The Politics of Collaboration: A Comparative Study

of the Dynamics and Interactions between the

Japanese Military Administration and Local Chinese

Communities in Hong Kong and Singapore during

World War II

Doctoral Dissertation 2010

Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies

Waseda University

Wong, Cheuk Yin

4003S324-1

B.Soc.Sc., M.Phil. (University of Hong Kong)

Chief Examiner: Professor Goto Kenichi Deputy Examiner: Professor Kobayashi Hideo

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Acknowledgement

In war, there are no victors; everyone is a loser.

--Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister 1937-1940

This dissertation took years longer than I had ever anticipated. I could not have been

completed without the assistance of certain institutions and individuals, and to them, as well

as to other, unmentioned individuals; I express my deep gratitude and thanks.

First and foremost, I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to my dissertation

supervisor, Professor Goto Kenichi, from whom I had been receiving consistent guidance

and unfailing encouragement. He was a critical reader on my earlier drafts that drove me to

reformulate the ideas of my thesis in a more logical and readable way. I also thank for his help

and encouragement for my academic pursuit as a graduate student in the field of Japanese

colonial history during the World War II. Special thanks are due to Dr. Sonny Lo Shiu-hing

with whom I have received lots of detailed suggestions and critical comments. He gave

generously his time to comment on my earlier drafts, and many of his criticisms were

invaluable. Professor Kobayashi Hideo of Waseda University, who is probably Japans

leading expert on the war years in Hong Kong, introduced me to the policy debates which

took place within the Imperial Army over the fate of Hong Kong. Collections of private,

official and invaluable first-hand Japanese documents on Hong Kong at that period from Mr.

Wani Yukio (a journalist who have researched on Hong Kong during Japanese rule with

Professor Hideo Kobayashi since 1980s), in this sense, provided a wonderful hand to my

study.

I owe special thanks for the insights and generosity of my interviewees who had very

sharp insights on the Hong Kong situation during the WWII. I benefited enormously from

stimulating discussions with Arujunan Narayanan, Geoff Wade, Huang Jian-li, Ko Tim-keung,

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Lim Guan-hock, Ngo Tak-wing, Paul H Kratoska, Teow See-heng, Voon Phin-keong, Yip Lai

Lam and Ming C. Chan. To these individuals and other informants, I am really indebted for

spending their time to entertain my ruthless questions and sharing their memories with me.

I am grateful for the assistance rendered by the following institutions and their staffs:

the Main Library of Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan; the Main Library of the National

University of Singapore; the Main Library of the UKM (Malaysia); Public Records Office of

Hong Kong; the Main Library, the Fung Ping Shan Library and the Hong Kong Collection of

the University of Hong Kong.

Thanks are also due to the Waseda University that awarded me with research grants. I

also thank to Centre of Asian Studies in the University of Hong Kong which gave me the

status of visiting scholar.

I finally offer my greatest debt of gratitude to my parents, my sister and my friends, Dr.

Jens Herzbach, Mr. Lee Wing-yin and Mr. Cheng Chun-yee. They have been my best

supporters in my studies.

I dedicate this manuscript to all of you. The responsibility for any remaining flaws,

errors and omissions is mine alone.

WONG, Cheuk-yin

September 2010

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Content

Acknowledgements ii Table of Contents iv List of Illustrations xi Abbreviations xii Glossary xiv Note on Romanization xviii Maps xix

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Background 1 1.2 Review of the Literature on Japanese-Chinese Collaboration 3 1.21 Definition of Collaboration 3 1.22 Collaboration from the Chinese Perspective 5 1.23 Types of Collaboration 6 1.24 Literature on Collaboration in WWII Europe 11 1.25 Literature on Collaboration in WWII China 13 1.26 Literature on wartime collaboration in Southeast Asia: A different perspective 18 1.27 Literature on Collaboration in WWII Hong Kong 22 1.3 Analytical Framework 24 1.31 Research Gap Identification 24 1.32 Importance of Examining Collaboration in WWII Hong Kong 25 1.33 Dissertation Organization 29 1.34 Research questions and objectives 30 1.35 Research Methodology 32 1.36 Research Limitations 35 1.4 Significance and Expected Contributions of Dissertation 37

Chapter 2

Prewar Singapore and Hong Kong 2.1 Prewar Singapore 39 2.11 A Crown Colony 39 2.12 The Singaporean Chinese Community before WWII 42

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2.2 Singapores Role in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere 46 2.21 The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere 46 2.22 Significance of Singapore in the Co-Prosperity Sphere 47 2.3 Japanese Planning And Policy towards the Malayan Chinese Community from March 1941 to February 1942 51 2.4 Prewar Hong Kong 60 2.5 Hong Kong Elites in the Prewar Era 62 2.6 Hong Kong Chinese-Japanese Relations in the Prewar Era 72 2.7 Japanese Prewar Planning and Policy towards Hong Kong 80 2.71 Japanese Preparation for the Invasion of Hong Kong 81 2.72 Japanese Cooperation with Local Triads 83

Chapter 3

Singapore and Hong Kong in the Aftermath of Japanese Invasion

3.1 Post-Surrender Japanese Policy towards the Singaporean Chinese Community 87 3.11 The Watanabe Gunsei 88 3.12 Severe Punishment (Genju Shobun) 93 3.13 The Sook Ching 95 3.14 Effects of the Sook Ching on the Singaporean Chinese Community 100 3.2 The Period of Anarchy in Hong Kong 103 3.21 Collaboration between the Japanese and Local Triads 103 3.22 Response of the Hong Kong Elites to the Japanese Military Administration 111 3.23 Initial Dynamics between the Japanese and Hong Kong Elites 114

Chapter 4

Dynamics between the Japanese and Elites in Singapore and Hong Kong 4.1 The Overseas Chinese Association in Singapore 117 4.11 Formation of the Overseas Chinese Association 118 4.12 Characteristics of the Overseas Chinese Association 122 4.13 Perspectives of the Japanese towards the Overseas Chinese Association 123

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4.14 Perspectives of the Chinese Community towards the Overseas Chinese Association 124 4.2 The 50 Million Dollar Gift 126 4.21 Japanese Responses to the $50 Million Gift 132 4.3 The Fujimura Gunsei 135 4.4 Dynamics between the Japanese and Hong Kong Elites during the Early Period of Occupation 140 4.41 Representatives of Hong Kong Elites 140 4.42 Winning the Cooperation of the Hong Kong Elites 144 4.43 Responses of the Hong Kong Elites 150 4.5 Factors in the Collaboration between the Japanese and Hong Kong Elites 155 4.6 Using the Chinese to Govern the Chinese: The Role of the Chinese Councils 159 4.61 Effectiveness of the Chinese Councils 165 4.7 Dynamics between the Japanese and Hong Kong Elites during the Middle Period of the Occupation 168 4.8 Dynamics between the Japanese and Hong Kong Elites during the Final Period of the Occupation 172 4.81 A New Governor Arrives 172 4.82 Responses of the Elites 175 4.9 Comparison between the most prominent local Chinese leaders in Hong Kong and Singapore during the Japanese occupation 178 4.91 Background of the two leadersThe Loyal British Subject 178 4.92 Role in the Chinese Cooperative Council of Hong Kong and the Overseas Chinese Association of Singapore during the Japanese Occupation 181

Chapter 5

Dynamics between the Japanese and the Masses in Hong Kong and Singapore

5.1 Winning the hearts and minds of the Chinese in Singapore: The Role of the Advisory Council and the Epposho 185 5.11 The Epposho 190

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5.2 Winning the Hearts and Minds of the Chinese in Hong Kong: The Role of the District and Area Bureaux and Wards 195 5.21 District Bureaux and Wards 195 5.22 A Case StudyCentral District Bureau in the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong 200 5.23 Area Bureaux 204 5.24 Significance of the District and Area Bureau System 206 5.3 Dynamics and Interactions between the Japanese and the Different Classes in Hong Kong Society 209 5.31 Collaboration with Triads and the Hong Kong Chinese 211 5.32 Dynamics and Interactions between the Japanese and the Local Masses during the Final Stage of the Occupation 215 5.4 The Japanese: Friend or Foe? 218

Chapter 6

Collaboration at the Economic and Social Levels 6.1 Japanese Economic and Social Policy towards the Chinese in Singapore 223 6.2 Japanese Socioeconomic policy towards the Chinese in Singapore 227 6.21 The Endau Settlement 227 6.22 Educational System and Policy 230 6.23 Chinese Responses to the Educational System and Policy 233 6.24 Factors in the Failure to Win Chinese Loyalty 235 6.3 Collaboration or Cooperation? Dynamics between the Japanese and Local Elites in the Implementation of Socioeconomic Policy in Hong Kong 237 6.31 Role of Hong Kong in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere 237 6.32 Collaboration during the Early Stage of the Occupation 239 6.33 Treatment of the Local Elites 242 6.34 Collaboration during the Final Stage of the Occupation 250 6.35 The Price of Collaboration 253 6.4 Dynamics and Interactions between the Japanese and the Local Population: Population policy and Charity Services during the Occupation 256 6.41 Background 256 6.42 Repatriation Policy 257 6.43 Effectiveness of the Population Policy 261 6.44 Charity Services during the Occupation 263 6.45 Reasons for Elite Participation in Charity Services 267

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Chapter 7

Postwar Politics and Arrangements 7.1 The Legacy of Japanese Occupation in Singapore 271 7.11 Postwar Collaborators 272 7.12 Japanese and British system of administration and the question of Independence for Malaya 275 7.13 Interruption or Transformation? 280 7.2 Responses of the Hong Kong Elites to the Return of the British 287 7.3 Responses of the Local Masses to the Return of the British 290 7.4 Postwar Collaborators in Hong Kong: Dynamics and Interactions between the British and Elites 293 7.41 Factors in the Absolution of Collaborators 297 7.42 Future of the Local Elites 303 7.43 End of Preoccupation with Collaboration 307 7.5 The Myth of Interruption: Legacy of the Japanese Occupation in Hong Kong 309 7.51 Interruption only? 311 7.6 Significance of the Japanese Occupation in the Transformation of Postwar Hong Kong 323

Chapter 8

Conclusion

8.1 Conflicting Loyalties: A Review of Collaboration in Hong Kong during the Japanese Occupation 327 8.11 Difficulty in Defining Collaboration in a Hong Kong Context 327 8.12 Reflection on Collaboration in Hong Kong 336 8.2 Comparison of the Japanese Administrations in Hong Kong and Singapore 338 8.21 Similarities in the Japanese Administrations in Hong Kong and Singapore 338 8.22 Differences between the Japanese Administrations in Hong Kong and Singapore 341

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8.3 Final Assessment of Japanese Policy towards the Chinese Communities in Singapore and Hong Kong 346 8.31 Policy in Singapore 346 8.32 Conflict among the Army, Navy, and Kempeitai 350 8.33 Role of Hong Kong in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere: The China Faction vs. the Southern Faction 352 8.34 Unique Status of Hong Kong in the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere 354 8.35 Assessment of Japanese Policy in Hong Kong: The Myth of Ineffective Administration 356 8.36 Japanese Successes in Hong Kong 359

Appendices

Appendix A: CALENDAR YEARS ACCORDING TO THE GREGORIAN, JAPANESE, BUDDHIST AND MUSLIM CALENDARS 362 Appendix B: Member Lists of the Rehabilitation Committee, the Chinese Representative Council and the Chinese Co-operative Council, Hong Kong 1942-1945 363 Appendix C: Structure and Personnel of Local level of Hong Kong Administration 1942-45

364 Appendix D: SPEECH of LIEUTENANT GENERAL SAKAI TAKASHI To the Leaders of the Chinese Community in Hong Kong 370 Appendix E: Requirements for Those Leaving Hong Kong 372 Appendix F: Regulations for the Bureaus dealing with the governing of Hong Kong 373 Appendix G: The regulations pertaining to the Hong Kong Chinese Co-operative Council are herewith promulgated 374 Appendix H: The organization and chain of command of H.Q Gendarmerie, Hong Kong 375 Appendix I: List of Government House and British Colonial Secretariat staff in Hong Kong, December 1941 377 Appendix J: THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL IMPACT OF THE WAR ON HONG KONG

378

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Bibliography

A. PRIMARY SOURCES (Unpublished) I. Archive documents 384 II. Interviews or personal correspondences 393 III. Unpublished articles, books and memoirs 397

B. PRIMARY SOURCES (Published) I. Newspaper, magazines and journals 399 II. Government reports and papers 400 III. Diaries, Memoirs and Biographies 402 IV. Official histories 406

C. SECONDARY SOURCES I. Unpublished theses or dissertations 407 II. Published articles, books and monographs 408

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Illustrations Figures Figure 2.1 Model of the Elite-Masses Relationship 65 Figure 4.1 Gueseicho (Military Government Office), December 29, 1941 - February 20, 1942 160 Figure 4.2 Isogai Administration, February 20, 1942 - January 10, 1945 161 Figure 4.3 Tanaka Administration, January 10 - August 30, 1945 162 Tables

Table 4.1 Members of the OCA Council 121 Table 5.1 Proportionate Representation according to Ethnic Groups in Singapore (Syonan) and State Advisory Councils, 1943 190 Table 6.1 Enrolment of Chinese students before and during the Japanese Occupation 234 Table 7.1 Total Population of Malaya, including Singapore, 1936 278 Table 7.2 Total Population of Malaya, including Singapore, but excluding the Four Northern States ceded to Thailand in 1943 278

Maps

Map 1 Japans Blitz on Peninsula Malaya (December 8, 1941 January 31, 1942) xix Map 2 The Battle for Singapore (February 8 15 February, 1942) xx Map 3 Route of Japanese Attack on Hong Kong (December 8, 1941) xxi Map 4 The Crown Colony of Hong Kong, 1941 xxii

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Abbreviations

AGAS Air Ground Air Service

ALFSEA Allied Land Forces South-east Asia

BAAG British Army Aid Group

BMA British Military Administration

BAAG British Army Aid Group

CD Director of the Special Operations Executive, London

CCP Chinese Communist Party

CITIC China International Trust and Investment Corporation

CO Records of the Colonial Office

DEFE Records of the Ministry of Defence

DGB Da Gong Bao

FEER Far Eastern Economic Review

FO Records of the Foreign Office

GACC General Association of Chinese Charities

GMRB Guomin Ribao

HK MS Hong Kong Manuscript Series

HK RS Hong Kong Record Series

HKN Hong Kong News

HKRNVR Hong Kong Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

HKT Hong Kong Telegraph

HS Records of the Special Operations Executive

HSB Hua Shang Bao

IIS International Intelligence Service

INL Indian Independence League

xiii

INA Indian National Army

JHKBRAS Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society

KMT Kuomingtang

MCP Malayan Communist Party

MPAJA Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army

MI9 Escape and Evasion Service

OCVU Overseas Chinese Volunteer Unit

OSS Office of Strategic Services

OCA Overseas Chinese Association

RA Royal Artillery

RAF Royal Air Force

SACSEA Supreme Allied Command in South-east Asia

SAR Special Administration Region

SCMP South China Morning Post

SCMP/HKT South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Telegraph

SEAC South-east Asia Command

SMP Sunday Morning Post

SNDC Supreme National Defence Council

SOE Special Operations Executive

USDP United States Diplomatic Papers

WIR Weekly Intelligence Report

WIS Weekly Intelligence Summary

WKYP Wah Kiu Yat Po

WO Records of the War Office

ZB Zheng Bao

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Glossary

People

Akashi Yoji

Aw Boon Haw

Chan Chak

Chan Lim-pak

Chiang Kai-shek

Du Yue-sheng

Fujiwara Iwaichi

Fumimaro Konoe

Ho Kom-tong

Ip Lan-chuen

Isogai Rensuke

Jinmu-tenno

Kan Tong-po

Kan Yuet-keung

Kobayashi Hideo

Kwok Chan

Lau Tit-shing

Lee Kuan Yew

Li Chung-po

Li Koon-chun

Li Shu-fan

Li Tse-fong

xv

Lim Boon Keng

Lo Man-kam (M. K. Lo)

MatsuokaYosuke

Noma Kennosuke

Patrick Yu Shuk-siu

Paul Tsui

Peter H. Sin (Sin Ping-hei)

Robert Ho Tung

Robert Kotewall (Law Kuk-wo)

Sa Kongliao

Sakai Takashi

Shinozaki Mamoru

Shouson Chow (Chow Shou-son)

Sun Yat-sen

T. N. Chau

T.V. Soong

Tan Kah Kee

Tan Yeok Seong

Tanaka Hisakazu

Tang Siu-kin

Tso Seen-wan

Tung Chung-wei

Tsuji Masanobu

Wang Jing-wei

xvi

Watanabe Wataru

Yamashita Tomoyuki

Organizations

Area Bureaux (Hong Kong)

British Army Aid Group (BAAG)

Chinese Communist Party (CCP)

Chinese General Chamber of Commerce

Chung Kiu Company

District Bureaux (Hong Kong)

F. Kikan F.

General Association of Chinese Charities (GACC)

Hing Ah Kee Kwan (Asia Flourishing Organization)

Kuomintang (KMT)

Malayan Peoples Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA)

Overseas Chinese Association (OCA)

Po Leung Kuk

Tung Wah Hospital

Places

Canton

Central District ()

Chongqing

Endau

Hainan

xvii

Hakka

Hokkien

Hong Kong Island

Jinan

Kowloon

Lamma Islands

Lei Yue Mum

Luk Keng

Manchukuo

Nanking

New Territories

Peninsula Hotel

Shing Mun Redoubt

Stanley Peninsula

Teochiu

Wong Nai Chung Gap

Xiamen

Yanan

Zhongshan

Others

Genju shobun

Hua Chiao (Oversea Chinese)

Huayi (Chinese person)

Ma Hua (Malayan Chinese)

Sook Ching

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Note on Romanization

1. Chinese names I have preferred on the whole to use romanizations familiar to the reader, even if this means a slight sacrifice of consistency.

PERSONAL NAMES

With mainland Chinese names I have as a rule followed the pinyin system of romanization which is now in general use. I have, however, made exceptions in the cases of certain persons who were prominent in the pre-1949 period, and whose names have long been familiar in an older form. Examples are Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, T. V. Soong, H. H. Kung. With Hong Kong and Singapore Chinese names I have used the established Cantonese or dialect forms, for example Kwok Chan, Ip Lan-chuen, Tso Seen-wan. Every so often, however, I have come across a name in a Chinese source only and have been unable to establish the Cantonese rendering. Under these circumstances I have resorted to pinyin. Many Hong Kong Chinese prefer to put their names in the Western order, with the given name first and the family name second, and in these cases I have respected their preference. Examples are Sir Shouson Chow, M. K. Lo, Paul Tsui. PLACE NAMES I have used pinyin for most mainland Chinese places, but have preferred to retain the traditional forms in the case of Peking, Nanking, Chungking and Canton. Peking presented a special problem in that it was widely known in the Second World War period by the Chinese Nationalist name of Peip'ing (Beiping). I decided that to resurrect this extinct name would be needlessly confusing for the reader. I have, however, preserved one or two names as they appear in contemporary documents, using for instance the Japanese form Dairen for the north-eastern Chinese city of Dalian that was controlled by Japan throughout the wartime years. Places inside Hong Kong and Singapore territory I have rendered without exception in their familiar Cantonese or dialect spellings. 2. Japanese names Japanese personal names like Chinese ones are properly written with the family name first and the given name second. I have followed this practice throughout the book: thus the first Japanese Governor of wartime Hong Kong appears as Isogai Rensuke rather than Rensuke Isogai.

xix

Map 1 Japans Blitz on Peninsula Malaya (December 8, 1941 January 31, 1942)

xx

Map 2 The Battle for Singapore (February 8 15 February, 1942)

xxi

Map 3 Route of Japanese Attack on Hong Kong (December 8, 1941)

xxii

Map 4 The Crown Colony of Hong Kong, 1941