Aging relics show city's resistance in WWII

A buckeye tree sprouts from the site where an anti-aircraft gun was lodged at Mt Davis in the 1930s. It was later moved to Stanley to strengthen the defense on the southern side of the island. [Provided to China Daily]

Even as Hong Kong geared up to celebrate the 70th anniversary of liberation from Japanese occupation, some of the relics of the city's terrible battle - which local historians feel are worthy of World Heritage status - were left in utter neglect. Chitralekha Basu reports.

Caked in a thick layer of dark green gunk, the concrete pile almost merges with the green landscape. A closer look shows the structure is a phalanx of plastic sacks, stacked in a tight semicircle, and covered with slime and a layer of rotting leaves. A long-tailed grass lizard slithers by, one of the few signs of life in an otherwise desolate area. Sand inside the bags is frozen solid - stratified under 74 years of apathy.

These are the remains of a blast wall at Station 2 on the Wong Nai Chung Gap Trail. The fortification was built around a platform where two 3.7-inch anti-aircraft guns were mounted in what was one of the last outposts of Allied defense before Hong Kong surrendered to Japanese forces in December 1941.

Not far away, atop another knoll, at Station 5, troops of HQ Company, the Winnipeg Grenadiers, bravely held out for 12 hours even as they were completely outnumbered by the Japanese garrison. Then the enemy dropped grenades through the ventilation shaft of pillbox JL01, injuring all its defenders.

Sergeant-Major John Osborne, who posthumously earned the only Victoria Cross to be awarded in the battle for Hong Kong, died in the combat.

The Wong Nai Chung Gap trail is one of the better-maintained sites of World War II-related heritage in Hong Kong. The relics of the resistance to the marauding Japanese army - artillery batteries, ammunition magazines, pillboxes, gun emplacements - are marked with signposts. A board outlines the route map at the entrance. Catchments have been cordoned off for safety.

There are, however, numerous other sites in Hong Kong where WWII remnants lie unacknowledged, neglected and exposed to the vagaries of nature. Several historic sites have been built over or demolished to make way for development. A staircase was constructed over a trench in Devil's Peak for the benefit of morning strollers. An enormous Japanese pillbox in the old Kai Tak terminal, which became eclipsed by squatters' housing until the area was cleared in 2002, has since been dismantled.

As Hong Kong prepared to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its liberation from Japanese occupation on Sept 3, the remnants of its military history languished.

Colonial history

Hong Kong history expert Ko Tim-kung, a historical photography researcher, said the relics and sites related to the fall of Hong Kong in 1941 are worthy of World Heritage status as they actually trace 150 years of history.

"Although today we look at the sites...as those associated with the Japanese invasion of 1941, many of these gun batteries were in fact built in the 19th century, "Ko said.

The Battery Path, for example, was built in the 1840s as part of British effort to fortify Hong Kong in the lead-up to the Opium War, he said.

"If these sites were granted World Heritage status, all the stories in that narrative could be linked, to give visitors the picture of European imperialism in Asia, "he said.

In pre-1997 Hong Kong, the city's British governors were not keen to memorialize a battle in which they were on the losing side. "British-ruled Hong Kong was a colony after all," Ko said.

Kwong Chi-man, who teaches history at Hong Kong Baptist University, noted that the significance of historic military structures in Hong Kong is not restricted to the city's history alone, but encompasses "the history of the transformation of military technology from the 19th century to mid-20th century".

"These structures are the testimonies of a colonial power attempting to hold its eastern stronghold during a turbulent age that saw the deaths of millions," said Kwong, who co-authored Eastern Fortress: A Military History of Hong Kong, 1840-1970 with Tsoi Yiu-lun.

The battle sites of Hong Kong, where soldiers died fighting for the colonial government, are similar, in ethos, to the Meiji era industrial sites in Japan, which received World Heritage status last month, Kwong said.

"In a sense, the relics of Hong Kong's military history are similar to the Japanese industrial heritage and equally important, because they show the other side of industrialization," Kwong said.

World Heritage status

Obtaining World Heritage status is a lengthy, intricate process. It requires meeting UNESCO criteria, which must include a nomination from the Chinese government. The government has included it on its "Tentative List "submitted to the World Heritage Committee.

"China currently has 54 properties already on its Tentative List, "says Joseph King, director of the Sites Unit under the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property. "It is also quite possible that a site on the Tentative List will never make it to the nomination stage."

Only a few world war-related candidates have ascended to the list. Two notable inclusions are Auschwitz and the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

Auschwitz and Hiroshima made the cut as "both are obviously linked to specific events or activities during the war that had a larger impact on the world as a whole", King said.

World Heritage status does not necessarily guarantee better conservation, he added.

King's suggestion for safeguarding Hong Kong's WWII relics is "to begin an awareness campaign concerning the existence of this heritage, its importance to Hong Kong and beyond, and its poor state of conservation and presentation".

He said that might inspire "further research, and also probably would necessitate identifying organizations to support this effort", including veterans' groups, historians and historical societies in Hong Kong.

Private enterprise

Mount Davis Battery, built in the early 20th Century, served as the headquarters of Western Line Command. It was exposed to heavy shelling by the Japanese in December 1941. A muddy trail leads to the site of five anti-aircraft gun emplacements. Above are the remnants of a scalloped fortress wall, looking out on Victoria Harbor.

The area is now used by amateur firearms enthusiasts for target practice. They shoot at plastic bottles hung from trees and ropes strung between the abandoned powder magazines.

Friends of Mount Davis - a group pushing for better conservation of the area - has been in action since 2005. Sinnie Lee and Johnny Chan, who are among the group's leaders, meet quarterly with a team of volunteers for a thorough cleanup.

The clearing operations, which sometimes involve paid contractors, is partially funded by Hong Kong's Central and Western District Council.

The group has also drawn up several plans for better site maintenance. The fates of a proposed theme park and an exhibition space hang in the balance. However, the campaign to develop a heritage trail linking the existing pathway to the historic structures, to have the relics signposted and to build a community enterprise for better maintenance of the site, was recently approved by the Central and Western District Council.

The HK$2.8 million ($361,000) allotted, however, will not cover the costs of building toilets, supplying water and repairing large holes on the trail. Friends of Mount Davis members may dig into their own pockets to finance their several awareness campaigns and activities.

Some suggest a public-private partnership is the way forward to protect Hong Kong's heritage structures.

"We play an important role by making a noise and thereby exerting pressure on the government departments to act," Lee said.

Contact the writer at basu@chinadailyhk.com