17.
207
We have lost a dreadful amount of face, and prestige over the fall of Hongkong, and we shall never regain what we have lost. Feeling against us has been running high for some months now, and the A.R.P. scandal did nothing to help us. Evidence of this was clearly shown to me during my last lunch party with the Chinese women, where they asked me to sponsor a Sino British club. They openly expressed their bitterness and feelings to me, and when I said "don't forget I too, am Eritish" two of them said, "we know but we treat you as one of us. because you have done much for the Chinese and we know you are our friend". This comes from women who
I know how they feel. have been foreign educated and are society women.
I have watched it for years. I have many friends amongst them both male and female, who do not hesitate to discuss their ideas with me.
I am aflaid it will not be long before there is trouble in the Colony between the Chinese and the Europeans. The food situation is gradually are getting becoming worse and they may then tur. against us saying we food (rice) which should be theirs, as normally we do not eat it. Rice was about $/240 a bag when I left and it was rationed out at one cattie per day per person, which is not enough for a Chinese per day. They eat two or three bowls of rice at each meal. There were large stocks of food in the colony. but most of itwas taken away by the Japs. Tinned food could be bought at hawker stalls on the streets. but it wont last very long and there is nothing coming in.
Atrocities are taking place daily amongst the Chinese, witness the events of my walk down to Wing Lok wharf on the 27th Jan, and also earlier in the month when I saw a young Chinese woman object to being searched. he asked for a woman searcher, saying even in gals they had women searcher. The sentry stripped her naked and left her clah es about 12 yards a way from where she was standing. He made her stand for over an hour. completely naked and nobody dared to interfere.
The story told to me by Professor Loung regarding the death of Professor Thom also bears out their cruelty. Prof, Thor has been at St. Stephens College for over 10 years. He tried to protect his students, Chinese and foreign. He was killed and so badly mutilated about the face by beatings etc,. that he was only identified by his stature and those who knew him really well.
The food situation was appaling during the days of the fighting. Chinese waited in queues for hours. quite orderly. but many went a way after waiting all day without having obtained food. Rice shops refused to sell. and orders were given to the police force to force open any rice shop found closed and w arn him that if he refused to sell his rice it would be confiscated, but even after that manj re used to open. Ah ze told me he could not buy rice anywhere in Wanchai, and in consequence I got it for him from police stores.
Transport service was literally in the hands of the Chinese. almost all of the lorries were being dricen by them. They re-used to drive and left their trucks by the roadside. taking away ignition keys. The situation was eventually such that faantic appeals were made over the radio and in the press calling ford rivers of any nationality and sex who were not already being used on essential service work.
Why also did we not destroy the docks. Two days after we surrendered I saw a large cruiser in Kowloon Docks undergoing repair. The R.N. dockyard is also full of men and they are getting underway with repair work. Ships are lying alongside the basins walls and little damage seems to have been dɔne.
One cattie of rice is being offered free for two taels of dry flies. That is the state of affairs at the moment, and this is winter time.