Support from Academic Circles

Led by Li Zhengyao, members of the Hong Kong University Students’ Union founded the HKUSU Medical Relief Association for China in early September 1937 to raise funds and collect donations of medical supplies that would support Chinese efforts on the front line. The HKUSU then formed the Hong Kong Students’ Joint Relief Association with 24 schools in Hong Kong on 20 September – with the approval of the Hong Kong Government – as one of the first anti-Japanese organisations in the territory. Attracting tens of thousands of students to join in the space of just over three months, the Hong Kong Students’ Joint Relief Association raised funds through flower sales, charity performances and fun fairs, but it was also actively involved in anti-Japanese propaganda and education work. It published the Voice of Students, organised choirs, drama clubs and children’s groups to promote patriotic songs like March of the Volunteers and On the Songhua River in an attempt to reinforce Hong Kong people’s determination to resist Japan. Furthermore, the Hong Kong Students’ Joint Relief Association nurtured a number of young leaders, such as Zhong Ming, Liang Keping and Yang Deyuan, while many of its core members, including Liang Ruikun (also known as Chen Daming), Lin Zhan and Fang Lan, went on to become commanders in the Hong Kong and Kowloon Independent Brigade of the East River Column.