“You want buy what?”
“Your shop has been recommended to me. I need a lift to Hong-Kong as soon as possible and also I need to change some money for US dollars.”
“Private driver to Hong-Kong. Expensive. Few cars. Shortage of gasoline.”
“So, how much would it cost?”
“20 US dollars” In 1938 the value of 20 USD was approximately 300 USD today.
“Not cheap indeed but I agree”
“You pay now”
“At first I have to change money”
“You change here. Which money?”
“I have 32 Chinese dollars and 2 Dutch golden coins”
“Show me your coins”
Mr. Wong turned the coins several times in his fingers.
“You wait here” He called a young man from the room behind and told him something in Cantonese. The young man took the coins and left. He returned after nearly forty minutes with an envelope.
“One coin is 2.1 ounce. I can offer you 33 dollars per ounce. 65 per coin including my commission. I give you 140 dollars for two coins and Chinese currency.”
“When will we leave”
“Tomorrow morning around 08:00”
“Then perhaps I should keep some Chinese money to pay the guest house bill. I think something around 16.”
“You have luggage?”
“Yes, two bags”
“Bags?! How look like?”
“Big canvas bags”
“Canvas bags not good. Police can ask. You better buy suit cases”
“Where can I buy them?”
“I keep 17 dollars plus 20 for the transport from your 140. Will give you suit cases and pay the guest house. My assistant will go with you to the guest house now. He will bring the suit cases in the evening”
3
At 07:30 next morning the shop assistant was waiting outside of the guest house. Voronov came down with his heavy two suit cases.
“The car is coming” he said “we still have some time for a breakfast”
“I am not hungry, but if you are – no problem”
The car came short after 08:00 and they drove off. It took nearly four hours to reach the border point Lo Wu. Just before that they have passed a small settlement of Shenzhen. That time it had a population of around 20.000. Who could imagine that one day it will become a metropolis with 10.000 000 inhabitants!
Astonishingly there was no real border check. The car drove some 15 minutes into Hong Kong and stopped near a small stall. “You pay only till Hong Kong” said the assistant. “From here you go with another car, it makes another 5 dollars” The car emerged to be an old decrepit bus or rather what has remained of it.
The driver did not speak any English. Voronov has asked the assistant to explain the driver to bring him to the harbour.
“Where do you want to go there?”
“Some guest house in the vicinity of the harbour”
“Good, he will bring you to Kowloon to a very nice guest house. I will tell him”
During the drive Voronov was intensively looking around. Does it mean the ultimate freedom? Do all his troubles from now on belong to the past? In fact the scenery did not differ much to what he has seen around Canton. The condition of the roads was definitely better. When they entered the area of Kowloon the difference became more striking. Though in 1938 Hong Kong was by far not what it became in the sixties but still the signs of the prosperous colony were clearly visible. The main difference was that all shops, a lot of them, were open. There were cars on the streets and, compared to the China proper quite a lot of foreigners. This is also for the first time that Voronov saw the foreign soldiers. In one of the trucks passing by he saw dark skinned soldiers whose appearance reminded him of Tajiks and Turkomans of Middle Asia. He saw them often in Almaty.
The driver has dropped him near a filthy looking two-storey building. He spoke for one minute with the owner, apparently took some money from him and left. Mr. Lim, the owner spoke English only a bit better than the driver.
“Room upstairs, very good” - said Mr. Lim. Then he formed a ring from the index finger and thumb of his left hand and inserted the index finger of the right one into the ring. “Next street – a lot of women” - he smiled. “You tell me – I call” Then he pointed to a stall opposite of the building. “You eat there” he rather stated than suggested. “You tell that you stay here. Then good, little money. Not tell you stay here – pay more”. Voronov has already spent enough time in China to learn the system of commission which was unknown to him in the Soviet Union. Actually it was not quite true. Now he remembered an episode when he was leading a construction project outside of Almaty. The condition of roads was very bad and did not allow using the trucks. Therefore he asked his Kazakh colleague to contact some mule owners from the surrounding villages. The mules have been arranged. Shortly thereafter the colleague has bought an expensive fur coat. There were rumours that he received a handsome commission when the mule owners have been paid. The party secretary was outraged but quickly calmed down. The directive from his superiors was to treat the locally established customs with some patience.
Anyway, the system of commission was well established in Asia but the Cantonese could hardly be outdone.
Once settled in the room, which was in fact cleaner than the building, he started to think about the next steps. Travelling with faked documents could not continue forever. He decided to look for the office of British authorities and just to tell them the truth. But at first he decided to spend just few days enjoying the newly won feeling of safety. After all, who knows how they will react? They might even detain him.
On the next day early in the morning he decided to go for a walk. At the reception desk he has seen an Asian gentleman in a business suit discussing something with Mr. Lim. “Your neigbour, just next room” said Mr. Lim “Mr. Kaneshiro, from Japan”
“Good morning, nice to meet you. I have heard you are from Sweden?”
“Nice to meet you too. Yes, I am about to leave for Sweden soon”
“Then I wish you a nice day” Mr. Kaneshiro bowed.
This was the first time Voronov has met a Japanese. The Soviet newspapers have often depicted them in political cartoons like dwarf silly looking bandits. The Chinese were very angry at anything what had to do with Japan but were realistic about the strength of their army. He found this polite, reserved kind of demeanour being quite charming. He remembered what he has previously heard about the massacre in Nanjing. Could it be possible to expect something like that from such polite people?
He has spent the whole day walking around the city including taking a boat to the island. The building of the British administration was smaller than he thought. He was about to enter it but decided to postpone the visit. Late in the evening he returned to the guest house, tired but full of impressions.
Shortly thereafter somebody knocked at the door. When he opened it he saw Mr. Kaneshiro.
“I hope I do not disturb you” said Mr. Kaneshiro
“Not at all. Please come in.”
“Thank you, thank you. I thought we could have a drink, here I have very good Japanese liquor.”
“I would be delighted to try. But I am afraid there are no glasses or cups in the room”
“No problem” said Mr. Kaneshiro and shouted something through the opened door. Shortly thereafter a young boy brought two small tea cups.
“Good enough, right? You know, In Japan we drink liquor from the porcelain cups”
Voronov was stunned to see how quickly his guest became inebriated.
“Sweden is a very good country!” suddenly said Mr. Kaneshiro after some minutes of meaningless small talk. “They mind their own business and don't stick their nose everywhere like the Brits or Americans. Have you noticed how many military they have accumulated here? Have you seen the war ships in the harbour?”
“Well yes, but during the war...”
“What kind of war?! With whom? Let me explain to you a bit the background.
I know how the British and American press describes us but now I will tell you the truth. The war in China is absolutely not our fault. What do the Chinese think who they are?! They do have a great history but this is just history. The glorious days of all these Han, Tang, you name it are gone. The last dynasty has led the country at the edge of complete disaster. Militarily they have lost against everybody: against the Brits, against us. And this for several times. Then they have deposed the emperor and what have they done out of it? The country is falling apart, everywhere is poverty, inefficiency, corruption! When you travel through the cities, even those not affected by war, what can you see? Filth and squalor everywhere! At the same time look what we have achieved in Manchu-Go. It used to be a wild, brigands-infested area and now under Japanese leadership it has a prospering industry and the law and order are maintained d.” He took another gulp.
“Our empire wants to bring prosperity and peace to Asia and we have deserved this role! We do not want to conquer our neighbours but to help them. Of course this is not what the Western powers are willing to accept. How can they idly watch that somebody challenges their supremacy in this part of the world? Especially if the rival is an Asian whom they consider being inferior. Thus they have managed to instigate Chinese to fight against us. A lot of Chinese can recognize the reality and co-operate with us. But the Kuomintang is completely controlled by the Western powers. They are saying that they are fighting us because we have invaded their country. Fine! Then please explain to me the following” Mr. Kaneshiro hit with his fist on the table.
“The very room where we are seating now is located on the soil which was snatched by the British under the gun point just about fifty years ago. And where is the outcry? Why doesn't Kuomintang insist that Hong-Kong must be given back to China? Or look at Xinjiang. It has been virtually handed over to the Soviets. But no, the Chinese have directed their entire wrath against Japan. Should I tell you why?” Without waiting for affirmative answer Mr. Kaneshiro continued:
“First of all it's because of the historical Chinese arrogance towards Japan. For them we were always small wild bandits from remote islands. And then such a smack on the nose! For several times! Another point is that the Chinese were not able to liberate themselves from the feeling of inferiority and servile attitude towards the Western powers. They prefer to ally themselves with the Brits who have humiliated them so many times in the past” Mr. Kaneshiro took another gulp.
“But the question of our ultimate victory is beyond any doubt. Should I tell you why? Look again at China. Conflicting regions, quarrelling warlords and nowadays a Communist insurgency in addition. They are holding one knife at the throat of their own fellows and try to threaten us with another one. Quite contrary, we Japanese do stand united behind our Emperor willing to do everything possible and impossible for the glory of our country! And if the Western powers cannot grasp it, well, let them try to cross the swards with us. The Russians have also tried it in 1904. You know the results.”
Voronov did really not know what to say. This monologue has caught him by surprise.
“Mr. Kaneshiro, may I ask what is your occupation?”
“I am in the pharmaceutical business. Our drugs industry is very strong, in fact the best in Asia. Earlier we used to sell our drugs from Vladivostok to Batavia but nowadays the business is nor running well. China also used to be a good market but then they started to boycott Japanese goods.”
“And how about here in Hong Kong?”
“We do not have any problems here but the market is small. And the competition from America is increasing. But I am quite confident that after the war is over we will have a fairly good market share”
Mr. Kaneshiro calmed down as quickly as he got excited. After another few minutes of conversation he wished Voronov a good night and left. Voronov could not get asleep. At first he had to digest what his late guest has told him. Secondly he was thinking what to do next. Should he surrender to the British administration here in Hong Kong? Some gut feeling told him he shouldn't. The main concern was how they would treat him when they learn about his Soviet origin. During the last 12 years the bloodthirsty greedy British imperialist was the main “hero” of the international columns of the Soviet newspapers. French government also occasionally came under the propagandist shelling but not at such extent. Since 1934 cartoons depicting Italian or German fascists displaced a bit the British theme but not completely. Voronov remembered the poster in the canteen on which a fat British imperialist was toasting a drunkard. Since the British for sure did know that they are not much beloved in the Soviet Union, who knows how they would react. Would they suspect him being a spy? It would be so pity to make a grave mistake when everything went so smoothly until now. He decided to take another walk through the city next day and to think over.
4
The morning was unusually cold and foggy. From the embankment it was impossible to see more than 100 meters. Voronov turned into a lane and walked towards the South. Among the shops and apparently some trading agencies offices he has noticed a small building made of red bricks with a cross on the façade. On the enamel plate near the door he read “Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” and beneath “Irish Catholic Mission in Hong Kong”
He couldn't explain to himself why but he entered the door. The hall of the church was empty and quite dark. The smell of mildew and incense made a strange but not unpleasant mix. In the front right corner he has noticed an elderly man praying on his knees in front of a small altar. To the right of him was a young priest.
“Mother of God and Virgin, rejoice, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.” monotonously continued the young man in exchange.
Sitting on a wooden bank and listening to the men Voronov felt calm and secure. About 20 years has passed since he has set his foot in a church. Last time it was the Easter Liturgy in the Troicky Cathedral of Tomsk on 05 of May 1918. He was 13 years old. The city was in the hands of the Regional Soviet and the Cathedral Square has been already renamed in the Square of Freedom. Since the Bolshevik power has not yet been established (they were driven out by the Czech soldiers by the end of the month), they had no interest to challenge the Church. During the liturgy the cathedral could hardly offer space to everyone who came. In these times marked by the ravages and violence of the civil war the people were desperate to find some consolation and peace, even if only for a few hours.
After 1925 the atheistic policy of the state gained the full speed. When Voronov came to Tomsk again in 1934 the cathedral has been demolished. Going to the church was tolerated only in case of elderly people and peasants. The Bolsheviks made no secret that they aim at the ultimate extermination of religion which, as they claimed was “opium for the people” and “helped to keep people backward, poor and unconditionally obedient”.
And now after so many years he was sitting in a church, though a catholic one. About 40 minutes have passed and the men has finished their prayers and stood up. Only now Voronov has noticed that the elderly priest was apparently a European. The priest turned to him and smiled
“The blessing of God and Mary on you. Welcome”
“Good morning”
“ I am pater Seamus and this is vicar Joseph. And what is your good name?”
“My name, eh... To be honest it is a difficult story”
“Oh! But you are not Irish I presume?”
“No, I am not even a catholic. Was passing by and decided to step in”
“We never know if something is just our decision or if we a led by the divine force.”
“That's true, indeed. Anyway it has been a good feeling to be here.”
“That should be like this in a church. May I invite you for a cup of tea?”
“Would be my pleasure”
Sitting in the sacristy and sipping their tea the bot
h remained silent for a few minutes. Voronov liked the calm and non-intrusive manner of pater Seamus. He decided to start the conversation.
“You have asked about my name, pater. Well, my name is Nikolay but according to...” he paused “according to my faked passport my name is Mikhael.
“If I may ask, are you on the run from prosecution?”
“A sort of. I am a Soviet citizen and have worked until shortly in Western China. It was there that I has been warned that on my return I will be arrested”
“And may I ask what charges has been brought against you?”
“I have no idea. Nowadays thousands of people are being arrested for alleged treason, subversive activity and so on. For no obvious reasons. Then they face the fast track courts and in vast majority of cases are convicted to many years of prison or even death. This is why I have escaped and found my way to Hong Kong. I have no idea where to go after that, absolutely no idea”
“Oh, I see. We do not have much information about Russia here in Hong Kong but I have heard about the situation there. On which passport do you travel now?”
Voronov has shown his Swedish passport.
“I have bought it in Lanzhou. Apparently it belonged to a Swede who has lost it during a fire but then he got his travel document and is now back in Sweden”
The treasure of Galdan Page 13