從東華董事局工作初探日本佔領當局與華人精英互動

第二次世界大戰期間，香港曾在 1941 年 12 月 25 日至 1945 年 8 月 30 日被日軍佔領。在此期間，東華三院堅持運作，進行醫療和救濟工作至戰爭結束。以往關於淪陷時期東華的研究大多關注其醫療和救濟工作，本文則從資源問題出發，重新審視東華由 1941 年至 1945 年的戰時經歷，分析本地精英與佔領當局之間的互動。隨着戰爭於 1942 年後對日本趨於不利，佔領當局對經營香港的意願漸減，並將部份公共醫療和救濟工作推卸給華人精英。至 1944 年底，當局已無意願與能力協助華人福利事業。在戰爭最後階段，由於日人放棄管理香港，東華則通過公眾捐款而持續運作。重新審視東華的戰時經歷，可以洞見華人精英與日軍佔領政權之間的關係隨着戰局轉移而轉變，因此不應單純以制度建構角度處理。

During World War II, Hong Kong was occupied by Japanese forces from December 25, 1941 to August 30, 1945. During this period, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals persisted in its operations, continuing medical and relief work throughout the war. While previous research on Tung Wah during the occupation period mainly focused on its medical and relief efforts, this paper focuses on the financial dimension of the running of Tung Wah to re-examine its wartime experiences from 1941 to1945, analysing the interactions between local elites and the occupation authorities. Following Japan’s increasingly unfavourable war situation after 1942, the occupation authorities’ willingness to administrate Hong Kong diminished, and they shifted public healthcare and relief responsibilities to Chinese elites. By late 1944, the authoritieshad neither the will nor the capacity to support Chinese welfare services. In the final stages of the war, as the Japanese abandoned their administration of Hong Kong, Tung Wah continued operations through public donations. Re-examining Tung Wah’s war-time experiences reveals how the relationship between Chinese elites and the Japanese occupation regime shifted with the changing war situation, suggesting that this relationship should not be analysed purely from an institutional perspective.