Overview

A FAITHFUL RECORD OF THE LISBON MARU INCIDENT is a recent translation from an original Chinese publication covering an important chapter in Hong Kong's wartime history. It gives details of the Lisbon Maru Incident of 1942, seen through the eyes of the Chinese fishermen who rescued hundreds of British prisoners of war from Hong Kong, whose ship had been torpedoed. The Japanese had tried to keep them in the holds as the ship sank, and then shot at them as they tried to escape. These courageous fishermen not only prevented hundreds more deaths, they also hid three prisoners under the noses of the Japanese until they could be sent secretly on a journey across more than 1,000 miles of China to reach Chongqing, from where they could tell the world what had happened. The book also recounts the visit to Zhoushan in 2005 of one of the survivors of the sinking and his emotional reunion with those who saved him; as well as a visit to Hong Kong in the same year of the last few remaining fishermen who had taken part in the rescue.

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9789888228874

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The translator, BRIAN FINCH, was commissioned into the Middlesex Regiment in 1960 and served with one of the survivors of the Lisbon Maru, sparking a life-long interest. He saw active service in Malaysia (where he commanded a platoon of Iban head-hunters), and later on peacekeeping duties in Northern Ireland. Following an intensive course in Chinese in Hong Kong he had a posting to the Headquarters staff where at the height of the Cultural Revolution he studied the deployment of Chinese forces along the Hong Kong border. Brian Finch later joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where he used his knowledge of Chinese in support of the negotiations over the future of Hong Kong. His years in Hong Kong led to a close relationship with the Lisbon Maru Association of Hong Kong, and since learning the full story of the courageous Chinese fishermen of Zhoushan who rescued hundreds of British prisoners of war from Hong Kong, including many from the Middlesex Regiment, he has worked closely with the Association to help their work of educating others about the incident, and this inspired him to translate this book. In 2011 he undertook a 117-mile walk from the south coast to the north coast of Devon across Dartmoor and Exmoor to raise funds for the Association. He has previously translated into English the Chinese language website of the Dongji Museum of History and Culture, which is mainly about the Lisbon Maru Incident, for posting on another website. This current volume is his first venture into full publication. Brian has been a member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (formerly the Institute of Linguists) since 1971. He now speaks Mandarin Chinese to near-native standard and can get by in Cantonese; he is often mistaken on the telephone for a native Chinese. He reads Chinese in both traditional and simplified characters and writes it with a Chinese word-processor. He is married, and his son, daughter, daughter-in-law and granddaughters all live in Hong Kong, which he regards as his second home. Brian is a member of the North Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team (part of Mountain Rescue England and Wales), sits on a number of local voluntary committees and in his spare time enjoys bridge and playing the piano.

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