Ellen Hunter in WW2 Hong Kong

My grandfather’s niece Ellen Hunter spent the war years in Hong Kong. She was the only child of his brother James Hunter and from what I can tell, she was born there, went to school there and in November of 1944 she died there at age 46. She’s buried at St Michael’s Catholic Cemetery.

Why is any of this significant? Well, from Christmas day of 1941, Hong Kong was occupied by the Japanese forces and most British, American and European civilians became captives and were interned at Stanley Camp. So, why was Ellen not among those inmates? Her father, though deceased, was a British school teacher. Her mother, also gone by then, appears to have been British as well.  

Now that I have her death certificate it gives some clarity but also raises new questions. Her name is recorded as “Ellen Hunter, alias Fok Shuk Wah” and there is a side note that she was “a Chinese domiciled in Hong Kong”

The occupation forces did not imprison civilian Chinese in Hong Kong. This leads me to believe that Ellen Hunter must have had a distinct Asian appearance, and/or she must also have had some corresponding paperwork attesting to her being Chinese, either ethnically or by nationality.

*Her death certificate actually has the imprint of her personal Chinese chop.

A further point is the ever present address of 11 Shelley Street that appears with almost every written representation of the Hunter clan in Hong Kong.