Then & Now | Cannibalism in Japanese-occupied Hong Kong – when food shortages made human flesh the only option
- Despite a lack of first-hand, verifiable accounts, limited supplies during and immediately after World War II undoubtedly drove the starving to desperate means
A lurid aspect of Hong Kong’s wartime Japanese occupation (1941-45) – anecdotally indicated for several decades, but never comprehensively researched – is cannibalism. This taboo is so strong, and the thought of eating human flesh so repugnant, that the mere mention brings forth horrified denials it could possibly have happened. Many post-war stories were immediately dismissed as sensation-seeking fabrication.
Much of what we know about this aspect of the Pacific war years is anecdotal, and relies heavily on oral history – notoriously unreliable as substantiation. Oral history has assumed greater importance in recent years, as “stories” and “narratives” have been given unmerited primacy over more rigorous, checkable documentary accounts. The simple fact that an oral account represents someone’s unique “story” is allowed to lend it a patina of credibility, even if the basic facts cannot be independently verified.
While cannibalism undoubtedly occurred in occupied Hong Kong – and throughout Asia-Pacific – its true extent will never be known. Key to helping us understand this awful necessity is Hong Kong’s precarious food position.
From the British colony’s earliest days, Hong Kong was a net importer of food staples and firewood. For this reason, stockpiling was prudent government policy. This was especially important when, even at the best of times, most people were never more than a few rice bowls from starvation.