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WWII sacrifice of Free French defending Hong Kong

2018-07-01T21:55:59Z

JoieGifford2547:

Seventy-five years ago, a handful of idealistic "Free French" took up arms to defend the British colony of Hong Kong in a futile battle against Japanese invaders. But their sacrifice, though largely unknown in their homeland, is not forgotten in Asia. There are six names on the worn stele that pays tribute to them in a corner of the British military cemetery in Stanley, on a hill in the south of Hong Kong island. A French flag is draped over a memorial at the Stanley Military Cemetery, dedicated to French civilians who died fighting with the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps against the 1941 Japanese invasion of the territory �Isaac LAWRENCE (AFP) "I do not see why these people should be forgotten," says Francois Dremeaux, chairman of the Hong Kong committee of French Remembrances of China. "My job is to make their memory live by giving it meaning," adds the history teacher, who [http://www.britannica.com/search?query=helped%20oversee helped oversee] a ceremony dedicated to them last week. Dremeaux, who has written a thesis on the French presence in Hong Kong in the interwar period, feels there is much to learn from these men, who in 1941 chose to fight in a battle some 10,000 kilometres (6,000 miles) from their homeland. Hong Kong was a British enclave, and there was nothing forcing them to defend it, he adds. "We cannot even say they were defending their colony," Dremeaux said. "They defended an idea, freedom, and did it of their own free will, which makes their sacrifice even more noble." Apart from representatives from the French consulate and army, those attending the modest commemoration were largely students from the French international school where Dremeaux teaches. The group sang 'Le Chant Des Partisans', the anthem of the French Resistance -- a tune rarely heard on the shores of the South China Sea. - Dissident consul - By June 1940, many in the French community -- which [http://Www.ourmidland.com/search/?q=numbered numbered] around 400 in the late 1930s, had already fled to Indochina. Those who remained largely rallied to the Gaullist Resistance cause. While the French embassy in Beijing was loyal to the pro-Nazi Vichy regime, in diplomatic correspondence Hong Kong consul general Louis Reynaud railed against the "treason" of the armistice Germany demanded and stamped his official telegrams with "V" for victory. A "Free France" committee was set up in Hong Kong with about 20 active members to recruit volunteers, turn merchant sailors on stopover in port or prepare propaganda broadcasts. Then on December 8, 1941, hours after their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese invaded Hong Kong, which had been living under the threat of the imperial forces since they seized the nearby Chinese city of Canton -- modern day Guangzhou -- three years earlier. Some of the Frenchmen joined the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps established by Britain to support regular forces vastly outnumbered by the Japanese. - Bayonet wounds - Dremeaux picks up the trail of the Free French at several key moments in the 17-day "Battle of Hong Kong", including the fight for the island's sole power plant. While only six names are on the stele, Dremeaux believes around ten took a stand against the Japanese. Among them was Armand Delcourt, a 42-year-old merchant who came to Hong Kong in 1926 and married a Eurasian woman of Japanese and Scottish origins, Captain Roderic Egal, who was in transit from Shanghai when the invasion began, Henri Belle, a sailor passing through Hong Kong who took up arms, and Paul de Roux a director of the Banque d'Indochine. Egal and Belle were both captured and sent to prison camps, the latter dying in captivity. Roux did not fight but set up a resistance network. He [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] was arrested and tortured, before committing suicide to prevent the enemy forcing him to talk. Delcourt was wounded by two bayonet blows on December 21 while defending a strategic hill pass and executed two days later, shortly before the governor surrendered on Christmas Day. On January [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh 5 ngày 4 đêm từ Hà Nội], 1942, brutalised by the Japanese, his pregnant wife gave birth prematurely in a Hong Kong church to a girl who for decades would not know the circumstances of her father's death. "I did not know the full circumstances of my father's death until much later when I was in Australia and received the letter from my father's close friend Carlos Arnulphy who had managed to trace me," Monique Westmore, who now lives in Melbourne, told AFP by email. "I would have loved to have known my father but when I read the documents that are attached (to the letter) I understand that he was a man of great principle -- I do sometimes ask myself 'why did you go knowing that your wife was hugely pregnant and also you weren't exactly a young man?'," Westmore wrote. "The battle of Hong Kong was a total disaster and many people lost their lives." His military death notification praised him as "a continuous example of courage and enthusiasm" in an unequal battle who "cheerfully made the supreme sacrifice, confident in the final victory of France." For Dremeaux, the path chosen by Armand Delcourt resonates strongly today, "a time of withdrawal" when countries are increasingly looking inward. "He was married to a Japanese woman, lived abroad and gave his life for Free France," he said. "To be patriotic is not a contradiction with being open to the world". Graphic on Japan's invasion of Hong Kong in December 1941 �-, - (AFP Graphic) French historian and teacher Francois Dremeaux poses for a photo after a memorial service at the Stanley Military Cemetery in Hong Kong �Isaac LAWRENCE (AFP) The French Consul General of Hong Kong Eric Berti (3rd R), along with military personnel and members of the public, attends a memorial service at the Stanley Military Cemetery �Isaac LAWRENCE (AFP) Advertisement

One of the last taboos -- France opens Vichy regime files

2018-07-01T20:58:27Z

JoieGifford2547:

An August 1944 portrait shows Francois de Menthon, the minister of justice in the provisional government of France under General Charles de Gaulle; de Menthon led oversaw the trials of Marshal Philippe P�tain and other members of the Vichy regime � AFP/File Paris (AFP) - France's decision to open up archives from its World War II collaboration with Nazi occupiers is being seen as breaking one of the last taboos that has poisoned debate about the era for years. "This brings an end to the fear of scandal. We are taking responsibility and we will have a better understanding of the issues," said Gilles Morin, a historian who heads the association of users of national archives. From this week, the government has opened up the police and justice archives from 1940 [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] to 1944 when the Vichy regime, led by Philippe Petain, [http://www.encyclopedia.com/searchresults.aspx?q=collaborated collaborated] with the invading German army. While the Nazis occupied the north of France, Petain -- a hero of World War I -- led so-called Vichy France in the centre and the south of the country, with its headquarters in the genteel city of the same [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] name. Despite having autonomy from German policies, Petain passed legislation that saw Jews -- around 150,000 of whom had fled to the south believing it to be safer -- [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] subjected to severe discrimination similar to that in the Nazi-occupied north. Advertisement

Body language: Photo of Merkel Trump captures G-7 tensions

2018-06-28T02:40:51Z

JoieGifford2547:

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - One viral photo is telling it all about tensions at the G-7 summit. A picture of U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel displaying less-than-friendly body language is turning out to be a defining image of the contentious meeting of the Group of Seven leaders of the world's advanced economies. The picture, snapped Saturday by German government photographer Jesco Denzel, shows a standing Merkel with her hands firmly planted on a table staring down at Trump, who is seated with his arms folded and eyes glaring. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stands next [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] to Trump, also with folded arms, as French President [http://www.answers.com/topic/Emmanuel%20Macron Emmanuel Macron] leans in next to Merkel. In this photo made available by the German Federal Government, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump, seated at right, during the G7 Leaders Summit in La Malbaie, Quebec, Canada, on Saturday, June 9, 2018. (Jesco Denzel/German Federal Government via AP) The photo was tweeted by Merkel spokesman Steffen Seibert. Shortly afterward, the White House issued a separate photo showing a sitting Trump speaking as Merkel, Abe and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau listen. The BBC parsed the picture by identifying all nine individuals in it, including [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is barely visible, and Larry Kudlow, head of Trump's National Economic Council as well as several Japanese officials and U.S. national security adviser John Bolton. Another image of the same gathering however suggests a more relaxed interaction, with Merkel smiling and Trump making eye contact. The G-7 - an informal annual summit of democracies with highly developed economies - took place Friday and Saturday in the Quebec resort town of Charlevoix in Canada, which holds the rotating leadership this year. Saturday's picture was not the first awkward moment between Trump and Merkel, who makes no secret of her disagreement with the American leader's approach on trade, his rejection of the deal to limit Iran's nuclear program and his decision to take the United States out of the global Paris deal to fight climate change. Merkel's March 2017 visit to the White House was marked by Trump either not hearing or ignoring her offer to shake hands in the Oval Office. A subsequent visit in April this year warranted only a working lunch for the German leader, several days after fellow EU leader Macron got the full, formal state dinner treatment from Trump. The Charlevoix G-7 summit was marked by sharp disagreements over Trump's decision to impose higher import taxes on aluminum and steel imports. The measure hits EU trading partners even though the main target is overcapacity at state-backed Chinese producers, who Europe and the U.S. have long complained have flooded markets with cheap steel. The G-7 summit participants managed to patch over their disagreements and agree to disagree on some issues in a joint final statement. Yet after leaving the summit, Trump tweeted that he would instruct U.S. officials not to endorse the G-7 statement, after objecting to comments from summit host Trudeau. Advertisement

How To Lose Weight Quickly Before Conceiving

2018-06-27T16:56:02Z

JoieGifford2547:

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User:JoieGifford2547

2018-06-18T16:54:29Z

JoieGifford2547: Created page with "I'm Joie and I live with my husband and our 3 children in Krakow, in the NA south part. My hobbies are Seaglass collecting, Airsoft and Basketball. My weblog; [http://w..."

I'm Joie and I live with my husband and our 3 children in Krakow, in the NA south part. My hobbies are Seaglass collecting, Airsoft and Basketball. My weblog; [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội]