Core Historical Revisit 

World War II and Japan’s occupation of Hong Kong (1941–45) shattered the local economy and infrastructure and caused massive civilian suffering. After 1945, Britain re-established colonial rule, while Europe began postwar recovery and decolonisation debates. In China, the civil war between Nationalists and Communists culminated in the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, pushing refugees and capital into Hong Kong.  These inflows laid the foundation for later industrial growth but also made the colony densely populated and politically sensitive, shaping Hong Kong people’s anxieties about stability and the future.