- 會議論文
Humble and Diligent: The Origins and the Welfare Services of the Wartime Chinese Charitable Organisations in Singapore
低调務实：二战期间新加坡华人慈善组织的起源与福利事业
摘要
From November 1944 to March 1945, The United States launched several strategic bombing missions against Japanese-occupied Singapore. Continued strategic bombings meant civilian casualties were inevitable. Therefore, several Singaporean Chinese charitable organisations, including the Chinese Charitable Institutions' Union (or the Blue Cross workers 中华善堂蓝十救济总会), Black Cross Association (or the Free Burial Service Corps 黑十字会), Nanyang Sacred Union 南洋圣教总会, and the World Red Swastika Society 世界红卍字会, offered welfare services to civilians. Even after the US bombing campaigns, these charitable organisations continued to provide services to citizens. These charitable organisations received support and collaborated closely with the Japanese Government. For example, Shinozaki Mamoru (篠崎護), the Chief Welfare Officer of the Japanese-Occupied Singapore, was the adviser of the Chinese Charitable Institutions' Union. However, the Chinese charitable organisations provided free burial services long before the air raids. In late 1942, half a year after Japan had occupied Singapore, the Overseas Chinese Association (昭南岛华侨协会) distributed free coffins to poor people. The essay argues that the welfare services offered by the Chinese charitable organisations can be treated as a way to restore and maintain public order of Singapore under the Japanese occupation. Indeed, the practices of these Chinese charitable organisations can be traced back to the Chinese charitable temples (shantang 善堂) in late Imperial China. It is remarkable that the Chinese Charitable Institutions' Union in fact is the federation of several charitable temples in Singapore originated in Chao-Shan regions, which was brought by the Overseas Chinese from China to Singapore when they migrated at the turn of the twentieth century. Moreover, these wartime charitable organisations not only appeared in Singapore, but also in Hong Kong, and were mainly formed and funded by local Chinese communal leaders. It shows Japan's policy of how to maintain public order by utilising the reputation of local celebrities, and this policy was indeed highly related to pre-war Japanese research on Southeast Asia.