Lecture/Online Lecture - From the Tsar's Railway to the Red Army: The Experience of Chinese Labourers in Russia During the First World War and Bolshevik Revolution - Mr. Mark O' Neill

Name: Lecture/Online Lecture - From the Tsar's Railway to the Red Army: The Experience of Chinese Labourers in Russia During the First World War and Bolshevik Revolution - Mr. Mark O' Neill — Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong
Start: 2021-02-26T19:00:00+0800
End: 2021-02-26T20:00:00+0800
Location: Auditorium, Lt4, Centre for Visual Arts

Friday, February 26, 2021
7:00 PM 8:00 PM 19:00 20:00

Auditorium, Lt4, Centre for Visual Arts 7a Kennedy Road Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Island Hong Kong SAR China (map)

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This is a lecture delivered by Mark O’Neill based on his book From the Tsar's Railway to the Red Army: The Experience of Chinese Labourers in Russia During the First World War and Bolshevik Revolution.

Details (from amazon.com)

It is a little known fact that during World War I Russia received the majority of Chinese wartime laborers working overseas. Despite assurances that they would not be involved in the war, thousands of Chinese workers dug trenches and carried ammunition for troops on the Eastern Front under brutal conditions. Then, in 1917, life for the Chinese worsened with the Bolshevik Revolution's arrival. Some of the workers signed up to fight for the Red Army and many were left stranded in Russia, unemployed and destitute. Their plight has been described as the most tragic episode in 400 years of Chinese emigration. The men had crossed the border into Russia with dreams of earning enough money to build a house or business for their family at home. None could have imagined the hell that awaited them.

The Speaker

Mark O'Neill has been a journalist in Asia since 1978, working for Reuters and the South China Morning Post. His recent books include Tzu Chi: Serving with Compassion and China’s Russian Princess: The Silent Wife of Chiang Ching-kuo.

Time: 7.00-8.00pm Hong Kong Time

Venue: Auditorium, LT4, Centre for Visual Arts, 7A Kennedy Road, Mid-Levels or online over Zoom (TBC)

Admission: RAS Members $100; Non-Members / Guests $150

Booking: Please email membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk in advance to register your attendance

All planned activities in January – February 2021 will be subject to local regulations regarding Covid-19 restrictions, so please check nearer the event date for arrangements. If face-to-face meetings are not possible, every attempt will be made to link up via Zoom.

NOTE FOR ONLINE LECTURES

The RASHK hosts online lectures over the Zoom application, downloadable on computer at https://zoom.us/ or smartphone on any app store.

Specific details to access the Zoom calls that we will be using will be circulated via correspondence Emails prior to each online lecture.

If you would like to attend an online lecture, please email membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk so that we can send you the link to access the Zoom lecture.