World War Two veterans gathered at the Garden of Remembrance outside of City Hall on Saturday to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the city from Japanese occupation.
The ceremony, which started at 11am, commemorated the local and Commonwealth servicemen who gave up their lives in the Battle of Hong Kong 74 years ago. It was organised by the Hong Kong Prisoners of War Association and the Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) Association, and attended by surviving war veterans, ex-servicemen and their families.
Guards of honour were provided by the Hong Kong Adventure Corps, a uniformed youth group with strong ties with the historical Regiment.
A two-minute silence was observed at the beginning. Florence Hui, the undersecretary of home affairs, and Caroline Wilson, the British consul general, laid down red poppy wreaths as the piper played “Amazing Grace”. They were followed by veterans who laid down roses.
Chief Executive CY Leung was not present at the ceremony.
Choi Bing-yiu, a 94-year-old veteran from the Royal Artillery, was stationed in the south of the city during the battle, and was the first to shoot down a Japanese plane. He told the SCMP that he is fortunate to be attending.
“There are only around 20 of us left. Most of us died and many cannot come, some are in wheelchairs and some are in elderly homes”, he said.
Yet the war hero hopes that society will remember the sacrifices that ex-servicemen made for the city.
“Now that Hong Kong has been handed over to China, the young don’t respect us at all. Many fellow veterans can no longer move and are bound to their wheelchairs”, he told Ming Pao.
“I contacted CY Leung but he never replied. I told him no one cares about us old people”.
War hero Choi Bing-yiu speaks to the media
The Battle of Hong Kong happened at the end of 1941, when local soldiers and servicemen from the UK, British India, and Canada defended the city against Japanese forces unti the city surrendered on Dec. 25, 1941. Hong Kong was liberated on Aug. 15, 1945 after Japan’s surrender, ending the three-year-and-eight-month-long occupation.
Photos: Screenshots via TVB
