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





ii

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 J apanese
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 J apans
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 J apanese documents on Hong Kong at that period from Mr.
Wani Yukio (a journalist who have researched on Hong Kong during J apanese 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 J ian-li, Ko Tim-keung,
iii

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, J apan; 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.
J ens 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






iv


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
v


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 J apanese 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 J apanese 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
vi

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 J apanese 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

vii

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
viii



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

ix

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, J APANESE,
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







x

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


















xi

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 - J anuary 10, 1945 161

Figure 4.3
Tanaka Administration, J anuary 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 J apanese 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
J apans Blitz on Peninsula Malaya (December 8, 1941 J anuary 31, 1942) xix

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

Map 3
Route of J apanese Attack on Hong Kong (December 8, 1941) xxi

Map 4
The Crown Colony of Hong Kong, 1941 xxii
xii

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
MPAJ A Malayan Peoples Anti-J apanese 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
xiv

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_
J inmu-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-senj
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 J ing-wei _j
xvi

Watanabe Wataru ___
Yamashita Tomoyuki
Organizations
Area Bureaux (Hong Kong) j___[
British Army Aid Group (BAAG) L___
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-J apanese Army (MPAJ A) )__jL
Overseas Chinese Association (OCA) __
Po Leung Kuk
Tung Wah Hospital __

Places
Canton_
Central District (_)
Chongqing__
Endau
Hainan
xvii

Hakka_
Hokkien_
Hong Kong Island_
J inan
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 _
xviii

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 J apanese form Dairen for the north-
eastern Chinese city of Dalian that was controlled by J apan throughout the wartime years.
Places inside Hong Kong and Singapore territory I have rendered without exception in their
familiar Cantonese or dialect spellings.

2. J apanese names

J apanese 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
J apanese 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