The Fall of Hong Kong

The NYT describes how the WWII crimes perpetrated by the Japanese are little noted in today's Hong Kong. One reason why the crimes stir little attention is demographic. "The large majority of Hong Kong's 6.8 million people are not descendents of wartime survivors, but are part of families that left mainland China later, fleeing the rise of Communism."

The sad story of Hong Kong illustrates a flaw in colonialism as a form of government. Hong Kong was attacked within hours of Pearl Harbor and fell relatively rapidly to the Japanese, because the British were reluctant to arm the Chinese population. It is fairly obvious that the British put too much emphasis on remaining in power compared to protecting Hong Kong. A government ruled by ethnic Chinese would have put up a stronger resistance.