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ELIZABETH SINN
the Canton Government. It responded to Canton's call to strike and then terminated it when it had gone too far because each, in its judgement, was the appropriate thing to do at the time. In my opinion, it did what it believed to be right, and commensurate with the Committee's status as Chinese gentry. And the 1884 episode, we must admit in all fairness, demonstrated its effectiveness.
No doubt individual members had personal ambitions and motives, and in a sociological sense, these were what made the Tung Wah Hospital tick. What we must not overlook however, are the ideals and nobler feelings men had, and in 1884, in particular, I think these played an important part. It is too easy to be cynical; perhaps it is time to review the past with more sympathy.
The ease with which the Tung Wah and other Chinese leaders could rally cargo boatmen and coolies to strike stemmed not only from their prestige and influence but also from a common national feeling. Merchants and coolies alike suffered losses from the strike, but nationalism and a sense of moral righteousness against the fines made them accept these losses and join in common action. It is perhaps this ability on the part of the Tung Wah to identify with local Chinese of various classes through an incipient nationalism that made it so formidable in 19th Century Hong Kong. And one may speculate that the later decline of the Tung Wah Hospital as a political force was partially due to the rise of a newer, more complex and more narrow brand of nationalism in the 1920s which emphasized class lines and class struggles and thus made it more difficult for any single organisation to build on the joint allegiance of different social groups.
But what the average European contemporary saw was not the social, political and psychological vacuum that the Tung Wah Hospital could fill. He saw only dark conspiracies growing out of the ambition of its Committee members to usurp power from the Administration. European newspaper editors and correspondents alike lost no opportunity during the episode to vilify the Chinese leaders. European opinion reflected envy and hostility at every turn, envy for Chinese who rose to power and influence, and hostility against those who dared to demand a