5 - Honkon Nippō and Hong Kong-Japan Relations: Re-examining the Geopolitical Position of Colonial Hong Kong in East Asia before the End of World War II
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 December 2020
Summary
Abstract
This chapter examines the role of media in Hong Kong's geopolitical position in the run up to World War II. Hong Kong has generally been considered less significant than other cities or areas in East Asia, such as Shanghai or Taiwan, in this era, however, this notion overlooks the geographical and strategic advantages Hong Kong enjoyed at the time, and, more importantly, fails to take into account the role Hong Kong played as one of the region's most important information exchanges. Through a careful study of Honkon Nippō, a Japanese-published newspaper in Hong Kong, as well as the growth of the Japanese presence in the colony, I will argue against dismissing Hong Kong as unimportant in the pre-war era; I will even contend that Hong Kong was in fact a far more important consideration in Japan's planned expansion in South Asia, particularly for places such as the islands of the Western and Southern Pacific. The origination of Honkon Nippō also illustrated the tie between Hong Kong, the Japanese Empire, and its southward advance, with information connections strengthening the central position of Hong Kong. By paying attention to this hitherto neglected dimension in the Hong Kong-Japanese relationship, this research demonstrates that pre-war Hong Kong should be reviewed, especially its position in the network of East and Southeast Asian countries.
Introduction
Hong Kong has long been considered as being on the periphery of the Chinese mainland, both politically and geographically, and with no significant influence under two Empires: China and Britain (Carroll 2005: 3). Despite this, Hong Kong has not only functioned as an economic and commercial centre, but also an information hub in East Asia in the first half of the twentieth century. As Hamashita Takeshi argues, Hong Kong has played an important function as a medium to connect neighbouring areas in capital flow and money remittance among Overseas Chinese, and one should bear in mind this concept when examining the role of Hong Kong (Hamashita 1996: 9). Shedding new light on the importance of Hong Kong, this view considers a larger perspective (including Southeast Asia) than that of limiting itself to the Chinese mainland.
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- Asian CitiesColonial to Global, pp. 125 - 142Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2015