It was during the Chinese Civil War that the Royal Navy frigate HMS Amethyst was anchored at one of the busiest docks in the British-controlled Hong Kong in March 1948. The crowded dock hosted not only seamen but also stray cats wandering for food. Our story began with Simon, one of those cats in search of fish, landing aboard HMS Amethyst in the arms of a young seaman named George…
Before delving into the details of our story, let us take a stroll through the pages of history, in order to understand the spirit of the times.
The period during which Simon’s story took place corresponds to the Chinese Civil War between the nationalist Kuomintang Party founded in 1920s and the Chinese Communist Party. It all began when rivalry went out of control. Disturbed by the increasing Soviet intervention in Chinese internal affairs, the right-wing faction of the Kuomintang led by Chiang Kai-shek started to alienate, arrest and exterminate communists. That was when the country reached a point of no return. In 1937, faced with the common enemy of Japan, this bloody rivalry had taken a backseat for the cause of state security; only to be reignited with the end of the Second World War. This fight for power and dominance eventually came to a halt in 1950, when communists recorded a glorious victory over the nationalists.
Simon’s story took place in the last years of this civil war, when both sides were fighting fiercely.
