Introduction: "Before or even after Hong Kong's return, there was no systematic patriotic education. On the contrary, a work of promoting national education in schools was stigmatized by people with ulterior motives and media, and thus undermining students' concepts and recognition of the country, it can be said that it has a profound harm." This is a passage from the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam when she delivered a speech in Mandarin at the Hong Kong Patriot Education Summit Forum on July 10. It also allows the outside world to intuitively understand the current situation of Hong Kong society. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Party. Taking this opportunity, we have sorted out the historical context of the Communist Party of China and the city of Hong Kong over the past century, and also seen the trajectory of the development and changes of Hong Kong's social trends. With the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, we also believe more: under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, Hong Kong will get better and better.
[Text/Observer Network Columnist Chang Luowen]
The first director of the Central Government Liaison Office in Hong Kong (Liayi Office of the Central Committee) Jiang Enzhu once said when he took office in 2000, "Hong Kong is a difficult book." More than 20 years have passed since then, with the development of the mainland, many of the problems in books have been answered. But this chapter of the Communist Party is still a taboo among taboos in Hong Kong: the opposition hears like a fly sees blood, ordinary people avoid it when they hear it, and the establishment stops when they hear it.
In fact, the distance between Hong Kong and the Communist Party of China is much closer than many people think, and many major events in the history of New China and the Communist Party of China have even happened in Hong Kong. So, why do Hong Kong people who are so close to the red turning point have a understanding of the "Communist Party of China" as they are today?
1921-1945 The red flag flying in the dark
1920s, as a free port, Hong Kong was a free port, with a relaxed legal system and a developed economy. The chaos in the mainland also had limited impact on the rule of the British colonial government of Hong Kong. This special metropolis was unconsciously inclusive, giving various forces room to move around, including the new CCP. In history, many senior leaders and senior generals of the Communist Party of China have used Hong Kong's special environment to save danger in the ups and downs of the revolution. Hong Kong played a special role in the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation. It can be said that since the founding of the Communist Party of China in 1921, an invisible red flag has been flying on the banks of the Victoria Harbor.
In July 1921, the First Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Shanghai, and the Communist Party of China officially made its debut on the historical stage. The "Resolution on Concentrating Strength in Leading the Workers' Movement" passed at the meeting pointed out: "Organizing industrial trade unions is the basic task of our party. Any place with more than one industrial department should be organized; in places where there is no large industry and only one or two factories, factory trade unions that suit local conditions can be established." At the same time, the Communist Party of China at the beginning of its establishment could not conduct legal public activities in Shanghai. The Party Central Committee urgently needed to establish a general institution that can openly lead the workers' movement. Therefore, on August 11, 1921, the second day of the "British-American Tobacco Factory"'s strike victory, the China Labor Union Secretary Department was established at No. 19, North Chengdu Road, Shanghai (now No. 899, North Chengdu Road). In the "Declaration on the Secretariat of the Chinese Labor Combination Department" published in the No. 6 of the "Communist" monthly issue, it pointed out: "It was initiated by some labor groups in Shanghai, the center of China's industry, and it is a general agency that unites all labor combinations." And it predicts: "The world in the future will definitely be the world of workers."
Although Hong Kong was under British colonial rule at that time, it had close contacts with the mainland and loose border controls, so all religions and all walks of life could find a place to stay. Due to the monopoly and exploitation of the colonial government and British-funded enterprises, the local labor-capital contradictions in Hong Kong are sharp. In essence, it is an irreconcilable conflict of interest between the large capitalists represented by the British political and business monopoly groups and local compradors and the proletariat represented by industrial workers and seafarers. At that time, Chinese seafarers in Hong Kong were brutal exploitation and racial discrimination by British-funded companies and contractors for a long time. They were paid differently from foreign seafarers. Their salary was less than one-fifth of foreign seafarers. They were often humiliated, beaten, scolded, and deducted wages, and there was no professional guarantee. Therefore, since the founding of the Party, the Communist Party of China has made every effort to develop working class party members in Hong Kong, and organized trade unions and strike struggles to safeguard the interests of Hong Kong seafarers.
Hong Kong and British colonial government census data, in 1922, the registered population of Hong Kong was only more than 630,000
In September and November 1921, Chinese seafarers from two British-funded companies, Jardine and Swire, Hong Kong, were rejected twice for salary increases. On January 12, 1922, the Federation of China Seaside Employees Unions (the organizers include Deng Zhongxia, a Communist Party member who was a secretary of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, who was publicly active as a Kuomintang member, and Su Zhaozheng, the president of the Hong Kong Seaside Employees Union), for the third time, proposed to the capital that the union could introduce work and the trade union had the right to represent workers at the time of signing the contract. After being rejected by the shipping company, the trade union announced a strike. In just one week, 123 ships and 6,500 seafarers participated in the strike, causing the long-distance routes from Hong Kong to the UK, France, the United States, Japan and the Netherlands to completely paralyze the inland routes such as Guangzhou, Jiangmen, and Wuzhou.
After the strike of Hong Kong seafarers broke out, the Secretary of the China Labor Combination extended a helping hand, contacted and coordinated the whole country to support it, and published the book "Guide to Strike Seafarers" in the name of the Guangdong Branch of the Communist Party of China, calling on the masses of workers to stick to the end, be united, strictly observe order, and pay attention to autonomy, so that the strike struggle can be carried out rationally and conservatively. In order to support the struggle of seafarers, workers from various industries in Hong Kong also joined the Allied General Strike. By early March, the total number of people exceeded 100,000, and the governance of the Hong Kong-British government, which was in a hurry to transport, was paralyzed. Even the Governor's Office was left with only two Chinese servants, and the Prince of Wales' visit to Hong Kong in April was forced to postpone.
The Guangdong Branch of the Communist Party of China issued a book "Guarding the Strike Seamen"
In January 1922, the general strike of Hong Kong seafarers broke out
During the strike, capitalists under the British rule of Hong Kong attempted to recruit new workers in Shanghai to Hong Kong to replace the strike seamen's work. The Hong Kong Seafarers Union urgently called the Secretary Department of the China Labor Group, urging them to try to dissuade Shanghai workers from coming to Hong Kong. Li Qihan, the Secretary-General's Department, and Zhu Baoting, the progressive seaman, went deep into the Shanghai seamen to promote "the world's workers are a family, and workers cannot ruin workers", and resisted the plot of Hong Kong capitalists to destroy the strike. In the north, the Labor Union Secretary Department mobilized railway workers such as Jinghan, Jingfeng, Jingsui, Longhai, and Zhengtai to organize the "Hong Kong Seafarers' Strike Northern Support Club". They held conferences, sent telegrams, raised funds widely, and actively supported the seafarers' strikes. The Beijing-Hankou Railway workers erected a banner with six red words "Assisting Hong Kong Seamen" on the locomotive, flying from Beijing to Hankou, and then from Hankou to Beijing.
The then Hong Kong Governor Stubber took tough measures in the face of the strike, declared the Staff Union a "illegal group", issued martial law orders, closed the Staff Union club, arrested the strike leaders, and restricted the amount of cash workers carried when they left Hong Kong. On March 4, due to the stopping train, strikers returned to Guangzhou on foot. When passing through Shatin, they were shot by British military and police, killing six workers and injuring hundreds of them. It is known in history as the "Shatin Massacre". After the incident, public opinion was buzzing and the strike continued to expand. Due to the situation, the British Hong Kong authorities had to accept the requests made by seafarers on March 8. The 56-day general strike that shocked China and abroad ended with a comprehensive victory for workers.
The general strike of Hong Kong seafarers was a spark. Subsequently, strikes between workers in provinces and cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangdong, Hunan, and Zhili, and industries such as shipping, railways, and mining were in full swing, with more than 100 times, with more than 300,000 participants.
In June 1923, the Third Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Guangzhou. The conference emphasized the work of industrial workers in Hong Kong, making it a powerful force in the anti-imperialist struggle, and decided to establish a party organization in Hong Kong.
On May 30, 1925, the May 30th Massacre occurred, and waves of opposition to British imperialism broke out in various parts of China, and became the main cause of the provincial and Hong Kong general strike. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China once again appointed Deng Zhongxia, General Secretary of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, Su Zhaozheng, President of the Hong Kong Staff Union, and others to form a team to convene various trade unions in Hong Kong to jointly establish the "All-China Federation of Trade Unions Provincial and Hong Kong Strike Committee", and formed a party youth league committee with Communist Party members as the core of leadership in the strike committee, and at the same time vigorously develop the Communist Party of China organizations among the strike workers.
From June 19, Hong Kong seafarers, tram workers and printing workers went on strike first, and then workers from other industries responded one after another. More than 100,000 workers went on strike and returned to Guangzhou under the leadership of Su Zhaozheng and others.The strike committee used three powerful weapons to fight British imperialism, namely strike, exclusion of British goods and blockade of Hong Kong. Workers' pickets stationed in various seaports, starting from Shantou in the east and the North Sea in the west, blocking the Thousand Mile Coastline, causing Hong Kong's economic activities to be completely paralyzed, shipping was suspended, import and export trade sharply decreased, and business was depressed.
In mid-June, Chinese Communist Party members Lan Yuye and Zhou Wenyong were sent to Hong Kong to assist the Hong Kong Youth League organization in the issuance of the "Declaration on Aid to Shanghai" and established the "Student League" to mobilize students to strike. Students from the Royal Academy, St. Paul, St. St. B. St. B. and other academies responded, and nearly 10,000 teachers and students from 30 schools participated in the strike. Lan Yuye, an executive member and propaganda member of the Guangdong District Committee of the Communist Youth League, also assisted the Hong Kong Prefectural Committee of the Communist Youth League in compiling the monthly magazine "Hong Kong Students" and served as the editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine "Workers' Road" to publicize the CCP's political views and unite and guide students and workers to participate in the anti-imperialist patriotic movement.
The strike that wholeheartedly seeks the welfare of Hong Kong people has also received strong support from all walks of life in Hong Kong, and has dealt a heavy blow to the British Hong Kong authorities in politics and economy. In just 11 and 12 months, more than 3,000 stores in Hong Kong declared bankruptcy, and stocks and real estate depreciated rapidly. The fiscal revenue of the Hong Kong and British authorities shrank, with a fiscal deficit reaching 580,000 pounds in 1925.
In order to support the Northern Expedition, in early October 1926, the Strike Workers' Congress decided to stop the strike. On the 10th, the strike committee convened a mass meeting, declared the victory of the strike, and announced the cessation of the blockade of Hong Kong. The longest strike in the history of the world's labor movement lasted 16 months. According to the Times' estimate in April 1927, the provincial and Hong Kong general strike caused economic losses of 100 million pounds to the Hong Kong and British authorities.
At that time, the CCP could not openly operate in the mainland, and its organizational work in Hong Kong also had certain cover. Newspapers and magazines under the rule of the British Hong Kong government would not leave a positive description of the CCP's activities and the results of the strike. At that time, all classes in Hong Kong spontaneously mobilized to support the strike, and workers and small vendors actively participated in the labor movement. Students and progressive young people fully sympathized with and supported the workers. Although it was an indisputable historical fact, their understanding of the CCP should still be quite limited. On the contrary, the British have tasted the power of the CCP and witnessed the true power of the vast majority of people in mainland China and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Governor Situ Ba firmly believed that the strike was organized by the CCP behind it, and had always asked the Ying Ting to send troops. He threatened the Guangzhou government with the participation of the Communists. He also asked the Ying Ting to bribe the Chinese government and wipe out anti-British activities in the mainland. All of them were rejected by Ying Ting. Soon, Situ Ba was replaced by the expiration of his term and sent more Jin Wentai, who had dealt with the Chinese, to serve as the Hong Kong Governor. This is definitely not because Ying Ting intends to give a side to the new Communist Party of China, but Ying Ting is thinking about the relationship between mainland China and Hong Kong, and whether it can use lower-cost methods other than force to occupy Hong Kong for a longer period of time.
With the ups and downs of the Great Revolution, Hong Kong's role in history has become more and more special. In 1927, Ninghan split, Chiang Kai-shek launched the April 12th coup, Wang Jingwei launched the July 15th Purge, and the Nanchang Uprising led by Zhou Enlai and others broke out. After the uprising, the troops were transferred to Guangdong and were surrounded by the Kuomintang army. The troops were defeated by enemies several times their own. Zhou Enlai also suffered from severe malaria, high fever and coma. Ye Ting, Nie Rongzhen and others sent Zhou to Hong Kong through Chaoshan, pretending to be a Shanghai businessman, living on Guangdong Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Later, they sent Zhou to Saint Teresa Hospital for treatment. After he was well-educated, Zhou Enlai returned to Shanghai to participate in the work of the central agency.
Starting from the second half of 1927, in order to avoid the white terror of the Kuomintang, the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Southern Bureau moved to Hong Kong one after another. At that time, Hong Kong had a good mass base, and the Kuomintang spies had some concerns, and the CCP institutions could be effectively protected. Mao Zedong went to Jinggangshan to establish the Central Soviet Area in 1927. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was located in Shanghai. The connection between the Central and Central Soviet Areas was maintained by secret transportation lines passing through Hong Kong. There were four branch lines in the central and southern directions, all of which were scattered from Shanghai to Shantou, Shenzhen and other places after passing through Hong Kong. Moreover, as the British Free Port, Hong Kong provides great convenience for collecting information, escorting personnel, purchasing medicines, and transporting weapons.
The red secret transportation line of "The Blood of the Chinese Soviet" described in the TV series "Top Secret Mission"
In 1928, Zhou Enlai arrived in Hong Kong in the name of the Secretary of the Southern Bureau, summarizing the harm of Li Lisan's left-leaning route to the struggle between Guangdong and Hong Kong, and learning from experience and lessons. He once visited grassroots organizations in Central, Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei to hold meetings and arrange work, and deployed plans for the Guangzhou Uprising. He also lives in the Carpenters Union at 75A Holy Road, Central, to understand the living conditions at the grassroots level. I also visited the Hong Kong Branch of the CPC Central Committee, No. 130 Kennedy Road, Hong Kong, and the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC No. 23 Xihuangtai, Xihuan. Deng Xiaoping visited Hong Kong twice in 1929 and 1931, and discussed with the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and the Central Military Commission, which were established in Hong Kong, to develop a red base in Baise, Guangxi respectively.
Hong Kong's luxurious and rich glitz appearance and the seemingly strict colonial rule of Hong Kong Britain have been used as a protective color for the CCP to carry out revolutionary activities more than once. However, many of these buildings and relics no longer exist due to reconstruction and urban development.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Hong Kong has added an outpost to unite overseas Chinese and widely promote the development of the anti-Japanese national united front. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent Liao Chengzhi and others to Hong Kong to prepare for the establishment of the Eighth Route Army Office in Hong Kong; the Hong Kong Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China has successively established 47 branches including workers, students, educated youth, neighbors, etc., to unite people from all walks of life in Hong Kong to participate in the War of Resistance and National Rescue Movement. The Hong Kong Maritime Employees Committee of the Communist Party of China and the peripheral Hong Kong seafarer group mobilized 16,000 seafarers to stop working for Japanese ships and organized seafarers to return to their hometowns to continue participating in anti-Japanese activities. More than 10,000 Hong Kong seafarers sprinkled blood on the battlefield of the Anti-Japanese War.
In December 1941, on the day the Pacific War broke out, the Japanese army attacked Hong Kong. The British army stationed in Hong Kong was defeated under the Japanese raid. At 7 pm on December 25, then Hong Kong Governor Yang Muqi surrendered unconditionally to Lieutenant General Sakai, commander of the 23rd Army of the Japanese Army in the 3rd floor of the Peninsula Hotel.
1941 December 18-25, Hong Kong Island offensive and defense diagram
1941 Hong Kong fell in 1941, and the Japanese army held a "city-entry style"
1942 On February 3, 1942, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade of the Guangdong People's Anti-Japanese Guerrillas was announced to be established in the church in Huangmaoying Village, Saigong. Cai Guoliang, who had worked as a worker in the canning factory of Hong Kong Taohua Datong Food Co., Ltd., was appointed as the captain, and Chen Daming, a student of the Economics Department of Guangzhou University, served as the political commissar, and five squadrons, including the long gun team, short gun team, sea squadron, urban underground armed forces (urban team) and intelligence team.
Since its inception, there have been a large number of college and middle school students among the leaders and grassroots commanders and fighters of the Guangdong People's Anti-Japanese Guerrillas. Zeng Sheng, the captain of the guerrillas, a student of Sun Yat-sen University, Wang Zuoyao, deputy commander and chief of staff, is a college student who graduated from Guangdong Military and Political School. Yang Kanghua, director of the Political Department, is a student of Sun Yat-sen University. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Independent Brigade was also a highly educated anti-Japanese armed force. Compared with other troops of the East Column, many of the crew of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade received the highest full-English education in Hong Kong at that time. For example, Lin Zhan, who served as a translator for Zeng Sheng and later served as deputy chief of the Enemy Engineering Department of the Political Department of the East Column, is a graduate of the famous Pili Luo Women's High School in Hong Kong.
Because of this, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade paid great attention to breaking the various bad habits brought to Hong Kong by semi-feudal and semi-colonialization. For example, in addition to the invasion and plunder of the Japanese invaders, local fish pen owners used large scales to enter and out small scales, forcing fishermen to borrow usury, and prohibited the fishermen's female family from going ashore. Even in 1942, they were still enjoying the so-called "first night right" for fishermen and women. The maritime squadron of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade organized a fishermen's cooperative to use fresh fish to buy grain and kerosene in the mainland; at the same time, it launched the "Fishermen's Association" to fight with feudal fish pen owners. The members of the sea brigade also opened schools on fishing boats to teach the children of fishermen to study.
Dongjiang Column Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade marched near the Hong Kong border. (Hong Kong Government Archives Office, 1945)
After these actions, a large number of fishermen in Hong Kong and Kowloon were educated in reality, actively assisted the Communist Party and joined the maritime squadron to fight against the Japanese invaders. According to incomplete statistics, as of 1944, the maritime squadron captured 43 Japanese ships, sank 7, captured 36 Japanese soldiers, more than 50 puppet troops, wiped out nearly 200 Japanese and puppet troops, seized 1 mountain cannon, 5 machine guns, 5 long and short guns, and captured a transmitter and about 100 tons of military supplies and medicines.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, there were about 650 natural villages in the New Territories of Kowloon. The armed forces team members of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade traveled from village to household every day to establish a powerful secret intelligence and transportation network. In urban guerrilla warfare, a large number of guerrilla heroes who were terrifying the enemy's courage emerged in the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade. Under the leadership of captain Huang Guanfang and deputy captain Liu Heizai (Liu Jinjin), the short gun team ambushed and annihilated a squad of the Japanese army under the Lion Mountain in the autumn and winter of 1942. They touched the Japanese outpost in Niuchi Bay, wiped out 16 Japanese and puppet people, and disguised as puppet police in the city of Kowloon to kill the traitor Xiao Rujiu. In 1943, he rushed into Kaide Airport by night and blew up the Japanese oil depot and a Japanese aircraft. Even the senior Japanese spy Masao Tojo and the translator named Lu of the Japanese military police headquarters were executed by the short gun team.
In addition to Liu Heizai, the Japanese and puppets in Hong Kong are also afraid of Fang Lan, the captain of the urban underground armed forces of the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade (urban team). Fang Lan's original name was Kong Xiufang. In November 1938, Fang Lan, who was only 18 years old, joined the Communist Party of China and served as the head of the Children's League in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. In mid-January 1942, Fang Lan was ordered to return to Guangdong to participate in the guerrilla armed struggle. In the autumn of 1943, Fang Lan was transferred from the Dongguan Guerrilla Zone to the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade to serve as the squadron leader and instructor of the urban underground armed forces (urban team). The people of Hong Kong affectionately call her "Fang Gu", so the urban team is also called "Fang Gu Gu Gu Gu Gerias".
Fang Lan, known as "Fang Gu" by the people of Hong Kong
The most classic weapon of the "Fang Gu Gu Gu Gu Gerillas" is the flyer. These terrible "paper bullets" are "Underground Fire" compiled by the urban team themselves. They always appear in the traffic routes that the Japanese and puppets most reluctant to see, and even the doors of military and police units, spreading the fire of anti-Japanese to Hong Kong compatriots who are unwilling to be slaves of the country. Many Hong Kong citizens who have experienced that period will recall the scene of happily telling relatives and friends that "old friends (travel) are elusive" after reading the flyer. These stories that seem to be as dramatic as "Underground Traffic Station" are footnotes of the Hong Kong citizens who fully support the CCP in fighting against Japan.
On December 2, 1943, in order to adapt to the needs of the development of the international anti-fascist war and the domestic anti-Japanese war situation, under the instructions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Guangdong People's Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Corps announced in Pingshan, Huizhou that it was officially renamed as the Guangdong People's Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Column (hereinafter referred to as the Dongjiang Column) issued the "Declaration on the Establishment of the Dongjiang Column", publicly posed the banner of the Communist Party of China.
1942-1943, the Dongjiang Column rescued more than 50 British, 54 Indians, 2 Norwegians, 1 Soviet and 1 Filipino from Hong Kong. After the war, the British awarded the Dongjiang Column personnel in London in 1946. On May 26, 1944, five American B-25 crew members returned to the mainland successfully with the help of the Dongjiang Column.
After the Dongjiang Column and the Hong Kong and Kowloon Independent Brigade made many outstanding achievements, the Allied forces began to take the initiative to contact the East Column to discuss joint operations. Due to Hong Kong's unique status, the Hong Kong-Kowloon Independent Brigade has an international working group headed by Huang Zuomei, which is mainly responsible for rescuing Allied personnel seized by the Japanese army and reporting various intelligence from Hong Kong to the Allied forces.
In more than three years since its establishment, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Brigade has crushed more than 10 large-scale mobilizations across Hong Kong and Kowloon. From hundreds of people in the founding period to a powerful anti-Japanese brigade with more than 800 people behind enemy lines. At the same time, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Independence Brigade is also the most skilled in urban guerrilla warfare among the anti-Japanese armed forces under the leadership of our party. Its urban squadron has more than 300 anti-Japanese soldiers from all walks of life in Hong Kong, and some team members even penetrated into the special high class of the Japanese Gendarmerie Corps.
On August 30, 1945, the British Navy entered Victoria Harbor, and on September 1, the UK took over Hong Kong again, and the Hong Kong-Kowloon Independence Brigade was ordered by the Dongjiang Column to evacuate Hong Kong. During the evacuation, the Hong Kong and Kowloon Independent Brigade issued a declaration on behalf of the Dongjiang Column, summarizing the bloody war of resistance for three years and eight months: "Three years and eight months, we have taken the risk of life and death, and have spared no major sacrifices to rescue allies, eliminate bandit activities, undermine the rule of the enemy and puppet, and protect the interests of the people. We have indeed done our due efforts and made many achievements.”
Although the British always put the greatest slavery colonies first, starting from the reconstruction of the British Hong Kong government in April 1946, until the last Governor Patten died on June 30, 1997, the British Hong Kong authorities never recognized the achievements of the Dongjiang Column and the Hong Kong-Kowloon Independence Brigade under the leadership of the Communist Party of China in Hong Kong, and did not give these anti-Japanese heroes the due historical status. However, without the enthusiastic help and selfless support of Hong Kong citizens, the Dongjiang Column could not survive and grow, and the Japanese invaders would inevitably cause greater damage in Hong Kong. Although there is no medal of the Dongjiang Column in the history books of Hong Kong and the invisible red flags are flying in the mountains and rivers of Hong Kong.
After the return of Hong Kong, on October 28, 1998, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government The palace held a ceremony to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to defend Hong Kong. The list of soldiers with the names of 115 dead martyrs of the former Dongjiang Column Hong Kong Kowloon Independence Brigade was officially placed in the memorial niche in the Hong Kong Grand Hall. More than 120 veteran soldiers and families of the former Dongjiang Column Hong Kong Kowloon Independence Brigade attended the ceremony. Tung Chee-hwa, then Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, represented Hong Kong citizens at the ceremony and paid tribute to all the military and civilians and families who sacrificed their lives to defend Hong Kong during World War II. This marked that the Chinese's own Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government finally commended nearly 1,000 anti-Japanese heroes of the Dongjiang Column who fought to defend Hong Kong during the War of Resistance Against Japan and the Hong Kong Kowloon Independence Brigade in a widely recognized manner.
The monument to the anti-Japanese heroes of Wutengjiao in the New Territories of Hong Kong, and the captain of the Dongjiang Column inscribed the name of the monument.
1945-1967 The red focus of the shining of New China
In September 1945, the War of Resistance Against Japan was won. The Chongqing negotiations were held. Although the peace talks were achieved, Chiang Kai-shek held a political consultation meeting and mobilized the army to attack the liberated areas.
In February 1947, Li Jishen, a Kuomintang veteran who advised Chiang Kai-shek several times not to be able to do so. At the same time, Li Jishen, a senior from the Kuomintang who was increasingly dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorship policy, took a wheel to leave Shanghai to Hong Kong in the name of returning to his hometown to sweep the grave. After arriving in Hong Kong, Li Jishen issued the "Opinions on the Current Situation", calling for "stop the civil war and abolishing the Party's dictatorship", and put forward seven propositions to resolve the current situation, which aroused strong repercussions from all walks of life. The Kuomintang authorities were angry and expelled Li Jishen's party for the third time .
Li Jishen promoted the establishment of the joint executive department of the Democratic League and the Democratic League in Hong Kong, and personally served as the chairman of the Executive Department, realizing the preliminary alliance between two democratic organizations within the Kuomintang. Since May 1947, he has invited Democratic figures such as He Xiangning, Cai Tingkai, Peng Zemin, Li Zhangda, Chen Qiyuan, Zhu Xuefan, Chen Tiansheng, Deng Chumin and other democratic figures to gather at his Hong Kong residence to discuss the establishment of a new democratic faction.
After a long period of preparation and preparation, on November 12, the first joint congress of the democratic faction of the Kuomintang was held in Hong Kong. On January 1, 1948, the Democratic Revolution was officially established, and it was clearly proposed to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek's traitorous regime and establish a coalition government. The conference elected 16 people including Li Jishen, He Xiangning, Feng Yuxiang, Tan Pingshan, Cai Tingkai, etc. as members of the Central Standing Committee, Soong Ching Ling as honorary chairman of the Central Committee, and Li Jishen as chairman.
In January 1948, some comrades in the Central Committee of the China Democratic League took a photo in Hong Kong. From the left in the front row: Zhu Yunshan, Liu Yazi, Cai Tingkai, Li Jishen, Zhang Wen, He Xiangning, Peng Zemin, Wang Baozhen; from the second person on the left in the middle row: Zheng Kunlian, Mei Gongbin, Liu Xiahui, Zhang Keming, Feng Boheng, Li Zisong, Chen Qiyuan, and the first on the right is Zhou Ying
On April 30, 1948, the CCP issued the "May 1st Slogan". Li Jishen actively responded to the call of the Communist Party of China and on May 2, he warmly discussed the "May 1st slogan" with representatives of various democratic parties in Hong Kong, and expressed his unanimous support.
Due to Li Jishen’s special status, many forces want to use him to maintain their interests. In June 1948, the Foreign Minister of the Kuomintang government, Song Ziwen, personally went to Hong Kong to have an interview with Li Jishen, hoping to cooperate with him, form another government in Guangdong, replace Chiang Kai-shek's government, and negotiate directly with the Communist Party of China, but was rejected by Li Jishen. In the autumn of 1948, US Vice President Wallace sent Cai Zengji, who was once the secretary-general of the Nanjing Government Construction Committee, to come to Hong Kong to persuade Li Jishen to come forward to organize a new government, which will be supported by the United States and replace the Chiang government. Li Jishen came forward to negotiate with the Communist Party and implement "governance through the river".Li Jishen said: "China should be unified, and dividing the river and governing it is to divide China", which will cause "a civil war will never be peaceful, and the good situation will be at the mercy of others, and we must not."
During this period, the British colonial government of Hong Kong in Ming Dynasty monitored and protected Li Jishen as the "opposition political leader". The Hong Kong Governor sent his confidants to visit Li's house from time to time to find out the news. At the same time, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party were secretly sent people to Hong Kong and waited for the opportunity near Li Jishen. According to Li Jishen's daughter's recollection, because Li Jishen's special identity was at that time, he was busy running around and calling out every day, and his family had no income. He rented out two floors of the third floor of Luo Binchen Road where he lived. Later, he found out that the first floor was a Kuomintang spy and the third floor was a Communist spy. Later, democrats such as Li Jishen made great contributions to the political consultation and diplomacy of New China. It is not an exaggeration to say that Hong Kong is the source of the New China CPPCC.
1949, the situation was clear, and a group of democrats in Hong Kong, including Li Jishen, went north to the liberated area. In October, the People's Liberation Army liberated Guangzhou and the Hong Kong portal opened. On October 17, the 15th Corps of the People's Liberation Army of China led its troops south and reached the north bank of the Shenzhen River, with its troops aimed directly at Hong Kong. Faced with the Bear and Tiger Division, which is only separated by a river, the British government sent a signal to protect Hong Kong by greatly strengthening Hong Kong's defense, rapidly increasing its troops in Hong Kong from 5,000 to 30,000, transporting armored troops and air support forces, as well as an aircraft carrier formation to the port, and urgently building fortifications.
Just when the then Governor of Hong Kong Ge Lianghong was busy training and preparing for war, a letter from the north was delivered to his desk. In this letter, the Chinese government put forward "three conditions": First, Hong Kong cannot be used as a military base against the People's Republic of China; Second, activities aimed at undermining the prestige of the People's Republic of China; Third, personnel in Hong Kong must be protected. The letter also emphasized that as long as these three are implemented, Hong Kong can maintain the status quo.
In fact, in December 1946, shortly after the outbreak of the Liberation War, Mao Zedong talked about the Hong Kong issue when he met with Western reporters: "We do not make the request for immediate return now. China is so big, and many places are not well managed. Why are you eager to ask for this small place first? In the future, it can be resolved according to the negotiation method."
New China's diplomatic policy was formed roughly from January to July 1949. One of the important contents is Mao Zedong's "starting a new stove" and "cleaning the house and treating guests" explained in visual language. It was during this period that Liao Chengzhi, who was responsible for foreign trade and Hong Kong and Macao, proposed to Mao Zedong and others the suggestion of "continuing the status quo for the time being" to Mao Zedong and others. When talking about the issue of Hong Kong internally, Zhou Enlai also said: Instead of letting the United States join forces to defend Hong Kong together, it is better to leave Hong Kong to the British, which is more beneficial to us.
The real British people didn't wait too long before giving a reward. On January 6, 1950, the then-Artellini government of Britain announced its formal recognition of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China as the legal government of China, and was willing to establish diplomatic relations with the New China on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and respect for territorial sovereignty, and formally recognize the People's Republic of China.
01954 British Foreign Minister Aiden, one of the two chairmen of the Geneva Conference, went to the Chinese delegation's residence to visit Zhou Enlai
Not long after, the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea broke out. After the Chinese People's Volunteer Army entered North Korea in October, the US government implemented a comprehensive license system for exports to mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. In 1951, the UK followed suit and announced a comprehensive embargo on China, with 13 categories and 190 types of items prohibiting entrances and exits. It not only covers all strategic materials, but also includes all embargoes from automobiles, electronic products, rubber, machinery and equipment, chemicals, general steel products, to "gasoline barrels with a capacity of more than four gallons" and "textiles and clothing materials".
has an example, which is enough to illustrate the strict embargo. At that time, the wax duck exported to the United States in Hong Kong was made of duck eggs from mainland China after duck eggs hatched in Hong Kong. Is it within the scope of embargo? Britain and the United States were serious and sent a letter to the telegram, and finally reached an agreement: "When hatching eggs, a policeman must be present, and he must brand the newly hatched ducklings on their feet.After the duck grows, add another mark so that the duck can be slaughtered. Dried to the United States. ”
According to the regulations of the Hong Kong and British authorities, all illegal exports are violated by "the crime of smuggling the export of prohibited goods without the permit of the Administration for Industry and Commerce". Once convicted, the goods and means of transportation will be confiscated, and a fine of 100,000 yuan will be imposed, and a sentence of three years of imprisonment will be sentenced. However, at that time, the Hong Kong and British government actually left a hole in smuggling, and ships sailing in Hong Kong waters was not illegal, and they would not intercept them after leaving the high seas. Obviously, it was based on the realist considerations of Britain's own interests. Such severe laws gave birth to a group of Ho Ying-Tong and other ships. The relevant patriotic businessmen greatly reduced China's strategic pressure. However, due to various reasons such as war, politics, the destruction of the old and the new, the relationship between Hong Kong and the mainland began to change.
From the early 1950s to the late 1970s, large-scale smuggling to Hong Kong occurred through the surrounding areas adjacent to the Shenzhen border for various reasons. Four large-scale escaping from Shenzhen in 1957, 1962, 1972 and 1979, the number of people fleeing Hong Kong was 50. More than 10,000 people.
One of the people who fled Hong Kong was from before liberation. Due to the defeat of the Kuomintang, the high-ranking officials who were unwilling or unable to go to Taiwan. Among these people were capitalists from Shanghai and Tianjin, high-ranking officials from Nanjing and Guangzhou, landlords and gentry who avoided land reform and Qing bandits and anti-hegemony, and more were ordinary people who avoided the war and the Kuomintang defeated soldiers. Some famous capital tycoons, such as Tang Bingyuan, Wang Yuncheng, Rong brothers, Qiu Degen, etc., fled from the mainland during this period. When we arrived in Hong Kong, Chinese people were not allowed to live in the Mid-mountain at that time. Shanghainese people from the mainland to Hong Kong moved into the luxury residential area of Kowloon Tong. Shanghai dialect became the most fashionable dialect in Hong Kong for a while.
Another type of Hong Kong escaped from Hong Kong was because of hunger during a special period. At that time, a farmer in Bao'an County earned an average of about 0.7 yuan a day, while a farmer in Hong Kong earned an average of 70 yuan a day. A folk song circulated in the local area sang: "It is better to work hard for a year than 8 cents on the opposite side. "It means spending 8 cents of stamps to send a letter to Hong Kong to ask relatives to send money back.
1952, after the outbreak of the Korean War, the border between Hong Kong and the Mainland in Luohu Bridge began to tighten. In the following years, many literati fled to Hong Kong. In the late 1960s, as many intellectuals felt confused and desperate, many people with status and ability embarked on the road of escape. Some people have counted that among the top 100 rich people in Hong Kong at the end of the last century, more than 40 were Hong Kong escapers in the 1960s and 1970s.
On May 6, 1979, due to some rumors that Hong Kong would be in Ilisa Bai in the UK The Queen was amnesty on the day of her birth, and she could be naturalized for three days after she stayed in Hong Kong. The last large-scale escape from Hong Kong broke out at the opening of the border defense in Shenzhen broke out.
1978, after Xi Zhongxun was in charge of Guangdong, after a large number of visits, he personally felt the desire of local residents to improve their living standards. He realized that it is impossible to effectively curb smuggling by just being strict and defended. Another solution must be considered. On August 26, 1980, Shenzhen established China's first special economic zone. Wu Nansheng, who was responsible for the preparation of the Guangdong Special Zone and once served as the first secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, recalled: "A few days after the promulgation of the Special Zone regulations, the crowd of people fleeing Hong Kong suddenly disappeared! Indeed, the thousands of people hiding behind the big rocks in Wutong Mountain and preparing to flee in the woods completely disappeared! ”
At that time, in order to strengthen the rule, the British colonial authorities of Hong Kong and British allowed Chinese and Chinese history subjects to enter the school. Hong Kong people did not know the earth-shaking changes that took place on the land of China after 1949, and only knew the terrible stories from relatives and friends who fled south, which also affected a generation of Hong Kong people.
1962 Hong Kong Kindergarten
On the other hand, the Kuomintang authorities who retreated to the sea planned to use Hong Kong to counterattack the mainland (such as planning the assassination of the Kashmir Princess), while painting cakes for the remaining troops trapped in the southwest. Hong Kong has become an important buffer for the scattered soldiers and scattered brave men. Ge Zhaohuang's 14K and forward Xin Yian and other major underworld groups were all derived from the Kuomintang army.In addition, after the war, the three governors sent by the British in Hong Kong, Ge Lianghong, Bai Liji and Dai Linzhi as governors were more than 20 years ago, and it was still collusion between officials and businessmen, suppressing the leftists, bribing higher Chinese, and suppressing the colonial routines of grassroots communities. The economic and housing contradictions brought about by the soaring population were no one to resolve, the lives of the lower-class citizens were unsustainable, and the threats brought by the left-wing direction around the world to the British Empire's rule. All kinds of forces ultimately pushed Hong Kong to a watershed in history.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Communist Party of China established a complete united front and intelligence network in Hong Kong, and after the war, a number of left-wing schools, publishing houses, film companies and other cultural and educational institutions were built. After the transfer of Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po to Hong Kong, under the leadership of the Hong Kong Branch of Xinhua News Agency, newspapers in the middle of the position such as "Xin Evening News", "Hong Kong Business Daily" and "Crystal" were founded in accordance with the idea of the united front, and a large number of supplements were added to publish horse scriptures, dog scriptures, martial arts and pornographic content that Hong Kong people love. Liang Yusheng and Jin Yong's martial arts novels were first published in the "New Evening News". Since then, "Ta Kung Pao" and "Wen Hui Po" have also published martial arts novels, setting a precedent for new-story martial arts novels in Hong Kong. Before the Cultural Revolution, the circulation of newspapers led or influenced by Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong branch accounted for nearly two-thirds of the circulation of Hong Kong newspapers.
In November 1966, the Portuguese government of Macau suppressed citizens' gatherings, triggering a strike in the left-wingers in Macau. With the active cooperation of the mainland and relevant departments, the Portuguese government of Macau admitted defeat, and Macau became a "half-liberated area", and the leftists in Hong Kong came to Macau to learn from the scriptures. Under such circumstances, Zhou Enlai issued instructions to the Xinhua News Agency of Hong Kong through Liao Chengzhi:
"Hong Kong cannot copy the mainland, there is a difference between inside and outside. Hong Kong will not carry out the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. In terms of propaganda, Hong Kong must not think that the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution will also sweep Hong Kong. As for the internal organizations of our party, government and enterprises, we do not engage in big-character posters, mass movements, or expose and criticize. We must avoid the internal struggles between our party and enterprise organizations in Hong Kong, and the chaos will occur, destroying the deep foundation and strategic deployment of Hong Kong's long-term work." (Quoted from Zhang Jiawei: "Inside the Hong Kong June 7th Riot", page 20)
1967, the Central Foreign Affairs Office, which is responsible for Hong Kong and Macao affairs, was seized by the rebels. Liao Chengzhi completely lost power, the local leftists in Hong Kong dominated the local work ideas, and "liberation of Hong Kong" was put on the agenda.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, controlled by the Central Cultural Revolution Leading Group, summoned the British Embassy in China in Beijing on May 15, 1966, and expressed strong protests against the Hong Kong British government's suppression of the Hong Kong left and issued a statement. With the support of the mainland, the Hong Kong leftist faction established the "Committee on the Persecution of Hong Kong and British from All Circles in Hong Kong and Kowloon", holding Chairman Mao's quotations, wearing Chairman Mao's seal, and using the form of big-character posters, criticism meetings and struggle meetings to formally launch a political struggle against the Hong Kong and British government.
In May 1967, the June 7th Riot (May Storm) broke out, from the initial strikes and demonstrations to the later assassinations, roadside bombs and gunfights. Under the orders of the British Hong Kong authorities, Hong Kong police dispersed, suppressed and arrested the leftists. At least 51 people were killed, including ten police officers, 802 people were injured, and 1,936 people were prosecuted, involving 1,167 bombs.
1967 Hong Kong and British government suppressed the demonstrators
1967 On August 22, 1967, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebels and the capital Red Guards gathered in front of the British Agency for the Crime of the British Proletariat in Beijing to convene the "Capital Proletarian Revolutionaries Angry to Debate the British Imperial Anti-China Crimes" on the grounds that "Hong Kong and British crazy persecution of Hong Kong and patriotic news." After the meeting, the British side rushed into the British agency on the grounds that it did not reply to the ultimatum after the deadline, and set fire to the office building, causing the British agency to leave office and return to China.
The May storm touched the core interests of the Hong Kong and British governments. The Hong Kong and British authorities quoted the "Emergency Regulations" to conduct large-scale arrests and detentions, using tear gas, batons, curfews and other suppression methods, and further intensified the contradictions. The leftists in Hong Kong launched strikes, market strikes, and classes. After confirming that Beijing had no intention of taking back Hong Kong, the British Hong Kong government unscrupulously suppressed the left-wing newspapers, closed left-wing schools, and arrested left-wing people on a large scale.
At this time, the "Cultural Revolution" in the mainland was in full swing, and diplomacy, Hong Kong and Macao, and united front work were almost paralyzed. The aggressive actions of the leftists in Hong Kong caused a large number of left-wing workers to be fired and their lives were in trouble. Hong Kong-funded and foreign-funded companies quickly occupied the market, and a large number of mainland Chinese-funded companies and left-wing companies went bankrupt. The left newspaper canceled the contents of "secretary, capital, and repair" such as supplements, martial arts, and "Master Classics", and coupled with the suppression of the Hong Kong and British governments, sales volume plummeted. The united front function was completely lost, and left-wing film companies and the theaters they operated also went bankrupt one after another under the extreme left literary and artistic route.
The extremist movement of the left-wing protest has aroused dissatisfaction and fear of the left-wingers among Hong Kong citizens. Many Hong Kong citizens who had no good intentions for the Communist Party have trusted the Hong Kong and British governments with unprecedented height. Since then, the British Hong Kong government has adjusted its colonial idea of monopolizing the market and plundering the economy through "higher Chinese" administration, and has begun to systematically change the cognition of Hong Kong people by strengthening administrative management.
(To be continued...)
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