The real story of Hong Kong's place in the second world war
Three military history buffs are determined to bring the true story of Hong Kong's participation in the second world war to the city's younger generation
Gathering at the Star Ferry in Tsim Sha Tsui, Rusty Tsoi Yiu-lun and Dennis Cheung Tsun-lam eagerly point out parts of the clock tower hit by shrapnel during the second world war.
These are barely visible as the damage has been plastered over, but Cheung says the area had come under heavy shelling during the war. The tower had been part of the old Kowloon-Canton Railway terminus, and armaments arriving by sea would be offloaded onto trains at the pier to be sent to the Chinese hinterland.
Cheung and Tsoi are military history buffs. Together with fellow enthusiast Kwong Chi-man, they have been working to unearth details of Hong Kong's experience during the war and share their research with the younger generation of Hongkongers.
"Many local students don't realise that Hong Kong was involved in the second world war," says Tsoi, a history teacher at Mu Kuang English School.
They know Japan attacked China and occupied the country, but no one told them Hong Kong was [invaded], too."
This part of Hong Kong history is not included in the school curriculum and parents and grandparents seldom discuss it with the younger generation, he says.