【正确答案】Few people knew that Britain had made an alliance with Japan at the beginning of the century after Sino-Russia war, apart from those who studied the modern history. The special relationship lasted until the outbreak of the Pearl Harbor Incident in 1941. However, the British people remained firm in siding with China. I began to be aware of their alliance in the year before the July 7 th Incident of 1937 broke out. At that time, there were foreign settlements in Shanghai and Ta Kung Pao Press established its offices in foreign-controlled districts of Tianjin, Shanghai and Hongkong. And in 1936, one year before the July 7 Incident, as in the play "Chen Baichen" where the expression of " x foreigner"(the cross was marked by the editor)was mentioned many times, the press was summoned three times to the court by Shanghai Municipal Council under British and Japanese control. At last, they weren't imprisoned thanks to editor's cross in the play.
From 1938 to 1939, I often made disputes with British censors who were actually my masters, because of manuscripts when I was in charge of Art and Literary Supplement of Ta Kung Pao in Hongkong. I can do nothing but to quit if he made a red cross at will.
Excerpts from About Hongkong written by Xiao Qian