of the Hong Kong people as they found the means to continue with their lives. In addition, the exhibition and catalogue point out some of the Nipponising changes to everyday life that the Japanese administration tried to impose on Hong Kong during the occupation.

Opening: 29 April 2006

University Museum and Art Gallery
94 Bonham Road, Pokfulam - Hong Kong
hours: Monday to Saturday 9:30 am to 6:00 pm; Sundays 1:30 to 5:30 pm.

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