Horrors of World War II seen through the eyes of Hong Kong women in new novel

Emma Pei Yin’s debut novel about three women during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong is a powerful story of resistance and resilience

Reading Time:5 minutes

Emma Pei Yin is a Britain-born author who spent much of her childhood in Hong Kong where her debut novel, When Sleeping Women Wake, is set. Her book, she tells the Post, was shaped by her memories of her grandparents. Photo: courtesy of Emma Pei Yin

Published: 7:15am, 9 Oct 2025

Author Emma Pei Yin has many happy childhood memories of visits to her grandparents’ ancestral village home in Hong Kong.

For Britain-born Pei Yin – who moved to Hong Kong at the age of 14 – time spent in the rural New Territories, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the city, allowed her to indulge in traditions such as grave sweeping and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

She recalls lazy evenings lounging around on plastic chairs in the courtyard, full from a feast of poon choi – a communal dish with layers of meat, seafood and vegetables that is traditionally served during festivals – and the air sweet with the smell of jasmine.

“I have an immense love for my grandparents, and I remember those visits like it was yesterday,” says Pei Yin via video call from the Australian capital of Canberra, where she is now based.

It was during these visits that her grandfather shared stories about the Japanese occupation of the then British-ruled Hong Kong during World War II.

Japanese troops take part in a ceremonial parade on horseback as part of their occupation ceremony in Hong Kong in 1941. Photo: SCMP

Lasting from December 1941 to August 1945, the occupation was one of the darkest chapters in Hong Kong’s history, a period of severe suffering, with internment camps, women forced into sexual slavery and people dying in the streets from starvation.

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