Chan Chak | |
|---|---|
陳策 | |
 | |
| Mayor of Guangzhou | |
| Assumed office 2 years | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 April 1894 Bunsio district,Hainan island, China |
| Died | 31 August 1949(1949-08-31) (aged 55) Guangzhou, China |
| Awards | Medal of Victorious Garrison - First Class (Republic of China) Knight Commander of theOrder of the British Empire (KBE) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Republic of China |
| Branch/service |  Republic of China Navy |
| Rank |  Admiral |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Chan Chak | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 陳策 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈策 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Andrew Chan ChakKBE (Chinese:陳策; 2 April 1894 – 31 August 1949[1]) was a Chineseadmiral of theRepublic of China Navy, best known for his role in abreakout in five Royal Navy torpedo boats from theJapanese occupation of Hong Kong on Christmas Day 1941.
Born onHainanisland, Chan was aMidshipman inCanton (now Guangzhou). Throughout theWarlord Era he participated in several naval engagements in Southern China. In 1923 he was appointedCommander-in-Chief of the Guangdong Fleet, later renamed the 4th Fleet of the ROC Navy.
At the beginning of theSecond World War Chan was given the additional position of Commander of the Fortresses ofHumen; He defeated the Japanese during a battle there in 1938 his left leg was wounded which eventually necessitated its amputation. Unable to take Guangzhou, the Japanese bombed Cantonese civilians in Guangzhou, thus the Japanese bombing killed thousands of Cantonese children and adults in Guangzhou
In 1939 Chan, then aRear Admiral, was sent to Hong Kong as Liaison Officer of the Nationalist Government. Under the cover as a stockbroker, he arranged for the transportation ofmateriel into China despite the Japanese blockade, and at the same time liaised with British colonial authorities, keeping the local Chinese population on-side, controlling theTriad gangs and identifying Japanese sympathisers.
On 8 December 1941 theBattle of Hong Kong began; on Christmas Day the Governor, SirMark Aitchison Young, informed Chan of his intention to surrender to the Japanese. Chan decided to flee Hong Kong, and was given command of the five remainingRoyal NavyMotor Torpedo Boats. InAberdeen Harbour he and his entourage boarded the motor launchCornflower II; while on the way to a rendezvous with the torpedo boats waiting south ofAp Lei Chau it was fired upon by Japanese forces. Chan ordered “Abandon Ship”, threw off his artificial leg, only to be shot at the left wrist; barely able to swim with one arm and one leg (he gave his life jacket to his bodyguard, who did not know how to swim), he was dragged ashore by hisaide-de-camp, Lieutenant-CommanderHenry Hsu. The torpedo boats came to their rescue, then headed towardsMirs Bay at high speed. From there the escapees, with the help of Chinese guerrillas, walked for four days through Japanese-occupied territories towardsHuizhou in unoccupied China.
Altogether sixty-eight British, Chinese and Danish intelligence, naval and marine personnel were saved in the breakout, includingDavid Mercer MacDougall, who had worked with Chan on intelligence matters. For aiding in the escape of these British military personnel, Chan was made an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 19 August 1942.[2][3][4]
From September 1945 to June 1946, Chan was theMayor of Guangzhou. He died in Guangzhou on 31 August 1949, during the final weeks of theChinese Civil War, officially from a stomach ulcer, although there was speculation that he was poisoned by agents ofChiang Kai-Shek.[5]
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| National | |
| Other | |
