After the British surrender, the Japanese tried to consolidate their power by collaborating with the local Chinese leaders. In January 1942, few weeks after the British surrender, Lieutenant General Takashi Sakai invited about 130 leading Chinese and Eurasian leaders in Hong Kong to a formal luncheon set at the Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon. In the meeting, Saikai elaborated the idea of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere where the Chinese and Japanese should cooperate with each other.[1]
After Sakai was replaced by Lieutenant General Isogai Rensuke in late January 1942, two councils, the Chinese Representative Council and the Chinese Cooperative Council were established, replacing the Rehabilitation Advisory Committee on 30 March 1942.[1]
The Chinese Cooperative Council was chaired by Chow Shouson, member of the Executive Council and also Legislative Council of the British Hong Kong government before the war. The 22 members of the council were selected by the three-member (later four) Chinese Representative Council which chaired by Robert Kotewall.[1]
The Chinese Cooperative Council was directly responsible to the Japanese governor. Its duties were to report to the governor complaints from the population, to convey decisions and policies of the government and to advise the government on matters concerning the population. Although the council met twice a week to discuss issues, it had limited power. All the council could do was to make suggestions and try to persuade the government to accept it.[2] It also headed the District Affairs Bureaux Councils and the wards which were staffed by Chinese.