ENG-2003 — Page 532

HISTORY

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Japan entered World War II on December 7, 1941, when its aircraft bombed United States warships at Pearl Harbour. At about the same time, Japanese armed forces. attacked Hong Kong (December 8, 1941, Hong Kong time). They invaded Hong Kong across the border from China and pushed the British from the New Territories and Kowloon on to Hong Kong Island. After a week of stubborn resistance on the island, the defenders including the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps overwhelmed and Hong Kong surrendered on Christmas Day.

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The Japanese occupation lasted for three years and eight months. Trade virtually disappeared, currency lost its value, food supplies were disrupted, and government services and public utilities were seriously impaired. Many residents moved to Macau the neutral Portuguese enclave hospitably opening its doors to them. Towards the latter part of the occupation, the Japanese sought to ease the food problems by organising mass deportations.

In the face of increasing oppression, the bulk of the community remained loyal to the allied cause. Chinese guerrillas operated in the New Territories and escaping allied personnel were assisted by the rural population. Soon after news of the Japanese surrender was received on August 14, 1945, a provisional government was set up by the Colonial Secretary, Mr (later Sir) Frank Gimson, who had spent the occupation imprisoned in Stanley Gaol. On August 30, Rear Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt arrived with units of the British Pacific Fleet to establish a temporary military government. Civil government was formally restored on May 1, 1946, when Sir Mark Young resumed his interrupted governorship.

The Post-war Years

After the Japanese surrender, Chinese civilians many of whom had moved into the Mainland during the war-returned at the rate of almost 100 000 a month. The population, which by August 1945 had been reduced to about 600 000, rose by the end of 1947 to an estimated 1.8 million. In 1948-49, as the forces of the Chinese Nationalist Government began to face defeat in civil war at the hands of the Communists, Hong Kong received an influx unparalleled in its history. Hundreds of thousands of people mainly from Kwangtung (Guangdong) Province, Shanghai and other commercial centres - entered Hong Kong during 1949 and the spring of 1950. By mid-1950, the population had swelled to an estimated 2.2 million. It has continued to rise, reaching four million by 1970, five million by 1980, approaching six million by 1990, and now nearing seven million.

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After a period of economic stagnation caused by the United Nations' embargo on trade with China, arising from the Korean War, Hong Kong began to industrialise. No longer could Hong Kong rely solely on its port to provide prosperity for its greatly increased population. From the start, the industrial revolution was based on cotton textiles, gradually adding woollens to the list and, in the late 1960s, man-made fibres and made-up garments. Textiles and clothing made up more than half of domestic exports by value during the 1960s.

Although Hong Kong has become increasingly a service-based economy over the past 10 years with domestic merchandise exports steadily declining, textiles and clothing still constitute over 50 per cent of domestic exports by value. Electronics, watches, clocks and jewellery are also major export items.

Over the years, the manufacturing sector has gradually moved from one concentrating on simple, labour-intensive products to one focusing on sophisticated,