Organization And Activities Of Wang Ching-wei Group In Hong Kong(1938-1942)

Hong Kong is an important arena for Wang Ching-wei Group.From 1938,when Gao Zongwu secretly contacted with the Japanese here,to 1942 when the Japanese took over Hong Kong,Wang Ching-wei Group never left Hong Kong.Hong Kong is not only the "refuge" of Wang Ching-wei Group,but also the "resource pool" and "talent pool" of Wang Ching-wei Group.Wang Ching-wei Group has been making use of the special political background of Hong Kong,which is under the British colonial rule and the advantages of Hong Kong,which is close contact with the outside world and influence at home and abroad to seek its own development.In 1938,Gao Zongwu went to Hong Kong for many times to secretly contact with the Japanese.He had tried to negotiate with the Japanese under the orders of Chiang kai-shek,but Japan’s realistic policy that Chiang kai-shek should be replaced by Wang Ching-wei made him realize that there was no possibility of directly realizing the "peace" between Chiang and Japan.In order to continue the "peace talk",Gao Zongwu held out Wang Ching-wei.He thought he could control the situation and avoided the confrontation between Chiang and Wang,but the development of history in the future completely deviated from the idea of Gao Zongwu.Gao Zongwu’s move was equivalent to catalyzing the birth of Wang Ching-wei Puppet regime.Later,although Gao Zongwu tried to turn the tide and strangle the Wang Ching-wei Puppet regime in the cradle,he was exhausted.So in the days before the birth of Wang Ching-wei Puppet regime,he chose to withdraw from Wang`s camp and the Gao Tao incident broke out.After Wang Ching-wei fled Hanoi,Hong Kong was a gathering place for Wang`s subordinate.They took advantage of Hong Kong’s geographical advantages and special political background to promote the "peace movement".However,in the process of advancing the "peace movement",Zhou Fohai,Mei Siping,Tao Xisheng,Gao Zongwu,Chen Gongbo and others in the Hong Kong base camp disagreed on the future development trend and formed the "Zhou Fohai route" and "Gao Zongwu route" Fight.Zhou Fohai and Mei Siping advocated the establishment of a central government in Nanjing,while Gao Zongwu,Tao Xisheng,and Chen Gongbo insisted that Wang Ching-wei should reverse the domestic "peace war" public opinion as an opposition.Wang Chingwei’s determination to go to Shanghai violated the original intention of Gao,Tao and Chen to participate in the "peace movement".Therefore,Chen Gongbo chose to stay in Hong Kong,no longer involved in political affairs.Gao Zongwu and Tao Xisheng secretly showed their loyalty to chungking.During the brewing of the Wang Ching-wei Puppet regime,the Wang Puppet Organization set off the first wave of activities in Hong Kong.They broadcast Wang Ching-wei’s pro-Japan ideology extensively,and widely recruited military and educational personnel scattered in Hong Kong.However,the Wang Puppet Organization’s plan did not succeed,and the Kuomintang has strictly investigated what the Wang Puppet Organization did.The Kuomintang is well aware that if they does not take action,conniving the Wang Puppet Organization’s development in Hong Kong will not only strengthen the strength of the Wang Ching-wei Group,but also dispel confidence in the anti-Japanese war camp.Under the secret plan of the Kuomintang ’s Hong Kong and Macao general branch and Juntong,it successfully created three Wang Ching-wei Group`s Newspaper House workers strikes and the assassination of Wang Ching-wei ’s agent in Hong Kong,Sham Song.This wave will soon be calm.In August 1939,after the Sixth National Congress of the Puppet Kuomintang was convened,the Puppet Kuomintang Hong Kong Party Headquarters was established specifically to guide affairs about Hong Kong of the Wang Ching-wei Puppet regime and strengthened its work in such aspects as the labor movement,student movement and intelligence resources.This is the second wave of wang puppet activities in Hong Kong.Especially in the field of labor movement,Lin Zhongyuan and others rely on the Jixian Labor Union to control the whole labor movement in Hong Kong.However,the development of Wang Puppet Organization in Hong Kong was not smooth,and was hindered by the Kuomintang and the Hong Kong authorities.The Kuomintang eliminated the forces of Lin Zhongyuan in the Jixian Labor Union for the purpose of cracking down on political enemies.The Hong Kong government expelled Yao Dongshan,Xie Denan and others because a series of activities of the Wang Puppet Organization seriously threatened their own ruling security.In addition,the the Wang Ching-wei forces also has its own development weaknesses,such as serious internal fighting and shortage of funds.Before the fall of Hong Kong,the Wang Puppet Organization actively cooperated with Japan’s military operations.During the Japanese attacking Hong Kong,Wang`s subordinate provoked incidents in Hong Kong in order to distract the Hong Kong government.After the Japanese army occupied Hong Kong,the Wang Ching-wei Puppet regime again met Japan’s political needs and placed a large number of people evacuated by the Japanese army into the territory of Guangdong Province.At the Wang Puppet Central Government in Nanjing,the most concerned things at this time were the elites scattered in Hong Kong.They hoped to transfer these people to Shanghai as soon as possible in order to use their talents within the puppet regime.Although Wang Ching-wei Group does not have a clear policy towards Hong Kong,in practical actions,Wang Ching-wei Group has always maintained its attitude that I have used for Hong Kong.They used Hong Kong to make secret contacts with the Japanese,to protect the wang Ching-wei Group’s personnel,to spread the idea of "peace",and to recruit needed personnel to expand their own strength.All in all,Hong Kong played a very important role in the process of Wang Ching-wei Puppet Regime ’s preparation,organization and expansion.The Anti-Japanese War in Hong Kong is an important part of the whole Anti-Japanese War.Hong Kong and the mainland share the same memories of the Anti-Japanese War.Since Japan’s full-scale invasion of China in 1937,Hong Kong has been swept into the current of history to some extent.The Hong Kong government began to restrain the activities of the Japanese and the Wang Ching-wei Group and constantly strengthened its own defense to resist the possible Japanese invasion in the future.The Chinese nationalist government is also taking advantage of Hong Kong’s advantages to import weapons and equipment,transship supplies and gather intelligence.Hong Kong residents spontaneously participated in various Anti-Japanese and national salvation movements.The whole Hong Kong society has gradually felt the approach of war,and on December8,1941,Japan attacked Hong Kong,which directly dragged Hong Kong into the overall situation of the Anti-Japanese War.