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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Che-cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Lau Kong-wah, in the Legislative Council today (November 18):
Question:
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Chinese people's victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Apart from designating September 3 this year as an additional statutory holiday and general holiday, the Government has also organised a number of commemorative activities, including an official commemorative ceremony, exhibitions of relics and pictures, seminars, film shows, commemorative stamp issue and guided tours of war heritage sites, etc, enabling members of the public to remember firmly this episode in history. Some members of the public have relayed to me that the history of the three years and eight months of Japanese occupation in Hong Kong is very important, the Government is therefore duty-bound to set up a memorial hall of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, so that the future generations can have a deep understanding of the deeds of resistance against Japanese aggression and the wickedness of Japanese militarism. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has plans to set up a memorial hall of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in Hong Kong; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it has plans to regularise the various commemorative activities organised this year; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) given that some family members of those guerrillas and martyrs who had participated in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in Hong Kong have compiled and published the relevant deeds, whether the authorities have plans to take the initiative to contact them, so as to collect and preserve more information about this episode in history, with a view to enabling such historical records to pass down the generations; if they do not have such plans, of the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (the Anti-Japanese War), the Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government launched various activities on September 3 this year to introduce the history of China's and Hong Kong's war of resistance to the public. The Government recognises very much the need to continue promoting history of the Anti-Japanese War among the public for their greater understanding of China and its modern history and a heightened sense of belonging to their country.
Our reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
(1) The Hong Kong Museum of History (HKMH) and the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence (HKMCD) of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) present at their permanent exhibition galleries history of the Anti-Japanese War, including Japanese invasion of China, Chinese people's war of resistance, Japanese military occupation of Hong Kong, East River Column's resistance against the Japanese Army, and life in Hong Kong under Japanese occupation. Thematic exhibitions on the Anti-Japanese War are also held at the two museums from time to time, with recent ones including the East River Column and the Hong Kong-Kowloon Independent Brigade (2013), Pictorial Exhibition on the Nanjing Massacre (2014), and Fighting as One: Reminders of the Eight Years' War of Resistance in Guangdong and Hong Kong (2015).
The HKMCD is converted from the former Lei Yue Mun Fort, an important battlefield in Hong Kong during the Anti-Japanese War in December 1941. The Museum, with wartime sites preserved, has naturally become a venue for commemorative ceremonies in relation to the Anti-Japanese War. For example, the SAR Government held on December 13, 2014 a ceremony at the HKMCD for the Nanjing Massacre National Memorial Day in deep memory of the victims. The commemorative ceremony will be held at the museum again this year.
The HKMCD is planning to renew its permanent exhibition by expanding existing exhibition space, enriching exhibits for display and enhancing presentation content. Also in the pipeline is an expansion of the galleries in relation to the Anti-Japanese War, with a view to introducing history of the Chinese people's resistance against Japanese aggression in a more focused and comprehensive manner. On another front, in its renewal plan of the permanent exhibition, the HKMH will integrate history of the war of resistance into relevant exhibition themes. To tie in with the exhibition on the Anti-Japanese War, the HKMH will conduct more educational and learning activities in different forms for teenagers to facilitate their understanding and remembrance of this episode in history.
Given that there are permanent exhibitions on the Anti-Japanese War at the two museums and plans are in place to renew exhibition content, we currently have no intention to establish another museum of the same theme.
(2) Last year, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress officially designated September 3 as the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. The SAR Government held official commemorative ceremonies at the City Hall Memorial Garden both last year and this year, inviting representatives of various sectors of the community to attend. In addition, the SAR Government encouraged and mobilised local organisations to hold commemorative activities. In collaboration with community organisations, the Home Affairs Department launched commemorative events for the public on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories in the past two years. We will continue our initiatives in this regard to enhance public understanding about history of the Anti-Japanese War. Also, the LCSD will organise special memorial activities, such as the 70th anniversary promotional series, in major commemorative years.
(3) To preserve information on the Anti-Japanese War for passing down relevant historical records across generations, the HKMH completed in 1997 an oral history research project on the period of Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. Nearly 300 prisoners of war, veterans and anti-Japanese guerrillas during Japanese occupation were interviewed, and a mass of valuable historical materials was collected. In 2001, the HKMH further conducted an oral history research project on the Hong Kong - Kowloon Brigade of the East River Column with thirty-one veterans of the Column interviewed. A book titled "The Defence of Hong Kong: Collected Essays on the Hong Kong - Kowloon Brigade of the East River Column" was compiled in March 2004, documenting history of Hong Kong's war of resistance and promoting relevant research work. Such oral history records and researches are of paramount importance to preserving and promoting stories of resistance against Japanese aggression.
Ends/Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Issued at HKT 14:30
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