A+Chinese+resident+of+Hong+Kong+2

Name: Zhang-Lin (張林) Age: 24 Gender: Male Occupation: Factory Worker Appearance: 163 cm, Asian, black hair, dark brown eyes Location: Kow Loon, Hong Kong Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: Family: Father is in hospital, dead mother, no siblings Education: Barely afforded to go to school, no education in High School Languages you speak: Cantonese Your main concerns at this time and in life: To earn money to support father and girl friend

November 20, 1937 ** Dear Diary, My name is Zhang-Lin, and I guess this is my very first entry. The first thing I want to mention to you is about my life. I am currently am occupied in Xi`fu, a factory, and work there for thirteen hours a day. I once had a friend that worked with me in the “gas” station (mending & melting section), until one day he has committed suicide because of the stress of not being able to earn much money although working so hard. It is quite sad how he, a very strong and muscular guy, to commit such evil deed of abandoning his family and me. The factory is stimulated by the government, but I am not really sure what we are making. All that I have been doing here is mending and melting repetitively day by day. Although I do feel like leaving this planet even now, I have a very sick father that is relying on me to pay for his hospitality. It surely is painful, however, for our happiness; I am willing to do anything. This reminds me of the time not so long ago when the British army have come into our town. I was running hard to not be late for work, however, I tripped over a rock and the second I was about to fall and roll on the stairs, a kind military man has grabbed me and helped me get back up. I offered the kind man some tea, and we've had a good time for a while until he headed back to his army. He inspired me and has made my working days happy ever since... However, the people in my town opposed the British army, and hated them. I wish there wouldn't be any conflicts with them... After I come back home from the harsh work, I always go out and visit my father; the hospital is very close from my house. When my father was just lying in the hospital, before he got sick, I barely went to visit him. However, after it was found that he had the small pox, a virus that has many forms, causing high fatality rates, the hospital called me frequently to visit him, and so I did. If it was god I thank him, because he still breathes with the 10% chance of survival rate from the virus, although he is very sick. Every one week, after I get my earnings, I buy my dad his favorite soup called the Onion soup; the taste of it is splendid, with its thick and sweet taste of onion. The daily routine is over, and as soon as I kiss my dad in the forehead, I return home from the hard work and go straight to my desk, reading the daily news article. The article that I have read had an interesting section of the sea level rising by a few meters, and looking at the weather today it was dark, gloomy, and very windy. I wonder if there will be any event that will occur within the next few days…
 * Diary Entries

December 8, 1941 Dear Diary, It started to rain all day long since yesterday night. I woke up 5:00 a.m. to go out for a jog; however, rain was pouring down as if it were to never stop again. It is still raining right now, and already there is two centimeters of rain that have poured down. Despite the horrible weather, I had to go to work in order to not be replaced (our jobs are easily replaceable because it’s cheap and easy cost). While I was working, my boss introduced me to a new partner, and his name is Xiao Hui. He is 170cm, has broad shoulders, and although he may look scary, he is a very nice guy. I taught Xiao Hui what he needs to do in order to not get fired, and while working, we were sharing the most impressive stories and hilarious jokes. Xiao Hui is impressive; he manages to work about two times the speed of how I work! Anyways, after the hard work in the factory, I went to the hospital, all drenched, to see my father. The doctor informed me that my father seems to be even sicker and requires more medication costs in order to support him. This intimidated me, because the medication I even pay for him right now is 3/4 of my income… I wonder what I should do; either find a new job or find a cheaper hospital. I talked in sorrow in front my father while he was asleep; waiting for the warm advices he used to give me when I was young. When I was showing the world such treacherous facial expressions, a generous, but beautiful young lady has helped me get back up. She was stunningly beautiful, however very young; she was v  ery brave for her age. She has told me about her life and how she is having troubles in paying her college fees (more precisely, she wants to go to school). She gave me her home address, and we've separated, heading towards our own houses. I hope I could see her again. All of a sudden, a spark of lightning has flashed from the sky, making the most treacherous noise in the world. I was suddenly scared and held on to my father’s hands tightly, then left back to my house. When I arrived home, I read the daily news article; it seems like the foreign countries were having some issues with one another... I hope this later on does not affect Kowloon..

Dear Diary, It is all over the daily paper. Japan has been victorians against the colonial powers in Hong Kong, which was mainly the British. A few days ago, while I was at work, the Japanese army have come to take out the British colonial army in order. The second I've popped my head out of the factory, the whole town was full of smoke, and the whole place was full of black dust, most likely from the nuclear radiation. Many of or townspeople were cheering, and are all drinking alcohol, enjoying it. However, I do not see how this victory is any good for us because all it is doing is giving Japan the opportunity to take over Hong Kong. I hate this; I'd rather prefer the British over the Japanese! Come to think of it, the Japanese are going to kill our economy, cut our trade, and bother us to the depths of hell. I do not want such intolerable acts to occur in our country Hong Kong. The British have created colonies in Hong Kong in order to trade, however, all the Japanese want is benefits for their own country! A man named Sakai Takashi has come over and visited our town for a moment; he is a very serious man, and doesn't look like a man that will take in a joke. I think he was responsible for the overthrow of British colonies; I wish to not see him. The people who were cheering a few seconds ago were later falling into tears. I've found out that they weren't celebrating, but they were just partying before they see the end of their lives. Our home, Kowloon, has been bombarded by the Japanese, which led to many of the people to become homeless and wonder around the town. There were many women who were eventually raped after the Japanese have set foot on our soil. Now I wonder what our future will be like.. Will there be anyone to save us from this madness? At this rate, if this horrible event is to continue on without any help, I honestly see no future for Kowloon, as well as Hong Kong... We will soon suffer massive hunger, massive poverty, and lack of trade. Somebody please.. save us from this intolerance.

1945 Dear Diary, We have finally made a move and have defeated the Japanese army after the second war of Hong Kong, as we say it. Although we had suffered a huge loss of people (population became 600,000 from 1.6 million), we have finally liberated ourselves from those evil Japanese and can finally breath the way we could have many years before. Of course, it was impossible to take out the Japanese during the Second Battle of Hong Kong alone, so we had foreign allies such as our old partner Britain and some Chinese troops. On the news, it was stated that many other nations have been liberated from Japan's corrupt rule. Also, Japan deserved what they had to have gotten since a few years ago. There were two massive, destructive, deadly bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This has killed many civilians and has brought Japan to a state of deprivation; they were suffering. After Japan had been dealt with, amazingly, our population has went up for some reason. I went back to the factory (which was rebuilt) and have met many new faces, even new faces that weren't from Kowloon. It seems that many foreigners have come to Hong Kong for better trade and find more jobs because Hong Kong is in a good area for these things. Everything is going perfectly back to normal, and if so, even better than before. I forgot to tell you diary, but my father has passed away during the bombardment. I am very sad from this, however, the good news is that he did not die from any weapon, however, passed away due to lack of care and medication... I will miss them.. Also, the beautiful lady I have mentioned before has been found dead; I found out her name was Wendy Liu. Although there were many sacrifices during this devastating time, there was many development in Hong Kong. Although I have lost the ones I have loved or knew, I still think I can live on my life... Diary, you've been my listener the whole time; the only person that I could really talk to. However, now that I have to become strong and live my life strong, I think this will be the end between you and me... Thank you.