Editing Mui Wo (section)

==History==
[[File:Yuen's Mansion (Hong Kong).jpg|thumb|Yuen's Mansion and one of its two watchtowers, in Chung Hau, Mui Wo.]]
[[File:Silvermine Cave 2.JPG|thumb|Entrance of Silvermine Cave in 2016]]
The recorded history of Mui Wo dates back to the last days of the [[Song dynasty#Southern Song, 1127–1279|Southern Song dynasty]]. Fleeing south from the invading [[Yuan dynasty]], in 1277 the Southern Song imperial court sought refuge in Silvermine Bay (at that time known as Mei Yu or 梅蔚). In March 1278, whilst attempting a further escape from the Mongols, the penultimate Song emperor [[Emperor Duanzong of Song|Duanzong]] fell from a boat and almost drowned. After his rescue, he became ill and died a few months later at Mui Wo. Duanzong's successor, [[Zhao Bing]], was enthroned at Mui Wo on 10 May 1278.

Mui Wo is one of five villages of Lantau that were resettled when the coastal restriction of the [[Great Clearance]] was lifted in 1669. The other villages are [[Tung Sai Chung]], [[Lo Pui O]], [[Shek Pik]] and [[Tai O]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Siu|first=Anthony Kwok-kin|year=1989|title=Tai Yu Shan from Chinese Historical Records|journal=Journal of the [[Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch]]|volume=29|pages=394–398|url=http://hkjo.lib.hku.hk/archive/files/c084c39fe9137f5068aa899db19b9d7c.pdf|issn=1991-7295|accessdate=}}</ref>

===Mining===
A silver and lead mine, close to the settlement of [[Pak Ngan Heung]] and Sivermine Waterfall, formally opened in March 1886.<ref>Sacramento Daily Union, 29 April 1886, page 2</ref> It had closed by the time China leased the [[New Territories]] to Britain in 1898.<ref>Hongkong Government Gazette, 8 April 1899, Appendix No. 2, Report on the Geology of the New Territory by Mr. Ormsby</ref> The main entrance is now called Silvermine Cave. People can only enter the first ten metres or so as the rest of the tunnels have been blocked off for safety reasons, and to prevent disturbance to the rare species of bats who live there.<ref>Written reply from the then-Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, to a question from a Legislative Council member, Cheung Hok-ming: "LCQ15: Improvement works in Mui Wo", 4 March 2009, http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200903/04/P200903040157.htm, accessed 8 July 2013</ref>

===19–27 August 1945: Mui Wo massacre===
Japanese soldiers killed at least nine people and arrested 300 Mui Wo villagers in the weeks after Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, ending the Second World War.<ref>Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials Collection Website, compiled by Suzannah Linton and Hong Kong University Libraries. http://hkwctc.lib.hku.hk/exhibits/show/hkwctc/documents/item/58 Accessed 24 June 2013.</ref><ref>UK National Archives reference: WO235/993.</ref> Many victims were beaten and tortured. Some were beheaded.

Twelve Japanese soldiers who took part in the massacre were convicted of war crimes in 1946, and three of them hanged. The rest were sentenced to between two and ten years in jail. In their defence, the Japanese soldiers said they had been responding to a guerrilla attack after Japan's capitulation. Their actions were to maintain law and order until they could formally surrender to Allied forces. The judge rejected their arguments, stating that the Mui Wo residents were not responsible for the guerrillas' actions.