The Chinese Experience during the Japanese Occupation in New Guinea

抄録

It is often pointed out that the Pacific War had a significant influence on local societies in Melanesia. In the case of New Guinea, however, it was not only native people but also other ethnic groups in residence, such as the Chinese who were influenced by the Japanese army when they occupied the region. This paper discusses the Pacific war memories and experiences of the Chinese in New Guinea.Before the Pacific War, there were about 2000 Chinese living in the New Guinea area. Japanese gathered those Chinese together and brought them to Rabaul and Kavieng. Japanese ordered the Chinese to live in concentration camps later.Under the Japanese rule Chinese had to work for the Japanese army. As for their food the Chinese were ordered by the Japanese to grow what crops they could and to live self-sufficiently. The Chinese suffered not only from Japanese domination of the Japanese but also from the bombings by Allied forces.After the war, we see tow major changes in the Chinese society in Papua New Guinea. First, the fighting had made it impossible for Chinese in New Guinea to contact their relatives in China during the Pacific War. Even after the war it was not easy for them to visit or send their children to China for education. Secondly, the Chinese relationship with Australia was accelerated after the war. From the late 1950s Chinese in New Guinea were allowed to apply for Australian citizenship, which most of the Chinese did. When we view Chinese society in the New Guinea region chronologically, we can see that its characteristics were changed after the Japanese occupation during the Pacific War, from a China-oriented society to an Australiaoriented society. In this sense, the Pacific War was epoch making for the Chinese societies in this region.