Bi Haibo, Minister Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, authors of the published books Mark Alwin Thomas and Andrew Hicks, Chinese representatives are posing for a photo. /CGTN
The Chinese copy of Blades of the Grass: The Story of George Aylwin Hogg, authored by Hogg's nephew Mark Aylwin Thomas, was launched at the London Book Fair on Wednesday.
The original was published in the UK in 2017, and the Chinese version – translated by Li Linxi and published by the People's Publishing House – is being released to mark this year's 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
George Hogg was a young British man who worked for the Chinese Industrial Cooperatives, established by New Zealander Rewi Alley during World War II. While staying in China, he worked as an independent reporter for a number of newspapers and outlets, giving the world a glimpse of a China in which society was devastated and people suffered while resisting an aggressive Japanese invasion.
The Chinese version of Blades of the Grass was launched at the London Book Fair. /CGTN
He helped and protected 60 orphans who lost their parents and relatives during the war, even adopting a colleague's four children. Hogg died from tetanus in July 1945, only months before the surrender of the Japanese army and the end of WWII.
Bi Haibo, Minister Counsellor of China's UK Embassy, delivered a speech at the ceremony, talking about Hogg's story.
During his 2015 state visit to the UK, Chinese President Xi Jinping mentioned Hogg's story while delivering a speech at the late Queen's banquet, saying that the Chinese people will never forget the brave British who went to China to help – and to fight with the Chinese against the Japanese – during WWII.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, the book's author Mark Aylwin Thomas said he learned in the 1980s that the Chinese people have been holding commemorations for his uncle. He started to research the story, later drafting the book.
British experts and scholars participate in a dialogue after the launching ceremony. /CGTN
At the launch, British experts and scholars held a dialogue focusing on the friendship between the people of the two countries, as well as their joint efforts in fighting against fascism.
Zoe Reed, former president of the Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU), said that her father used to study at the Bailie School where Hogg was headmaster. Reed's father later became the assistant to Noel Joseph Needham, founder of SACU, and carried on the friendship between China and the UK.
Andrew Hicks brought his new book A True Friend to China to the event. It tells the story of the British volunteers helping the Chinese people transporting medical materials during WWII.
Michael Crooks, International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives, also expressed hope that the historical memories can be treasured. Jenny Clegg, expert of international issues, and Hugo de Burgh, professor of Goldsmiths of University of London, also participated in the dialogue.