Escape from Hong Kong

Escape from Hong Kong PDF Author: Tim Luard
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
ISBN: 9888083767
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
On 25 December 1941, the day of Hong Kong's surrender to the Japanese, Admiral Chan Chak—the Chinese government's chief agent in Hong Kong—and more than 60 Chinese and British intelligence, naval and marine personnel made a dramatic escape from the invading army. They travelled on five small motor torpedo boats—all that remained of the Royal Navy in Hong Kong—across Mirs Bay, landing at a beach near Nanao. Then, guided by guerrillas and villagers, they walked for four days through enemy lines to Huizhou, before flying to Chongqing or travelling by land to Burma. The breakout laid the foundations of an escape trail jointly used by the British Army Aid Group and the East River Column for the rest of the war. Chan Chak, the celebrated "one-legged admiral", became Mayor of Canton after the war and was knighted by the British for his services to the Allied cause. His comrade in the escape, David MacDougall, became head of the civil administration of Hong Kong in 1945. This gripping narrative account of the escape draws on a wealth of primary sources in both English and Chinese and sheds new light on the role played by the Chinese in the defence of Hong Kong, on the diplomacy behind the escape, and on the guerillas who carried the Admiral in a sedan chair as they led his party over the rivers and mountains of enemy-occupied China. Escape from Hong Kong will appeal not just to military historians and those with a special interest in Hong Kong and China but also to anyone who appreciates a good old-fashioned adventure story.

Escape from Hong Kong

Escape from Hong Kong PDF Author: Tim Luard
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
ISBN: 9888083767
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 385

Get Book Here

Book Description
On 25 December 1941, the day of Hong Kong's surrender to the Japanese, Admiral Chan Chak—the Chinese government's chief agent in Hong Kong—and more than 60 Chinese and British intelligence, naval and marine personnel made a dramatic escape from the invading army. They travelled on five small motor torpedo boats—all that remained of the Royal Navy in Hong Kong—across Mirs Bay, landing at a beach near Nanao. Then, guided by guerrillas and villagers, they walked for four days through enemy lines to Huizhou, before flying to Chongqing or travelling by land to Burma. The breakout laid the foundations of an escape trail jointly used by the British Army Aid Group and the East River Column for the rest of the war. Chan Chak, the celebrated "one-legged admiral", became Mayor of Canton after the war and was knighted by the British for his services to the Allied cause. His comrade in the escape, David MacDougall, became head of the civil administration of Hong Kong in 1945. This gripping narrative account of the escape draws on a wealth of primary sources in both English and Chinese and sheds new light on the role played by the Chinese in the defence of Hong Kong, on the diplomacy behind the escape, and on the guerillas who carried the Admiral in a sedan chair as they led his party over the rivers and mountains of enemy-occupied China. Escape from Hong Kong will appeal not just to military historians and those with a special interest in Hong Kong and China but also to anyone who appreciates a good old-fashioned adventure story.

The Great Escape to Hong Kong

The Great Escape to Hong Kong PDF Author: Bing'an Chen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781631816253
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description


Stranger In My Heart

Stranger In My Heart PDF Author: Mary Monro
Publisher: Unbound Publishing
ISBN: 1911586696
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 275

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Book Description
Stranger In My Heart is about the search for understanding oneself, answering the question “Who am I?” by seeking to understand the currents that sweep down the generations, eddy through one’s own persona and continue on – palpable but often unrecognised. My father fought at the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941, was taken prisoner by the Japanese and then escaped in February 1942, making his way across 1200 miles of inhospitable country to reach China’s wartime capital at Chongqing. Seventy years later I retraced his steps in an effort to understand a man who had died when I was 18, leaving a lot of unanswered questions behind. My book is the quest that I undertook to explore my father’s life, in the context of the Pacific War and our relationship with China. A picture of a man of the greatest generation slowly unfolds, a leader, a 20th Century Great, but a distant father. As I delve into his story and research the unfamiliar territory of China in the Second World War, the mission to get to know the stranger I called ‘Dad’ resolves into a mission to understand how my own character was formed. As I travel across China, the traits I received from my father gradually emerge from their camouflage. The strands of the story are woven together in a flowing triple helix, with biography, travelogue and memoir punctuated with musings on context and meaning.

Escape from the Japanese

Escape from the Japanese PDF Author: Ralph Burton Goodwin
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1848329318
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Trapped in the depths of Japanese-held territory, it was rare for Allied prisoners of war to attempt escape. There was little chance of making contact with anti-guerrilla or underground organisations and no possibility of Europeans blending in with the local Asian populations. Failure, and recapture, meant execution. This was what Lieutenant Commander R.B. Goodwin faced when he decided to escape from the Shamsuipo PoW Camp in Kowloon, Hong Kong in July 1944 after three years of internment.With no maps and no knowledge of the country or the language, Lieutenant Commander Goodwin set out across enemy territory and war-torn China. Because of the colour of his skin he had to travel during the hours of darkness for much of what was an 870-mile journey to reach British India. Few of his fellow prisoners gave him any chance of succeeding, yet, little more than three months later, he was being transported to the safety of Calcutta. For his daring and determination Lieutenant Commander Goodwin was awarded the Order of the British Empire.

No Wall Too High

No Wall Too High PDF Author: Xu Hongci
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473528224
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 391

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Book Description
‘One of the greatest escape stories I’ve ever read’ Mail on Sunday An ordinary man’s extraordinary escape from Mao’s brutal labour camps Xu Hongci was an ordinary medical student when he was incarcerated under Mao’s regime and forced to spend years of his youth in China’s most brutal labour camps. Three times he tried to escape. And three times he failed. But, determined, he eventually broke free, travelling the length of China, across the Gobi desert, and into Mongolia. It was one of the greatest prison breaks of all time, during one of the worst totalitarian tragedies of the 20th Century. This is the extraordinary memoir of his unrelenting struggle to retain dignity, integrity and freedom; but also the untold story of what life was like for ordinary people trapped in the chaos of the Cultural Revolution.

The Laws of Hongkong

The Laws of Hongkong PDF Author: Hong Kong
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 1138

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Book Description


Last Boat Out of Shanghai

Last Boat Out of Shanghai PDF Author: Helen Zia
Publisher:
ISBN: 034552232X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 545

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Book Description
"The dramatic, real-life stories of four young people caught up in the mass exodus of Shanghai in the wake of China's 1949 Communist Revolution--a precursor to the struggles faced by emigrants today. Shanghai has historically been China's jewel, its richest, most modern and westernized city. The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class when Mao's proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war. Terrified of the horrors the Communists would wreak upon their lives, citizens of Shanghai who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later, the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus have opened the story to Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey through one of the most tumultuous events of the twentieth century. From these moving accounts, Zia weaves the story of four young Shanghai residents who wrestled with the decision to abandon everything for an uncertain life as refugees in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the U.S. Young Benny, who as a teenager became the unwilling heir to his father's dark wartime legacy, must choose between escaping Hong Kong or navigating the intricacies of a newly Communist China. The resolute Annuo, forced to flee her home with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, becomes an unwelcome young exile in Taiwan. The financially strapped Ho fights deportation in order to continue his studies in the U.S. while his family struggles at home. And Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces the prospect of a new life among strangers in America"--

Loreless

Loreless PDF Author: P J Whittlesea
Publisher: Tyet Books
ISBN: 9492523019
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
"This dazzling account of an Aboriginal man coming to terms with his roots is a refreshing and convincing antidote to all the usual interpretations of this wonderful culture. It has a sweep and ambition that is rare." Have you lost your lore? Billy has. He's loreless. Indigenous urbanite Billy doesn't know much about his heritage and he's quite content to let it stay that way. One late night out changes all that. Marooned on an outback highway in Central Australia, with only the stars and mosquitoes for company, he regrets trusting his friends with his well being. Under the watchful eye of the mysterious supernatural entity Pidgin, and armed with a dogged desire to get home, he discovers the lore he never knew he had lost. Sometimes it's impossible to get home. Especially if home is not where you think it is. Following in the footsteps of Paul Coelho and the early work of Thomas Keneally, Loreless takes you on a fictional journey into one of the world's oldest cultures. This is one adventure story which will keep you intrigued until its compelling conclusion. Part quest, part ghost story, and part contemporary fable, author P J Whittlesea combines magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery. Packaged in an adventure story rich with jewels of anecdotes and insight, Loreless is as enlightening as it as enthralling. Beautiful, confrontational and ultimately uplifting, this is a story which is intimate and universal all at once. Available now in ebook or paperback. Read this inspiring and remarkable story today.

Escape from Red China

Escape from Red China PDF Author: Robert Loh
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN: 1787207633
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 477

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Book Description
The experiences and attitudes of a man who lived under Chinese Communism, rising to a position of importance before his decision to flee to the West, whose story describes much of life and society under Maoism. Robert Loh is the first educated Chinese to give a view from the inside of life in Red China. Son of a well-to-do family who was sent to study political science in the United States during the period when the authority of the Nationalist Government was disintegrating, Loh chose to return to Shanghai to contribute what he could toward reshaping China into a major world power. Robert Loh is at pains to make clear that he could not have survived, and indeed lived a relatively privileged life in communist China without giving in to much that he hated and despised.

Not the Slightest Chance

Not the Slightest Chance PDF Author: Tony Banham
Publisher: Hong Kong University Press
ISBN: 9622096158
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 461

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Book Description
More than 10% of Hong Kong's defenders were killed in battle; a further 20% died in captivity. Those who survived seldom spoke of their experiences. Many died young. The little 'primary' material surviving – written in POW camps or years after the events – is contradictory and muddled. Yet with just 14,000 defending the Colony, it was possible to write from the individual's point of view rather than that of the Big Battalions so favoured by God (according to Napoleon) and most historians. The book assembles a phase-by-phase, day-by-day, hour-by-hour, and death-by-death account of the battle. It considers the individual actions that made up the fighting, as well as the strategies and plans and the many controversies that arose. Not the Slightest Chance will be of interest to military historians, Hong Kong residents and visitors, and those in the UK, Canada, and elsewhere whose family members fought, or were interned, in Hong Kong during the war years.