56
4
Officer, six Sanitary Inspectors, the Accountant and the writer who was appointed "Adviser". The Asiatic elements in the department suffered a very considerable reduction, for most of the Chinese doctors, nurses, dressers,' dispensers, clerks, etc., were naturally reluctant to serve in Hong Kong under Japanese control. In the interests of the loyal Chinese, Portuguese, Third Nationals, etc., living in the captured territory and of the prisoners of war and civilians interned in the internment camps, it was decided to maintain as much of the medical facilities and town cleansing and anti-epidemic work as it was possible to induce the occupation forces to sanction.
For sixteen months the struggle to maintain such services went on, but event- ually it was brought to an abrupt ending on the 2nd May, 1943, by the arrest and imprisonment of the writer for alleged anti-Japanese espionage and by the internment in Stanley Civilian Internment Camp of the remainder of the British European staff three days later. From that date, the activities of the Department became progessively restricted so that when the collapse of Japanese resistance occurred in the middle of August, 1945, there were very few hospitals, no welfare centres and practically no public dispensaries remaining open to the public while town cleansing and similar activities had become things of the past. On the 1st September, 1945, control was regained, although several days earlier the writer had contacted loyal members of the former staff to ensure that no gap occurred in the administration and that the few still remaining in Hong Kong (under the writer's instructions) were ready to start on reconstruction work immediately the Japanese were removed to concen- tration camps.
C. Population
At mid-year 1941 the population was estimated to be about 1,700,000, of whom about 600,000 were refugees from war areas in China.
With the evacuation to Australia via Manila of the remainder of the British women and children who had not been granted permits to stay in Hong Kong and a concerted effort to induce refugees to return to their homes in China where these were no longer in the actual fighting zone, the population at the outbreak of the war with Japan had been reduced to about 1,500,000.
Almost immediately after the capture of Hong Kong, the Japanese made it very plain by posters, repressive measures and forcible "repatriation" that they intended to reduce the population to something under 500,000. No doubt they anticipated the blockade which the Allied Powers eventually instituted against Hong Kong and they needed shipping for munitioning and victualling their own troops and were averse to the utilisation of shipping for bringing supplies of food to Hong Kong.
By the end of 1942, it is estimated that the population had fallen to a little over 1,000,000. The official figure for Hong Kong Island in December, 1942, was 455,724. Assuming that the combined Kowloon and New Territories figure corresponded approximately to about 600,000 this would give a grand total of about 1,000,000. In 1943, 1944 and 1945 economic conditions in Hong Kong became progressively worse; rice which had originally cost 20 cents per catty in the earlier months of 1942 (the Hong Kong dollar was devalued to $4 for Military Yen 1 in July, 1942) rose to M.Y. 270 in 1945, and other essential foodstuffs followed suit.
Imports of raw materials had ceased and there were practically no local industries giving employment. In consequence, a very considerable exodus took place and at the time of the Japanese surrender, the population of the Colony and leased territories had fallen to approximately 500,000 to 600,000 in other words less than one third of what it was at the outbreak of hostilities in Hong Kong in December, 1941.
(a) BIRTHS
5
D. Vital Statistics
It was not found possible to persuade the Japanese to appreciate the value of birth registration for several months after the surrender. Consequently, the records available for 1942 are very incomplete.
In the following table the figures for Hong Kong are in respect of the last six months of the year whereas those for Kowloon relate to the last three quarters of 1942. The records for 1945 relate to the first eight months of that year.
Year
1942
1943
1944
1945
BIRTHS Hong Kong
5,374
10,244
7,441 1,811
•
Kowloon
*Combined
4,969
10,343
10,488
20,732.
6,246
13,687
1,901
3,712
In view of the incomplete nature of the records available, there would seem to be little purpose in calculating birth-rates.
Assuming that registration in 1943 and 1944 was relatively complete, the marked fall in the number of births registered would seem to more than confirm the statement that the population fell very markedly in the occupation period.
(b) DEATHS
Death registration was also decidedly faulty during the occupation. On the other hand, records relating to burials were relatively more reliable. Cognisance should be taken of the fact that many bodies of Europeans and Indians buried in January, 1942, were of persons killed in action in the previous month. Every effort was made to collect and to give decent burial to all such bodies after all, possible steps had been taken to secure identification marks (such particulars being handed, later, to the International Red Cross for transmission to the War Office in London through Tokio and Geneva.) No records are available of the number of bodies of persons executed at Big Wave Bay, although these numbered over a thousand.
Year
1942
1943
1944
1945 (Jan.-Aug.)
BURIALS Hong Kong
42,770
19,301
13,113
12,593
Kowloon
Combined
40,665
83,435
20,816
40,117
I1,823
24,936
10,505
23,098
The monthly incidence of deaths in 1942 is given in an appendix to this report.
The very marked fall in the number of burials in 1943 as compared with that for 1942 is accounted for by a corresponding reduction in the population, resulting from the compulsory evacuation tactics employed by the Japanese. Since no question arises of the return of evacuated persons until after the collapse of Japanese resistance in August, 1945, the actual increase in the number of burials in 1945 indicates a sharp rise in the death rate, probably from starvation, since the price of the rice staple reached M.Y. 270 (H.K. $1,080 at 4 to 1) as compared with M.Y. 0-10 (H.K. $0-20 at 2 to 1) in the first half of 1942.
52077
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