HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1952
University, following discussions held by Sir Frederick Lugard with prominent local inhabitants soon after his arrival.
In 1908, H. N. Mody offered to bear the cost of the building, and a committee was formed to organize a public subscription. The foundation stone of the new building was laid in 1910, and the University opened in 1912. Henceforward the Hong Kong student was to be able to receive his professional training and higher education in the Colony.
The last period, since the war of 1914-18, is yet difficult to evaluate. The Chinese scene has been completely changed by the Chinese Revolution, and the coming of the Nationalist Government, and later by the Japanese War against China and the war in the Pacific in 1941, and even more recently by the conclusion of the civil war and the establishment of a Communist Government in Peking.
After Japan invaded China in 1937, the Colony became a refuge for many Chinese and the population grew to over one and a half million. Until the fall of Canton at the end of 1938 valuable supplies were able to reach China through Hong Kong. With the outbreak of war in Europe, in September, 1939, the position of the Colony became precarious, and on December 8th, 1941, the blow fell. Powerful units of the Japanese Army, supported by the Japanese Air Force based on Canton, struck at the Colony. The first attempt of the Japenese to land on Hong Kong Island was repulsed on the night of December 15th- 16th, but a second attempt on the night of the 18th-19th could not be held. After some bloody fighting on the Island, the Colony was surrendered to the Japanese
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