Hong Kong, Dec 15 : One early winter morning, 78-year-old Chen Kaixin stood among a crowd of tourists at the pier in Cheung Chau. "Look at how popular Cheung Chau is! Its other side should be known to more people," Chen said.

Hong Kong's Cheung Chau is a popular tourist destination famous for its traditional Bun Festival. It takes less than an hour by ferry from the bustling Central to reach the outlying island. However, the other side of its story remains little known, Xinhua news agency reported.

Chen Kaixin was determined to uncover the story of her hometown Cheung Chau, also a place where her father Chen Liangming had fought.

Over 80 years ago, this dumbbell-shaped island of less than 3 square kilometres played a vital role in a silent yet thrilling mission.

At the end of 1941, Japanese invaders brought the war to Hong Kong. Hundreds of cultural elites and democrats who had taken refuge in Hong Kong were in a perilous situation.

Under the guidance of the Southern Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the predecessor of the East River Column, the Guangdong People's Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Force, launched a secret rescue operation that lasted over 200 days. In the end, more than 800 people left Hong Kong under escort, many of whom later became the backbone of the construction of New China.

During the operation, considering the numerous land checkpoints and arduous journey, some influential figures who were easily recognizable and key protection targets who were elderly and infirm were arranged to leave by sea. Cheung Chau served as a crucial transit point along the way.

Years earlier, the Communist Party of China had set up a branch in Cheung Chau. At that time, the small island with only a few thousand permanent residents had a dozen party members who frequently organized various activities.

"The Communist Party of China has been working here for many years, providing a solid organizational foundation for the rescue operation," Wang Yuzhen, a descendant of an East River Column veteran and Hong Kong's wartime history researcher, said.

Chen Liangming was a native of Cheung Chau. During his studies in Shunde, a city in south China's Guangdong Province, he was influenced by progressive ideas. Upon returning to his hometown, he joined the revolution and became a member of the Communist Party of China.

With the efforts of Chen Liangming and others, various local forces were mobilized to support the large-scale rescue operation, and dozens of cultural elites and democrats successfully escaped via Cheung Chau.

As Chen Liangming's daughter, Chen Kaixin also has a revolutionary spirit deeply ingrained in her.

"People of the older generation were passing away one after another, and as children, we are getting old, but the Hong Kong story they have passed down to us must continue," she said. "This is a rescue mission, and time waits for no one!"

Chen and her sisters, together with Wang and several descendants of Hong Kong wartime veterans, reached out to relevant organizations and groups and formed a team of over a dozen people. They hoped to combine first-hand materials left by the elderly people and dig out a more comprehensive and rich historical memory.

In a book about the rescue operation published by the People's Liberation Army Press in 1999, two landing points in Cheung Chau were mentioned in different chapters, which were a joss stick factory and a fish market. These locations were corroborated by multiple other sources.

In April this year, under the guidance of members of the Islands District Council and the Cheung Chau Rural Committee, they visited several elderly people who were familiar with the situation.

"We warmly welcome their arrival," Ng Man-kit, chairman of the Cheung Chau Rural Committee, said, adding that Cheung Chau people should learn about the contributions made by their forebears in saving the country and feel proud of their hometown.

While collecting oral histories, members of the team also consulted the Hong Kong Public Records Building and the Lands Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government multiple times, reviewing mapping data and photos of Cheung Chau from past years. They also extensively searched online databases both domestically and internationally.

Lai Sze Nga, the granddaughter of a veteran of the East River Column, was the youngest member of the team, and she took on most of the online work.

"Grandpa has passed away, and this is the best way for me to remember him. When I searched for information, I always felt a little closer to him," Lai said.

"I also want more young people to know about these things and understand that Hong Kong people have always had a tradition of loving the country and Hong Kong," she stressed.

After months of tireless effort, the team compiled a thick report, preliminarily identifying the old sites of the joss stick factory and the fish market, and found the descendants of two families.

The team also identified other revolutionary landmarks on the island, including a school, now the Cheung Chau Government Secondary School, where soldiers were briefly stationed after the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

This report has been highly valued by various sectors in Hong Kong. The research team at the Hong Kong Chronicles Institute is planning publications based on this material. Hong Kong's New Territories Association of Societies is hoping to establish revolutionary memorial facilities in the outlying island regions.

Recently, Chen often returned to her hometown, coordinating follow-up work with various parties. Like many others, she hoped that the wartime footprints of her predecessors would be seen by more people.

/IANS