On the 82nd anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Hong Kong, join a remarkable group of historians and other informed panelists as they shed light on an important but little-known period in Canadian military history: The incarceration of 1,975 Canadians in Hong Kong and Japanese prisoner of war (POW) camps following the Battle of Hong Kong, which occurred between December 8 and 25, 1941.
A selection of clips from Montréal filmmaker Viveka Melki’s powerful feature-length documentary film on the subject, the FENCE, will be interspersed by expert commentary from a panel made up of
- Tim Cook, Chief Historian and Director of Research at the Canadian War Museum;
- Mike Babin, President of the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association;
- Jonathon Reid, author of The Captain Was a Doctor, a book about his POW father;
- Viveka Melki, writer, researcher and director of the powerful feature documentary, the FENCE; and
- Dr. Chi Man KWONG, Associate Professor, Department of History at Hong Kong Baptist University, who will join the group via live video feed from Asia.
The audience will be invited to join in and participate in a Q&A with the panelists.
A viewing of the FENCE on the free streaming platform CBC Gem is recommended but not necessary to appreciate this event.
Still image from the FENCE, courtesy Melki Films