HKU Bulletin February 2013 (Vol. 14 No. 2)

Books Traitorous acts The University, both faculty and students, played an important role in World War II – much of it noble, but some of it less so. “The point that I make in Chapter 9 is that you have a range of reactions to the Japanese [invasion of Hong Kong]. Some people resisted, others went along with it in the quietest way they could, while others actively collaborated and committed traitorous acts,” says Dr Cunich. “While the older generation tended to try to look after themselves, the younger students and graduates went to free China, joined the British Army Aid Group (BAAG), the Chinese Army, various other units of the British Army, even the US Air Force, actively fighting against the Japanese.” “What is interesting – partly because it has relevance today – is that they were fighting for a mixture of things: their home – whether that was Hong Kong or Malaya – defending their home from the Japanese. But they were also fighting for Britain because most of them saw the Japanese as the aggressors and Britain as upholding the values of civilisation (significant because this is what the University was originally meant to inculcate – a love of Empire). And then the third level was Chinese patriotism.” As HKU celebrates its centenary it is only fitting that a scholarly work on the University’s history should be produced. What is perhaps more surprising is that the work that has emerged is not only the history of an institution but also a very lively, very human narrative. “This was deliberate,” says author Dr Peter Cunich. “We began thinking about the centenary book back in 1999 when we were compiling An Impossible Dream , the book to mark the University’s 90 th anniversary. I was determined that the centenary book should have an authentic voice. I didn’t want to simply retell the administrative and constitutional history; I also wanted to have people’s personal experiences within the text.” “The War allowed these students to do all three things at once – they could fight for their home, show that they held to Western ideals, and at the same time be Chinese patriots by fighting for China.” Dr Cunich feels that this fits in very interestingly with some of the current controversy about Hong Kong identity. “Today there is a polarisation, a feeling that you can only be one thing or the other. For these war-time students they could be all three at once and there was no paradox in that. They come out of the whole experience completely changed people and many went on to become leaders in Hong Kong, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, taking up roles in society that pre-war graduates were not able to do.” Dispelling urban myths While writing Chapter 9 proved a fascinating experience, other areas of the book were more problematic. “Some of the urban myths that over the years have been established as history are difficult to dislodge,” says To this end, he began interviewing as many of the pre-war and war-time students as he could track down. “From 2003 on, I started seeking out graduates and alumni who had been at the University before 1941, war-time students and those involved in re-establishing the University post-war. Hopefully readers will identify with these first-hand accounts.” Most of those interviews contributed to what would become Dr Cunich’s favourite chapter, Chapter 9 which covers the War years. “The stories I was told were fascinating. It emerged that in the 1940s, HKU was on the international stage in a way it had seldom been up until the last few years when we’ve become one of the top 25 universities in the world.” Dr Cunich. “For instance it is widely accepted that Dr Sun Yat-sen was a graduate, and many still believe that HKU started with only two faculties, Engineering and Medicine, and Arts came later.” . / 0 - / 1 " 2 3 / ! , - / # % # 4 # % 5 0 - ! 6 % 7 8 , 0 9 - A Living History Heroes and traitors, fighters and founders – Dr Peter Cunich’s history gives HKU a fascinatingly human face. The War allowed these students to do all three things at once – they could fight for their home, show that they held to Western ideals, and at the same time be Chinese patriots by fighting for China. ü ý & + ý þ ' : ÿ - 2 $Q LQWHULRU YLHZ RI WKH URRÀHVV *UHDW +DOO LQ WKH 0DLQ %XLOGLQJ WDNHQ DIWHU WKH :RUOG :DU ,, " 3 " 2 ; / # # % # # 4 # % < 5 - = > ? " / 43 The University of Hong Kong Bulletin Feburary 2013