Remembering the past to maintain its spirit

That scene would prove pivotal in Lam's life, prompting her to join the CPC-led Hong Kong and Kowloon Independent Brigade, which was part of the famed Dongjiang (East River) Column, in armed resistance against the Japanese occupation, alongside her mother and brother.

She credited the CPC's leadership and the people's steadfast support for the resistance fighters' eventual triumph over the aggressors. "At the time, all Chinese were united in a single objective. We were all fighting for our nation's safety. We held an unyielding conviction that, with the people's backing and the Party taking the lead, we would ultimately prevail."

Lam was only 8 years old when she joined the brigade, initially as a messenger before being reassigned to nursing duties. Life with the column was undeniably hard.

Gauze, a precious wartime commodity, had to be hand-laundered and reused until it was threadbare. Winter was particularly punishing, with icy water often leaving her fingers raw with chilblains, their relentless ache an abiding torment, she recalls.

But, through those grim years, the warmth of camaraderie was always there. Lam still remembers a blind comrade who comforted her youthful frustration: "After victory, there will be real doctors for my wounds."

Following Japan's defeat in 1945, Lam returned to Hong Kong to resume her studies. She went on to teach physical education on the Chinese mainland until she retired, "stepping onto another path in life", in her words.

She's deeply thankful for the peace that victory has brought, yet she has never been one to shut away her wartime experiences and let them slip into oblivion. In her view, it's imperative to preserve historical memories that still carry weight today in Hong Kong — a city poised for a promising future as it prepares to roll out its own five-year development plan.

The plan, expected to be released later this year, is expressly designed to align the special administrative region's trajectory with the country's strategic growth priorities outlined in the national 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30).

However, a bright future doesn't mean we can afford to rest on our laurels, says Lam. The younger generation needs to apply itself to advanced scientific knowledge and play an active role in the nation's defense modernization and other key areas of development. They must do so without forgetting the lessons of history.

She hopes Hong Kong's younger generations will appreciate the wellbeing they're blessed with today, learn the historical struggles the older generation has gone through, and hold on to the "spirit of the ordinary Chinese".

"With the central government's leadership and a strategic direction, we're a people who love peace, but we're also a people who can fight," says Lam. "That's what gives the 'ordinary Chinese spirit' its confidence and strength."