Chapter 24: New Beginnings
After his surrender, Liang went back to his birth name, Jun.
When he left Malaya on a ship, he was supposed to arrive in Hong Kong, with hundreds of other deported Malayans, and then transfer to another boat that would bring them to mainland China.
At the last minute, after hearing stories from other passengers about how overseas foreigners, even of Chinese descent, were treated with suspicion in Communist Mainland China, Jun decided to make Hong Kong his new home.
Hong Kong felt like a safer option. A shining modern and historic Chinese city full of promises.
Even though Hong Kong was still under British control, Jun did not mind it anymore. He had long given up on the idea of fighting for freedom or whatever communism meant. All he wanted was to lead a simple life of stability and peace.
Fortunately, with Cantonese being his mother tongue, it meant that he could assimilate well into the Hong Kong people’s lives. Apart from the slight difference in accent, if nobody asked, they might not have suspected that Jun was not a native Hong Konger. But even so, he doubted that anyone would care. After all, in the late 1950s, Hong Kong was like a potluck, brimming with people from various backgrounds.
