[
    {
        "id": 208590,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1979",
        "page_number": 47,
        "title": "RAS-1979",
        "content_text": "20\n\nCHAN KIT-CHENG\n\n62 \"The Hong Kong Question during the Pacific War (1941-45)”, p. 72.\n\n63 Brigadier A. J. H. Dove of the War Office to C. H. M. Weldock of the Admiralty, 12 August 1945, communicated to the Foreign Office, FO371/46251, and Admiralty to commander-in-chief, British Pacific Fleet, tel. 131957A, important, 13 August 1945, communicated to the Foreign Office, FO371/46252.\n\n64 Seymore to Ernest Bevin, foreign secretary, tel. 857, most immediate and top secret, 16 August; tel. 865, most immediate and top secret, 17 August; tel. 909, most immediate and top secret, 23 August; and Bevin to Seymore, tel. 984, 25 August 1945, FO371/46252.\n\n**Harry S. Truman, Memoirs by Harry S. Truman (New York, 1965), I, p. 492.\n\n**Thorne, op. cit., p. 649.\n\n67 General Hurley, now United States ambassador at Chungking, to secretary of state, tel. 1414, 21 August 1945, in FRUS, The Far East, China, 1945 (Washington, 1969), VII, pp. 507-8.\n\n**Truman, op. cit., pp. 493-4.\n\n*Hurley to secretary of state, tel. CFB$633, 23 August 1945, in FRUS, The Far East, China, 1945, op. cit., p. 511.\n\n70 Truman, op. cit., pp. 494-5.\n\n71 Truman, ibid., p. 496.\n\n72 G. B. Endacott, A History of Hong Kong (Oxford University Press, 1958), p. 302.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 208785,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1979",
        "page_number": 242,
        "title": "RAS-1979",
        "content_text": "NOTES AND QUERIES \n\n215 \n\nAfter this incident, agreement was reached with the villagers and the Rural Committee on compensation for trees in the fung shui area held under Forestry Licence. The compensation was collected and a period was set for removal of trees by the former licensees before the 1978 lunar new year, following which the engineers would let a 3 months' contract for removal of any remaining trees and shrubs in preparation for major excavation and site formation to begin in earnest in September 1978. \n\nUnfortunately, our hopes for smooth progress were interrupted by the death of a 69 year old male villager and the paralysis of a 48 year old man six weeks after the start of the de-vegetation contract. These events were attributed by the villagers to the continued interference with their 'fung shui hill and led to their stopping the contractor from continuing with the work. (In practice, and as often happens in this kind of situation where it is prudent to employ local people on sensitive work involving themselves and their beliefs -- and despite the seeming inconsistency the contractor had been employing village labour for shrub and tree clearance. The villagers concerned were thus in a good position to make him stop by withdrawing their labour and advising him that no replacements should be taken on). \n\nThe work was stopped. Four more tun fu ceremonies were held in the affected villages: one at each of the two Chan (陳) ancestral halls, one at the Pak Kung shrine (伯公廟) and one on the fung shui hill itself. The object was to pacify the disturbed spirits and the ancestors of the two villages concerned. Payment for these ceremonies was again made by Government. \n\nHowever, despite these protective measures, our negotiations to continue with the interrupted de-vegetation work, prior to starting major site excavations in the autumn, proved abortive. It became clear that even if the work could be started again without incident it was very likely to be subject to more interference and unpredictable delays because of the heightened feelings and fears of the local people. An attempt was made to get the villagers to move out temporarily into public housing to facilitate the important engineering works at stake, but this was discontinued when they tried to link the move to unreasonable demands in the village removal negotiations that had been rejected previously.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1979.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2801w5938",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 214982,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2000",
        "page_number": 78,
        "title": "RAS-2000",
        "content_text": "34\n\nShiyi' who suggested that an army be sent to Europe for training and service with the Allies. He continued to promote China's participation hoping for future political and financial advantages which might accrue providing further expansion of his own empire of bureaucratic and financial interests.\n\nLord Inchcape, the chairman of the Port and Transit Executive Committee, had already suggested the formation of Transport Workers Battalions to assist in clearing ships' cargoes for speedy turn-around. Some considered that delays in this area resulted from dock-workers not working a full day or were too few in number to carry out the work. To placate the unions, their representatives were appointed to serve on the Committee. Ernest Bevin, the national organiser of the Dock, Wharf, Riverside and General Worker's Union [the Dockers' Union] considered that the port authorities intentionally created labour shortages as an excuse for employing non-union labour. After an agreement had been reached with the Government as to further representation by Union members to serve on the Committee, Ernest Bevin became a member of the Committee. However, because it was considered that agreement with the Unions would not be reached, as to the employment of foreign labour, it was decided to look elsewhere for additional manpower. Throughout the war, trade union pressure prevented the introduction of Chinese labourers to the British Isles.\n\nMany years previously, Chinese had travelled to work, under contract or treaty provisions in, for instance, the gold mines of South Africa. They were tempted to do so due to poor conditions in China and because of the comparatively high wages offered.\n\nRecruitment\n\nThe French pioneered the scheme to recruit Chinese to serve as non-military personnel, negotiations being conducted by government officers posing as civilians to protect the Chinese Government and its neutrality from controversy. The contract to supply 50,000 labourers was agreed upon on 14 May 1916 and their first shipment left Tianjin for Dagu and Marseilles in July 1916. In February 1917, in the Mediterranean the French steamship Athos was sunk with the loss of 543 Chinese lives, but this did not deter the Chinese from enlisting to serve with the French or British.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2000.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/nk328168n",
        "rank": 0
    }
]