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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it -under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this -eBook or online at <a -href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you are not -located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this ebook.</p> -<p>Title: Hong Kong</p> -<p>Author: Gene Gleason</p> -<p>Release Date: May 22, 2020 [eBook #62191]</p> -<p>Language: English</p> -<p>Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HONG KONG***</p> -<p> </p> -<h4 class="pgx" title="">E-text prepared by Tim Lindell<br /> - and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> - (<a href="http://www.pgdp.net">http://www.pgdp.net</a>)<br /> - from page images digitized by<br /> - the Google Books Library Project<br /> - (<a href="https://books.google.com">https://books.google.com</a>)<br /> - and generously made available by<br /> - HathiTrust Digital Library<br /> - (<a href="https://www.hathitrust.org/">https://www.hathitrust.org/</a>)</h4> -<p> </p> -<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;max-width: 100%;margin: 0 auto;" cellpadding="10"> - <tr> - <td valign="top"> - Note: - </td> - <td> - Images of the original pages are available through - HathiTrust Digital Library. See - <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015002199274"> - https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015002199274</a> - </td> - </tr> -</table> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<p> </p> - -<div class="front-matter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">Hong Kong</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage larger">Hong Kong</p> - -<p class="titlepage">Gene Gleason</p> - -<p class="titlepage">The John Day Company, New York</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage">© 1963 by Gene Gleason</p> - -<p class="noindent">All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced -in any form without permission. Published by The John -Day Company, 62 West 45th Street, New York 36, N.Y., and -simultaneously in Canada by Longmans Canada Limited, Toronto.</p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">Library of Congress Catalogue<br /> -Card Number: 63-7957</p> - -<p class="titlepage smaller">MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - -<p class="titlepage"><i>To all who helped—<br /> -particularly, Pat</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p> - -<h2>Contents</h2> - -<table summary="Contents"> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Introduction">11</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">1.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Up from British Barbarism</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_ONE">15</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">2.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">An Avalanche from the North</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_TWO">47</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">3.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Conflict and Coexistence with Two Chinas</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_THREE">85</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">4.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Industrial Growth and Growing Pains</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_FOUR">113</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">5.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">High Land, Low Water</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_FIVE">155</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">6.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">A New Day for Farms and Fisheries</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_SIX">175</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">7.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Crime, Power and Corruption</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_SEVEN">201</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">8.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Two Worlds in One House</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_EIGHT">227</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">9.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Rambling around the Colony</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_NINE">259</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr">10.</td> - <td><span class="smcap">Shopping before Dinner</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#CHAPTER_TEN">289</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="tdr"></td> - <td><span class="smcap">Index</span></td> - <td class="tdpg"><a href="#Index">309</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p class="center"><i>Sixteen pages of illustrations will be found <a href="#Illustrations">following page 160</a>.</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - -<h1>Hong Kong</h1> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 700px;"> -<img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="700" height="1045" alt="Map" /> -<p class="center">BRITISH CROWN COLONY OF HONG KONG<br />and Adjacent Areas</p> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="Introduction">Introduction</h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">Hong Kong is a high point on the skyline of the Free -World. As a free port operating on a free-world basis, it -is too valuable to lose.</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">Sir Robert Brown Black</span>, Governor of the -British Crown Colony of Hong Kong, 1962</p> - -</div> - -<p>Except for Portugal’s tiny overseas province of Macao, -Hong Kong is the last Western outpost on the mainland of -China. It is the Berlin of East Asia, poised in perilous balance -between two ideologies and two civilizations.</p> - -<p>The government and people of Hong Kong have performed -a matter-of-fact miracle by saving the lives of more -than a million refugees from Red China. Without appealing -for foreign aid or emergency subsidies from the home country, -the colony’s rulers have provided jobs, homes and freedom -for the destitute. Private charitable organizations overseas -and outright gifts from the governments of Great Britain -and the United States have achieved miracles on their own in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -feeding, clothing and educating the poor of Hong Kong, but -the main burden is too great to be borne by any agency except -the full public power of the royal crown colony.</p> - -<p>Most of Hong Kong’s people are too poor to afford what -an American would consider minimum comforts. They came -to Hong Kong with nothing, yet every day they send thousands -of food packages back to Red China, hoping to save -their relatives from starvation.</p> - -<p>These are only the workaday miracles of Hong Kong; the -greatest miracle is that it exists at all. It has never had enough -of the good things—land, water, health, security or money—but -always a surplus of the bad ones—wars, typhoons, epidemics, -opium, heroin, crime and corruption.</p> - -<p>It is one of the most contradictory and baffling places in -the contemporary world—a magnificent port and a teeming -slum; a bargain-hunter’s paradise and a nest of swindlers; a -place of marginal farmland and superlative farmers, efficient -and orderly, sly and corrupt. It has outlived a thousand -prophecies of its imminent doom. Its people dwell between the -claws of a tiger, fully aware of the spot they’re on, but not at -all dismayed.</p> - -<p>Tourists and sailors come to Hong Kong by the hundreds -of thousands every year, half-expecting to discover inscrutable -Orientals, or to be followed down a dark alley by a soft-shod -killer with a hatchet in his hand. The Orientals turn out -to be the noisiest, most gregarious people the Westerner has -ever seen. No one follows him down a pitch-black alley at -midnight, unless it’s a stray cat looking for a handout, or a -shoeshine boy working late.</p> - -<p>The real magic of Hong Kong is that none of it is exactly -what you expected. You prowl around for handicraft shops -and find them next to an automated textile mill. You’ve been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> -told to keep your eye open for the sprawling settlements of -squatter shacks, and you find them slowly being swallowed -up by multi-story concrete resettlement estates. You turn on -the faucet in your hotel at noon and it issues a dry, asthmatic -sigh; you try it again at six and it spits at you like an angry -camel, splashing all over your suit.</p> - -<p>You look for a historic hill in Kowloon, and there is what’s -left of it—a stumpy mound, shaved down by a bulldozer, with -the rest of it already dumped into the sea to form the foundation -of a new industrial city. You look for the romantic hallmark -of Hong Kong, a Chinese junk with bat-wing sails, and -it putt-putts past on a Diesel engine without a scrap of canvas -on the masts.</p> - -<p>You fear for your life as you stand on the crowded sidewalk, -plucking up the courage to bull your way through a -fantastic tangle of autos, motor-scooters, double-deck trams, -rickshaws, massed pedestrians and laborers carting bulky loads -on bamboo shoulder-slings, but the white-sleeved patrolman -in the traffic pagoda parts the torrent with a gesture like Moses -dividing the Red Sea and you cross without a scratch.</p> - -<p>A small, slender Chinese beauty in a closely fitted Cheongsam -strolls by with a skirt slit to the mid-thighs, and you begin -to perceive the reason for the thousands of Caucasian-Chinese -intermarriages in the colony. Such unions go so well they -hardly merit comment in today’s Hong Kong gossip; a generation -ago, they would have overturned a hornet’s nest of -angry relatives in both racial groups.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong is like the Chinese beauties in their Cheongsams; -no matter how often you turn away, your next view -will be completely different and equally rewarding.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_ONE">CHAPTER ONE<br /> -<span class="smaller">Up from British Barbarism</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">The common disposition of the English barbarians is -ferocious, and what they trust in are the strength of their -ships and the effectiveness of their guns.</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">Governor Lu K’u -of Canton</span>, 1834</p> - -</div> - -<p>In 1841, the British crown colony of Hong Kong attached -itself like a small barnacle to the southeast coast of the Celestial -Empire. The single offshore island that constituted the -whole of the original colony was a spiny ridge of half-drowned -mountains forming the seaward rampart of a deep-water -harbor. Before the British came, it had no geographic -identity. They gave it the Chinese name “Hong Kong,” usually -translated as “fragrant harbor,” which distinguished the -one appealing feature of its forbidding terrain.</p> - -<p>Sparsely inhabited from primitive times, Hong Kong, the -more than two hundred rocky islands scattered outside its harbor, -and the barren seacoast opposite them lay far out in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -boondocks of China. Its innumerable, deeply indented coves -and mountain-ringed harbors made it a favorite lurking place -for coastal pirates.</p> - -<p>For centuries, fleets of pirate junks had apportioned their -rapacity between pouncing on coastwise ships and pillaging -isolated farms and fishing settlements. The Manchu emperors, -lacking the unified navy necessary to sink these cut-throats, -attempted to bolster the thin defenses along the pirate-infested -coast of Kwangtung Province by offering tax-free land to any -of their subjects who would settle there. Even so, there was -no wild scramble to accept the gift.</p> - -<p>Less troublesome than pirates but hardly more welcome to -the rulers of China were the European traders who had been -plying the Chinese coast since the beginning of the sixteenth -century. In the middle of that century, Portuguese merchant-sailors -overcame part of this hostility by employing their well-armed -ships to help the Chinese emperor crush a pirate fleet. -They were rewarded with imperial permission to establish a -small trading outpost at Macao, forty miles west of Hong -Kong Island.</p> - -<p>Traders from Spain, Holland, England, France and -America soon began to operate out of Macao, and the British -East India Co. opened a trade base at Canton in 1681 to supply -a lively English market with Chinese tea and silk. Canton, the -only Chinese port open to world trade, stood due north of -Macao and ninety-one miles northwest of the future colony -at Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>Throughout a century and a half of dealings at Canton, -European traders enjoyed the same degree of liberty: they -were all free to pay whatever prices or imposts the Chinese -Hong merchants and customs officials chose to demand. -The Chinese wanted neither foreign goods nor foreign traders,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> -but if the latter persisted in buying and selling at Canton, -they were expected to submit to strict Chinese regulations or -get out.</p> - -<p>There were rules forbidding any foreigner to live in Canton -except during the six-month trading season, rules denying -foreign women the right to enter the city, rules against possessing -firearms and an absolute ban against bringing foreign -warships past the Boca Tigris (Tiger’s Mouth), the fortified -strait on the Canton River estuary leading to the city.</p> - -<p>In practice, the rules were a kind of game; few were consistently -enforced unless the Western traders raised a howl -over Chinese customs duties or bumptiously insisted on dealing -directly with the officials of the Celestial Empire instead -of its merchants. Then the reins were yanked up tight, and -the commercial interlopers had to obey every restriction to -the letter.</p> - -<p>Foreigners at Canton remained in a weak bargaining position -until a few European traders, particularly the English, -discovered one product that the Chinese passionately desired. -It was compact, easy to ship, extremely valuable, and it -brought full payment in hard cash upon delivery. It could be -brought from British India in prodigious quantities, and because -it contained great value in a small package, it could slip -through Chinese customs without the disagreeable formality -of paying import duties. This was opium—the most convincing -Western proof of the validity of the profit motive since -the opening of the China trade.</p> - -<p>The Chinese appetite for opium became almost insatiable, -spreading upward to the Emperor’s official family and draining -away most of the foreign exchange gained by exporting -tea and silk. The alarmed Emperor issued a denunciation of -this “vile dirt of foreign countries” in 1796, and followed it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -with a long series of edicts and laws intended to stop the opium -traffic.</p> - -<p>The East India Co., worried by repeated threats of imperial -punishment, relinquished its control of the opium trade and -dropped the drug from its official list of imports. Private -traders with less to lose immediately took up the slack, and -after opium was barred from Canton, simply discharged their -cargoes of dope into a fleet of hulks anchored off the entrance -of the Canton River estuary. From the hulks it was transshipped -to the mainland by hundreds of Chinese junks and -sampans. Chinese port officials, well-greased with graft, never -raised a squeak of protest.</p> - -<p>The Emperor himself seethed with rage, vainly condemning -the sale of opium as morally indefensible and ruinous to -the health and property of his people. Meanwhile, the trade -rose from $6,122,100 in 1821 to $15,338,160 in 1832. The -British government took a strong official line against the traffic -and denied its protection to British traders caught smuggling, -but left the enforcement of anti-opium laws in Chinese hands. -A joint Sino-British enforcement campaign was out of the -question, since the Chinese had not granted diplomatic recognition -to the British Empire.</p> - -<p>This insuperable obstacle to combined action was the natural -child of Chinese xenophobia. When Lord Napier -broached the subject of establishing diplomatic relations between -Britain and China in 1834, the Emperor’s representatives -stilled his overtures with the contemptuous question, -“How can the officers of the Celestial Empire hold official -correspondence with barbarians?”</p> - -<p>The glories of a mercantile civilization made no impression -on a people who regarded themselves as the sole heirs of the -oldest surviving culture on earth. To the lords of the Manchu<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -empire, English traders were crude, money-grubbing upstarts -who had neither the knowledge nor the capacity to appreciate -the traditions and philosophy of China. What could these cubs -of the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution contribute -to a civilization of such time-tested wisdom? They could contribute -to its collapse, as the Chinese were to learn when their -medieval war-machine collided with the striking power and -nineteenth-century technology of the British Navy.</p> - -<p>After the East India Co. lost its monopoly on the China trade -in 1833, the British government sent its own representatives -to settle a fast-growing dispute between English and Chinese -merchants. Once again the Chinese snubbed these envoys and -emphasized their unwillingness to compromise by appointing -a new Imperial Commissioner to suppress the opium trade.</p> - -<p>For a time, the British merchants comforted themselves -with the delusion that Lin Tse-hsu, the Imperial Commissioner, -could be bought off or mollified. He dashed these hopes by -blockading the Boca Tigris, surrounding the foreign warehouses -at Canton with guards and demanding that all foreign -merchants surrender their stock of opium. He further insisted -that they sign a pledge to import no more opium or face the -death penalty.</p> - -<p>Threats and vehement protests by the traders only drove -Lin to stiffer counter-measures, and the British were at last -forced to surrender more than 20,000 chests of opium worth -$6,000,000. Commissioner Lin destroyed the opium immediately. -British merchants and their government envoys withdrew -from Canton by ship, ultimately anchoring off Hong -Kong Island. None of them lived ashore; the island looked too -bleak for English habitation, though it had already been considered -as a possible offshore port of foreign trade.</p> - -<p>With the British out of the opium trade, a legion of freelance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -desperadoes flocked in to take it over, leaving both the -British and Chinese governments shorn of their revenue. -Further negotiation between Lin and Captain Charles Elliot, -the British Superintendent of Trade in China, reached an impasse -when Lin declined to treat Elliot as a diplomat of equal -rank and advised him to carry on his negotiations with the -Chinese merchants.</p> - -<p>Having wasted their time in a profitless exchange of unpleasantries, -both sides huffily retired; the Chinese to reinforce -their shore batteries and assemble a fleet of twenty-nine war -junks and fire rafts, and Captain Elliot to organize a striking -force of warships, iron-hulled steamers and troop transports.</p> - -<p>The junk fleet and two British men-of-war clashed at -Chuenpee, on the Canton River estuary, in the first battle between -British and Chinese armed forces. It was a pushover for -the British; Chinese naval guns were centuries behind theirs in -firepower, and the gun crews on the junks were pitifully inaccurate -in comparison with the scientific precision of the -British. Within a few minutes the junks had been sunk, dismasted -or driven back in panicky disorder. The British on the -<i>Hyacinth</i> and <i>Volage</i> suffered almost no damage or casualties.</p> - -<p>No formal state of war existed, however, so Captain Elliot -broke off the one-sided engagement before the enemy had -been annihilated. He pulled back to wait until orders came -from Lord Palmerston, British Foreign Secretary, directing -him to demand repayment for the $6,000,000 worth of opium -handed over to Lin. At the same time, Elliot was told to obtain -firm Chinese assurance of future security for traders in -China, or the cession of an island off the China coast as a base -for foreign trade unhampered by the merchants and officials of -the Celestial Empire. Palmerston, maintaining the calm detachment -of a statesman 10,000 miles distant from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -scene of battle, thought it would be best for Elliot to win -these concessions without war.</p> - -<p>Elliot, mustering the full strength of his land and sea forces, -blockaded the Canton and Yangtze Rivers, occupied several -strategic islands and put Palmerston’s demands into the hands -of Emperor Tao-kuang. Humiliated by the irresistible advance -of the despised foreigners, the Emperor angrily dismissed -Commissioner Lin. His replacement, Commissioner -Keeshen, began by agreeing to pay the indemnity demanded -by Lord Palmerston and to hand over Hong Kong Island, then -deliberately dragged his feet to postpone the fulfillment of his -promises. Elliot, fed to the teeth with temporizing, ended it -by throwing his whole fleet at the Chinese. His naval guns -pounded their shore batteries into silence, and he landed marines -and sailors to capture the forts guarding Canton.</p> - -<p>The Chinese land defenders were as poorly equipped as the -sailors of their war junks; when they lighted their ancient -matchlocks to fire them, scores of soldiers were burned to -death by accidentally igniting the gunpowder spilled on -their clothing.</p> - -<p>In a naval action at Anson’s Bay, the flat-bottomed iron -steamer <i>Nemesis</i>, drawing only six feet of water, surprised a -squadron of junks by pushing its way into their shallow-water -refuge. A single Congreve rocket from the <i>Nemesis</i> struck -the magazine of a large war junk, blowing it up in a shower of -flying spars and seamen. Eleven junks were destroyed, two -were driven aground and hundreds of Chinese sailors were -killed within a few hours. Admiral Kwan, commander of the -shattered fleet, had the red cap-button emblematic of his rank -shot off by the British and was later relieved of the rank by his -unsympathetic Emperor.</p> - -<p>Keeshen hastened to notify Elliot that he stood ready to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -hand over Hong Kong and the $6,000,000 indemnity. But -even the shock of defeat had not flushed the Emperor from -his dream world of superiority; he repudiated Keeshen’s -agreement and ordered him to rally the troops for “an awful -display of Celestial vengeance.” Well aware of the hopelessness -of his situation, Keeshen tried to hold out by postponing -his meetings with Elliot. Elliot, not to be put off this time, -countered by opening a general assault along the Canton -River. Within a month, his combined land and sea offensive -had reduced every fort on the water route to Canton and his -ships rode at anchor in front of the city.</p> - -<p>British preparations to storm the city were well advanced -when a fresh truce was arranged. The entire British force -sailed back to Hong Kong, having retreated from almost certain -victory. Elliot, however, felt no disappointment; he had -never wanted to use more force than necessary to restore -stable trade conditions. He feared that full-scale war would -bring down the Chinese government, plunging the country -into revolution and chaos.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong had become <i>de facto</i> British territory on -January 26, 1841, when the Union Jack was raised at Possession -Point and the island claimed for Queen Victoria. Its 4,500 -inhabitants, who had never heard of the Queen, became her -unprotesting subjects.</p> - -<p>The acquisition of the island produced ignominy enough -for both sides; Keeshen was exiled to Tartary for giving it up -and Elliot was dismissed by Palmerston for accepting “a barren -island with hardly a house upon it,” instead of obeying the -Foreign Secretary’s orders and driving a much harder bargain.</p> - -<p>A succession of disasters swept over the colony in its first -year of existence. “Hong Kong Fever,” a form of malaria -thought to have been caused by digging up the earth for new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -roads and buildings, killed hundreds of settlers. Two violent -typhoons unroofed practically every temporary building on -the rocky slopes and drowned a tenth of the boat population. -The wreckage of the ships and buildings had scarcely been -cleared away when a fire broke out among the flimsy, closely -packed mat sheds. In a few hours, it burned down most of the -Chinese huts on the island.</p> - -<p>The flavor of disaster became a regular part of Hong Kong -history. Its own four horsemen—piracy, typhoons, epidemics -and fires—raced through the colony at frequent but unpredictable -intervals, filling its hills and harbor with debris and -death. There is still no reason to assume that they will not return, -either singly or as a team, whenever the whim moves -them.</p> - -<p>Even imagining Hong Kong as an island bearing no more -than a minimum burden of natural hazards, it is difficult to -understand how it became settled at all. The London <i>Times</i> -scorned it editorially in 1844 with the comment that “The -place has nothing to recommend it, if we except the excellent -harbor.”</p> - -<p>The original colony and the much larger territory added to -it in the next 120 years have no natural resources of value, except -fish, building stone and a limited supply of minerals. -Only one-seventh of its total area is arable land; at best, it can -grow enough rice, vegetables and livestock to feed the present -population for about three months of a year. There is no local -source of coal, oil or water power. Fresh water was scarce in -1841, and in 1960, after the colony had constructed an elaborate -system of fourteen reservoirs, the carefully rationed supply -had to be supplemented with additional water bought and -pumped in from Red China.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong has an annual rainfall of 85 inches—twice that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -of New York City—but three-fourths of it falls between May -and September. At the end of the rainy season, ten billion gallons -may be stored in the reservoirs but by the following May, -every reservoir may be empty. Water use, especially during -the dry winter, has been restricted to certain hours throughout -the colony’s history. Running water, to the majority of -Hong Kong’s poor, means that one grabs a kerosene tin and -runs for the nearest public standpipe. Those lucky enough to -reach the head of the line before the water is cut off may -carry home enough to supply a household for one full day.</p> - -<p>The industries of the colony, which expanded at a spectacular -rate after World War II, could never have survived on -sales to the local market. Most of its residents have always -been too poor to buy anything more than the simplest necessities -of food, clothing and shelter. No tariff wall protects its -products from the competition of imported goods, but resentment -against the low-wage industries of the colony continually -puts up new barriers against Hong Kong products in -foreign countries, including the United States.</p> - -<p>From its thinly populated beginnings, Hong Kong has been -transformed into one of the most dangerously overcrowded -places on earth, with 1,800 to 2,800 persons jamming every -acre of its urban sections. Eighty percent of its population is -wedged into an area the size of Rochester, N.Y.—thirty-six -square miles. About 325,000 people have no regular housing. -They sleep on the sidewalks, or live in firetrap shacks perched -on the hillsides or rooftop huts. A soaring birth rate and illegal -infiltration of refugees from Red China add nearly 150,000 -people a year.</p> - -<p>Fire is the best-fed menace of contemporary Hong Kong. -In the 1950-55 period, flash fires drove 150,000 shack and tenement -dwellers out of their homes, racing through congested<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -settlements with the swiftness and savagery of a forest in -flames. Tuberculosis attacked the slum-dwellers at the same -ruinous pace. No one dares to predict what would happen if -one of the colony’s older, dormant scourges—plague or -typhus—were to break out again. But the colony found cause -for relief and pride when a 1961 cholera scare was halted by -free, universal inoculations.</p> - -<p>More than a century of turmoil and privation has taught -the colonists to accept their liabilities and deal with their -problems, yet they prefer to dwell on the assets and virtues -which have enabled them to endure, and in many cases, to -prosper tremendously.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong harbor has always been the colony’s greatest -asset. Of all the world’s harbors, only Rio de Janeiro equals -its spacious, magnificent beauty, with its tall green mountains -sloping down to deep blue water. Perhaps Rio has a richer -contrast of tropical green and blue, but the surface of Hong -Kong harbor is so irrepressibly alive with criss-crossing ferry -lines, ocean freighters riding in the stream, and tattered junk -sails passing freely through the orderly swarm that it never -looks the same from one minute to the next and is incapable -of monotony.</p> - -<p>An oceanic lagoon of seventeen square miles, the harbor -lies sheltered between mountain ranges to the north and south -and is shielded from the open sea by narrow entrances at its -east and west ends. Vessels drawing up to thirty-six feet of -water can enter through Lei Yue Mun pass at the eastern end -of the harbor. Through the same pass, jet airliners approach -Kai Tak Airport, roaring between the mountains like rim-rock -flyers as they glide down to the long airstrip built on reclaimed -land in Kowloon Bay, on the northern side of the harbor.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p> - -<p>The intangible ramparts of the colony are as solid as -its peaks: the sea power of the British and American navies, -and the stability of British rule. At their worst, the colony’s -overlords have been autocratic, stiff-necked and chilly toward -their Chinese subjects.</p> - -<p>The same British administrators who nobly refused to hand -over native criminals for the interrogation-by-torture of the -Chinese courts could flog and brand Chinese prisoners with -a fierce conviction of their own rectitude. Nevertheless, they -brought to China something never seen there before; respect -for the law as an abstraction, an objective code of justice that -had to be followed even when it embarrassed and discommoded -the rulers.</p> - -<p>Almost from its inception, the colony attracted refugees -from China. Many brought capital and technical skills with -them, others were brigands and murderers fleeing Chinese -executioners.</p> - -<p>Banking, shipping and insurance services of the colony -quickly became the most reliable in Southeast Asia. Macao, in -spite of its three-century lead on Hong Kong, was so badly -handicapped by its shallow harbor, critical land shortage, and -unenterprising government that it sank into a state of -suspended antiquity. Hong Kong merchants, eager for new -business, kept in close touch with world markets. Labor was -cheap and abundant, still it was more liberally paid than in -most of the Asiatic countries. Labor unions numbered in the -hundreds, but they were split into so many quarreling political -factions that they could rarely hope to win a showdown fight -against the colony’s business-dominated government, although -the Seamen’s Union did obtain many concessions after a long -strike in 1922.</p> - -<p>Notwithstanding the social gulfs between the British,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -Portuguese, Indian and other national elements in the colony, -all of them march arm-in-arm through one great field of endeavor; -the desire and the capacity to make money. Hong -Kong lives to turn a profit, and its deepest fraternal bond is -the Fellowship of Greater Solvency.</p> - -<p>Motivated by this common purpose, the British and Chinese -dwelt together in peaceful contempt during the first fifteen -years of the colony’s history, sharing the returns of a fast-growing -world trade. The opium traffic resumed as though -there had never been a war over it. The only enemy that worried -the merchants became the Chinese pirates who preyed on -their ships.</p> - -<p>From Fukien to Canton, pirate fleets prowled the China -coast. Two of their favorite hangouts were Bias Bay and Mirs -Bay, within easy striking range of Hong Kong. With the arrival -of the British, they began looting foreign merchant-ships -with the same unsparing greed they had previously inflicted -on Chinese ships and villages.</p> - -<p>British warships, superior to the pirate craft in all but numbers -and elusiveness, hunted them down with task forces. In -four expeditions between 1849 and 1858, the Queen’s Navy -sank or captured nearly 200 pirate junks. Thousands of prisoners -were taken, and a fair share of them were hanged. British -landing forces, storming up the beaches from the warships, -leveled every pirate settlement they could find.</p> - -<p>The land-and-sea offensive had a temporarily restraining -effect, but new-born pirate fleets sprang up like dragon’s teeth -to turn to the practice of seaborne larceny. A fifth column of -suppliers, informers, and receivers of stolen goods within the -colony obligingly assisted the pirates in plucking their neighbors -clean. Hong Kong’s oldest industry has retained its franchise -down to present times; in 1948, airborne pirates attempted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -to high-jack a Macao-Hong Kong plane in flight. -The plane crashed, killing all but one person who was detained -and questioned, then released for lack of jurisdiction -and sent back to China.</p> - -<p>Piracy was the fuse that touched off a second Sino-British -war in 1856, when the Chinese government charged that a -Chinese ship manned by a British skipper was, in fact, a pirate -vessel. While the skipper was absent from the Chinese lorcha, -the <i>Arrow</i>, his entire crew was taken prisoner and accused of -piracy by China.</p> - -<p>The incident landed in the lap of Sir John Bowring, a former -Member of Parliament and one of the most curiously contradictory -of all colony governors. Philosophically a liberal -and a pacifist, he was markedly sympathetic toward the Chinese. -A prolific author, economist and hymn-writer, he -had a brilliant gift for linguistics and was credited with a -working knowledge of 100 languages, among them Chinese. -He initiated wise and far-reaching improvements, including -the first forestry program, which were enacted into law by -later governors. With all these gifts, his five-year term (1854-1859) -was marred by a series of hot and futile wrangles with -his subordinates.</p> - -<p>This mercurial man reacted to the capture of the <i>Arrow</i>’s -crew by demanding an apology and their release. When the -apology was not immediately dispatched, he assembled a military -force and set out to capture Canton. War in India delayed -the arrival of British reinforcements, and Canton withstood -the assault. Meanwhile, Chinese collaborators in Hong Kong -poisoned the bread supplied to Europeans; Bowring’s wife -was one of scores of persons who suffered serious illness by -eating the bread.</p> - -<p>Shortly afterward the French joined forces with the English.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> -Canton and Tientsin were captured, and the Chinese -government was forced to agree to add more trading ports -to the five provided by the 1842 Nanking Treaty.</p> - -<p>The ensuing short-term armistice was broken by sporadic -Chinese attacks on British supply lines and a general resumption -of hostilities, ending in the occupation of the Chinese -capital at Peking.</p> - -<p>The Kowloon Peninsula, jutting from the Chinese mainland -to a point one mile north of Hong Kong Island, became -involved in the war when its residents rioted against British -troops encamped there. The British had considered the annexation -of Kowloon for several years, realizing that if the -Chinese decided to fortify it their guns would command Hong -Kong harbor. Treating the riot as a compelling reason for taking -possession, the British obtained an outright cession of the -peninsula and Stonecutters Island, a little body of land about -one mile west of Kowloon, under the terms of the 1860 Convention -of Peking.</p> - -<p>Bowring, meanwhile, had created a public Botanic Garden—still -a beautiful hillside haven at the heart of the colony—laid -down new roads and erected a number of public buildings. -But his daily relations with other colony officials had -degenerated into a battle-royal of insults and counter-accusations. -The home government, appalled at Bowring’s un-British -disregard for good form, rushed in a new minister to direct -negotiations with China and replaced Bowring as governor -with Sir Hercules Robinson, an unusually able colonial administrator. -Bowring left the colony with his reputation at -low ebb, snubbed by its English residents. The Chinese of -Hong Kong, inured to snobbery but grateful for Bowring’s -attempts to help them, saw him off with parting gifts.</p> - -<p>Sir Hercules began his administration with a piece of good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> -fortune; practically all the contentious subordinates who had -made Bowring’s tenure a long nightmare resigned or retired. -The colony’s military leaders kept the pot simmering by demanding -most of Kowloon for their own use, although Robinson -wanted to preserve it for public buildings and recreational -grounds.</p> - -<p>In England, where the brimstone smell of the Bowring affair -lingered for many months, the London <i>Times</i> was moved -to describe the China outpost as a “noisy, bustling, quarrelsome, -discontented and insalubrious little island” whose name -was “always connected with some fatal pestilence, some -doubtful war, or some discreditable internal squabble.” -Robinson’s skirmish with the military attracted no more attention -than a stray pistol-shot after a thundering cannonade.</p> - -<p>Between wars and internal bickering, the colony was growing -up. The California gold rush of 1849, followed by a major -gold strike in Australia two years later, created a surge of -prosperity as goods and Chinese laborers funneled through -the port on their way to the goldfields. Japan was opened to -world trade in 1853, and American whalers and seal hunters -had begun to call at Hong Kong. Total shipping tonnage -cleared through the port rose 1,000 percent in the fifteen years -after 1848. With skilled labor and well-equipped dockyards at -hand, the building, refitting and supplying of ships became the -colony’s most important industry.</p> - -<p>Overseas shipment of Chinese laborers from mainland China -to perform work contracts in Central America, Australia, and -the islands of the Indian Ocean created grave human problems.</p> - -<p>Chinese were being kidnaped, abused like slaves and -packed into the airless, filthy holds of sailing ships where they -died at an alarming rate. From 1855 on, the colony imposed -tighter and tighter restrictions on the trade, prescribing better<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> -living conditions aboard ship and prosecuting kidnapers of -labor. But the labor suppliers evaded the laws of the colony -by taking on provisions at Hong Kong and calling at other -ports along the China coast to shanghai contract workers.</p> - -<p>The first of many waves of refugees to seek asylum in -Britain’s “barbarian” enclave arrived with the outbreak of -the Tai Ping Rebellion in 1850. Led by Hung Siu Tsuen, a -Christian student, the rebels attacked the ruling Manchu -Dynasty and fomented wild disorder in Canton. Thousands -of apprehensive Chinese fled to Hong Kong, throwing themselves -on the mercy of the foreign devils.</p> - -<p>Governor Robinson and the land-hungry generals eventually -compromised their conflicting claims to Kowloon real -estate, but the colony government spent years of patient effort -in straightening out the fuzzy, inexact and spurious titles to -individual land-holdings on the peninsula. On the whole, British -courts achieved a fair adjudication of claims.</p> - -<p>Sir Hercules did not permit his administrative successes to -alter the colony’s reputation for day-to-day blundering. He -housed prisoners in a hulk off Stonecutters Island where it -was accidentally swamped by an adjoining boat with a loss -of thirty-eight lives. On a kindly impulse, he belatedly moved -the hulk closer to shore, and a group of convicts ran down the -gangplank to dry land and freedom.</p> - -<p>Such oversights were exceptional; when Sir Hercules ended -his term in 1865, he could look back on an administration -which had put the unpopular colony on its feet by reforming -its courts and modernizing and expanding its public works. -This was no fluke, for he went on to similar successes in Ceylon, -Australia, New Zealand and South Africa before being -elevated to the peerage.</p> - -<p>During its formative period, the colony was predominantly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> -a society of adult males. Its merchants and workers came -from China to earn a living and to send their savings back to -their wives and children; when they grew too old to work, -they returned to their native cities and villages. But there was -always a number of families among the population, and after -the refugees began pouring in, the percentage of children rose. -In 1865, children numbered 22,301 in a total population of -125,504. Only 14,000 of these were of school age, and less than -2,000 of them attended school.</p> - -<p>Missionaries began to run schools for Chinese and European -children almost from the time the colony was established, but -the scale of their undertakings was modest. The Chinese organized -native schools, and like the missionary ventures, floundered -along with ill-trained teachers, inadequate buildings -and loose supervision. Government schools, low in quality -and enrollment, freed themselves of religious control in 1866. -A private school with advanced ideas instructed Chinese girls -in English, only to discover that its pupils were accepting -postgraduate work as the mistresses of European colonists.</p> - -<p>Five Irish governors, starting with Sir Hercules Robinson -in 1859, ruled Hong Kong in succession, and three of them -ranked among the ablest executives in its history. Each one -was in his separate way a strong-minded, individualistic, and -occasionally rambunctious chief. After the Hibernian Era -came to an end in 1885, no later governors emulated their -mildly defiant gestures toward the home government.</p> - -<p>Sir Richard Graves Macdonnell, second of the Irish governors, -was a tough and seasoned colonial administrator who -tackled the unsolved problems of crime and piracy with perception -and vigor. He saw that naval action against the pirate -fleets would bring no lasting results while the sea-raiders had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -the assistance of suppliers, informers and receivers of stolen -goods within the colony. He put all ship movements in Hong -Kong waters under close supervision, and assigned police to -ferret out every colonist working with the pirates. To a -greater degree than any of his predecessors, he succeeded in -checking piracy, but no governor has ever stamped it out.</p> - -<p>Macdonnell also intensified the campaign against robbery, -burglary and assault. Commercial interests applauded his increased -severity in the treatment of prisoners and his frequent -reliance on flogging, branding and deportation of offenders. -Macdonnell himself saw no contradiction between such -rough-shod methods and, on the other hand, his generosity in -donating crown land for a Chinese hospital where the destitute -and dying could be cared for in a decent manner. Previously, -relatives of ailing, elderly paupers had deposited them in -empty buildings with a coffin and drinking water, leaving -them to suffer and die alone.</p> - -<p>Sir Arthur Kennedy, who followed Macdonnell, was one -of the colony’s most popular governors. He knew his job thoroughly -and he combined this knowledge with sound judgment, -a lively sense of humor, and a rare talent for pleasing -the traders and the Colonial Office. He initiated the Tai Tam -water-supply system and continued Macdonnell’s relentless -fight against crime.</p> - -<p>Kennedy threw his more orthodox colleagues into a dither -by entertaining Chinese merchants at official receptions in -Government House, his executive residence. He went so far -as to invite these Chinese to suggest improvements in the laws -of the colony, and they promptly asked for a law to punish -adulterous Chinese women. Knowing that each of the petitioners -had several wives and concubines, Sir Arthur realized<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -that his volunteer legal advisers were actually looking for -government sanction to hobble their restless bedmates. He -tabled the petition with tact.</p> - -<p>External changes produced surprising mutations in the -progress of the colony. Its isolation diminished with the opening -of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the completion in the next -year of direct overland telegraph connection with England. -No longer was a governor left to his own devices for days -and weeks, improvising policy at the peril of his job until orders -arrived from home.</p> - -<p>The hazards of life on the South China coast remained. In -1874, the colony was devastated by the worst typhoon since -1841. Flying rooftops filled the skies above the island, and -2,000 Chinese fishermen and their families drowned in the -ruins of their floating villages.</p> - -<p>Sir Arthur’s departure to become the Governor of Queensland -was a melancholy time for the colony’s Chinese. They -were openly devoted to him—the first governor who had -treated them more or less as equals. Even the English liked -him, and he became the first and only governor to have -a statue erected to his memory in the colony’s Botanic Garden. -The statue disappeared during the Japanese Occupation -of World War II.</p> - -<p>Kennedy’s successor, Sir John Pope Hennessy, not only -preserved this solicitude for the Chinese but provoked a storm -of protest from European residents by practicing leniency -toward Chinese prisoners. When murders and burglaries -increased, his humanitarian policies were blamed. Hennessy, -a resourceful debater who was at his best in defending his -own policies, was not intimidated. The weak side of his administration -showed in a quite different area—his habitual -neglect of essential paper work.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> - -<p>Hennessy’s friendliness toward the Chinese unexpectedly -involved him in controversy with the Chinese themselves. For -centuries, wealthy Chinese families had “adopted” little female -domestic slaves by purchasing them from their parents -or relatives. In the households of the rich, these Mui Tsai could -be identified at once by their shabby clothing and their general -appearance of neglect.</p> - -<p>Even families of limited means purchased Mui Tsai, so that -the mother of the family could take a job outside her home -while the juvenile slavey cared for the children and contended -with the simpler household drudgery. For the poorest families, -sale of a daughter as a Mui Tsai was the natural solution -to an economic crisis. But the institution, unacceptable to -Western eyes from any aspect, had become the vehicle for -gross abuses—the kidnaping and sale of women as prostitutes -in Hong Kong or for transportation overseas. Kidnapings -had become so numerous and flagrant by 1880 that Governor -Hennessy and Sir John Smale, the colony’s Chief Justice, condemned -the Mui Tsai system as contrary to British law.</p> - -<p>The Chinese protested that Mui Tsai was not slavery; it was -an ancient, respectable adjunct of family life. Indeed, it was -quite humane, for it saved the daughters of many impoverished -families from being drowned. The English didn’t want that, -did they? The Chinese offered no defense of kidnaping and -forced prostitution arising from the institution of Mui Tsai.</p> - -<p>Under pressure of the colony government, influential Chinese -set up the Po Leung Kuk, or Society for the Protection -of Virtue, to rescue women and girls from flesh peddlers, provide -a home for them in a section of the Chinese-operated -Tung Wah Hospital, and train them for respectable occupations.</p> - -<p>Hennessy, like Governor Bowring, entangled himself in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -series of acrimonious disputes with other colony officials, antagonizing -them in groups by lashing out at the school system, -prison maladministration and the harsh treatment of convicts. -His most combative foe was another Irishman, General Donovan, -head of the colony’s armed forces. Their verbal Donnybrook -erupted over the perennially thorny question of how -much Kowloon land the military was entitled to.</p> - -<p>General Donovan hit back at Hennessy with a sneak attack; -he complained to the home government about the outrageous -sanitary conditions in the colony—the lack of proper -drainage, the polluted seafront, and the verminous tenements -where entire Chinese families shared one room with their pigs -and other domestic animals. All these conditions had existed -in Hong Kong since 1841, but no one had called them to the -home government’s attention with the holy indignation of -Donovan.</p> - -<p>Osbert Chadwick was sent from England to investigate -and he found sanitary conditions every bit as bad as Donovan -had described them. Chadwick’s report became the basis, after -long postponement and inaction, for the creation of a Sanitary -Board and fundamental sanitary reforms.</p> - -<p>Hennessy left the colony in 1882 to become Governor of -Mauritius and to lock horns with a new team of associates. -Four administrators and two governors passed through the -colony’s top executive position in the next decade, but none -effected any substantial improvements in sanitation. Every -attempt to clean up pesthole tenements was balked by cries of -persecution and government interference from the landlords; -they would consent to no improvements unless the government -paid their full cost.</p> - -<p>In other directions the colony advanced steadily. It completed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -a new reservoir system and central market and rebuilt -the sewage and drainage system. Ambitious land-reclamation -projects were pushed ahead at Causeway Bay and Yau Ma Tei -to meet the unabating demand for level sites in the crowded, -mountainous colony. Kowloon, a wasteland of undulating red -rock, in the 1880s began cutting down its ridges and using the -spoil to extend its shoreline—a process that continues at an -amazingly accelerated rate today.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong has never known an age of serenity; its brief -interludes of comparative calm have always been followed by -cataclysmic upheavals. In the spring of 1894, the colony was -invaded by plague, long endemic on the South China coast. -Within a few months, 2,485 persons had died of pneumonic, -septicemic and bubonic plague, and Western medicine had no -more power to check it than had Chinese herb treatments.</p> - -<p>The onset of plague was so terrifying that long-deferred -sanitary reforms were rushed through and rigidly enforced. -Deaf to the protests of all residents, British military units began -regular inspections of Chinese homes. Sanitary teams condemned -350 houses as plague spots and evicted 7,000 persons -from infected dwellings. Resenting foreign invasion of their -privacy and mistrustful of Western medicine, the Chinese retaliated -by posting placards openly in Canton and furtively inside -the colony accusing British doctors of stealing the eyes of -new-born babies to treat plague victims.</p> - -<p>Business came to a stop and ships avoided the plague-stricken -port. The plague abated for a year, then returned in -1896 to take another 1,204 lives. The Chinese kept up a rear-guard -action against sanitary measures with strikes and evasions, -hiding their dead and dying or dumping their bodies in -the streets and harbor. Sometimes they exposed their dying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -relatives on bamboo frames stretched across the narrow -streets, hoping that the departing soul would haunt the street -instead of its former house.</p> - -<p>The benighted traditionalism of the colony’s Chinese awoke -the British administration to one of its most serious weaknesses; -a half-century of British rule had failed to give to 99 -percent of the colony’s residents any clear idea of the civilization -they were expected to work and live under. The tardy -lesson eventually took effect, and the British embarked on a -long and intensive program of improving and enlarging their -school system. In the Tung Wah Hospital, English and Chinese -doctors learned to their surprise that therapies unlike -their own were not necessarily sheer quackery, and that they -could work together for the benefit of their patients.</p> - -<p>With the population of the colony exceeding 160,000 in -the early 1880s, military and commercial leaders turned to the -possibility of acquiring more land on the Chinese mainland. -They pressed the British Foreign Office to seek the territory -running north from the Kowloon Peninsula to the Sham Chun -River, about 15 miles away. The suggestions were rejected as -prejudicial to Sino-British relations until other foreign -powers started to thrust into Chinese territory for commercial -concessions and spheres of political influence.</p> - -<p>France, Russia and Japan were the spearheads of this infiltration -of the Celestial Empire, which had been weakened -by internal rebellion. Japan defeated China in the 1894-95 war -and exerted ever-stronger commercial control over the mainland. -Russia made its bid by advancing through Manchuria -and occupying Port Arthur. Germany hastened to join the -commercial invaders. Hacked at from four directions, the Chinese -people attempted to close ranks in defense of their homeland.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span></p> - -<p>The United States, with no apparent desire to annex Chinese -territory, nevertheless heightened both British and Chinese -apprehension by launching its naval attack on Manila from -Mirs Bay in May, 1898. The Chinese feared another land grab, -and the British felt they could best protect Hong Kong if -they were able to deal with a strong, unified China.</p> - -<p>Despite its earlier reluctance to disturb the status quo, Great -Britain was now convinced that it had to acquire the territory -between Kowloon and the Sham Chun River as a protective -buffer for Hong Kong. On July 1, 1898, Britain obtained a -99-year lease to this mainland territory and 235 adjacent islands -with a total land area of 365½ square miles.</p> - -<p>Chinese guerrilla forces in the New Territories—as this -leased area is still called—opposed the British occupation but -were defeated and driven out by British troops in a ten-day -campaign. That was the easiest part of it. It took four years -of wrangling with the uncooperative Chinese residents to -establish valid titles to private plots of land in the New Territories. -Kowloon City, an eight-acre patch on the border of -Kowloon and the New Territories, became a kind of orphan -in the transaction, with the British firmly insisting it was part -of the lease and the Chinese arguing somewhat inconclusively -that it was not. Nationalist China claimed it as recently as 1948, -but Red China has not so far pushed a similar claim. Britain -regarded it as hers in 1960, and sent in her police to clean out -the robbers and murderers who had long used it as a hiding -place.</p> - -<p>A general deterioration of Sino-British relations followed -the leasing of the New Territories. The two empires were at -odds over the maintenance of Chinese customs stations in the -New Territories, the presence of Chinese warships in Kowloon -Bay and the treatment of Chinese prisoners in Hong Kong<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -jails. Moreover, each disagreement was intensified by the patriotic -fervor which led to the Boxer Rebellion.</p> - -<p>At the opening of the twentieth century, the Chinese Empire -had been driven into a hopeless position. Bound and -crippled like the feet of her women, she had neither the -weapons nor the industrial capacity to repel the encroaching -armies of Europe and Japan. By any reasonable standard, -she was beaten before she started to fight back.</p> - -<p>Out of China’s desperation grew a super-patriotic secret -society, The Fist of Righteous Harmony, or Boxers, who -claimed that magical powers sustained their cause, making -them invulnerable to the superior weapons of foreigners. Occult -arts and a rigorous program of physical training, the Boxers -professed, would carry them to victory. It was a crusade of -absurdity; foolish and foredoomed, but plainly preferable to -unresisting surrender.</p> - -<p>The Boxers opened their offensive by murdering missionaries -and Chinese Christians, causing a new rush of -refugees to Hong Kong. They burned foreign legations in -Peking and sent the surviving Chinese Christians and foreigners -fleeing to the British legation for safety. An international -army, composed of French, German, Russian, American -and Japanese units, lifted the siege of the legation on August -14, 1900, and remained in Peking until peace was signed eleven -months later.</p> - -<p>Recurrences of plague killed 7,962 persons in the colony at -the turn of the century, but the discovery that plague was -borne by rats prompted a war to exterminate them. Rewards -of a few cents were paid for their carcasses, and profit-hungry -Chinese were suspected of importing rats from Canton to -claim the bounty. The threat of plague gradually decreased,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -but malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia, and cholera remained -to ravage the refugee-jammed colony.</p> - -<p>On September 18, 1906, a two-hour-long typhoon hit the -colony without warning, drowning fifteen Europeans and -from 5,000 to 10,000 Chinese. No one could accurately estimate -the deaths, which were concentrated among the fishermen -and boat people, but nearly 2,500 Chinese boats of all -types were hammered into kindling wood or sunk without -trace. Fifty-nine European ships were badly damaged and a -French destroyer broke in two. Piers and sea walls were -breached and undermined, and 190 houses were blown down -or rendered uninhabitable. Roads and telephone lines were -washed out, farm crops and tree plantations were laid low -by the power of the worst storm in local history. Damage -estimates ranged far into the millions.</p> - -<p>In the aftermath of the typhoon, all elements of the population -cooperated to raise a relief fund. The money collected -was used to repair wrecked boats, recover and bury the dead, -feed and house the homeless and provide for the widows and -orphans of storm victims. (The horror of this catastrophe -was reenacted on September 2, 1937, when a typhoon and -tidal wave engulfed a New Territories fishing village, drowning -thousands.)</p> - -<p>The dawn of the twentieth century marked the final collapse -of the Celestial Empire. Dr. Sun Yat Sen, who had been -banished from Hong Kong in 1896 for plotting against the -Chinese government, steadily intensified his revolutionary activities -until, in 1911, he led the revolution which overthrew -the tottering monarchy and replaced it with the Republic of -China. The unrest that accompanied this violent change-over -caused more than 50,000 refugees to cross the Chinese border -into British territory.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p> - -<p>The transition from empire to republic did not end China’s -internal turmoil, and for many years afterward its political -disturbances were felt in Hong Kong. Piracy flourished in the -waters around the colony; one band of corsairs set fire to a -steamship, causing the deaths of 300 passengers. Brigands and -warlords preyed on southern China, sometimes making forays -across the colony’s border to pounce on villages in the New -Territories. China was torn by political struggles during the -1920s, and these provoked strikes within the colony and Chinese -boycotts of Hong Kong goods. All through this period, -refugees poured across the border in unending lines.</p> - -<p>The worldwide depression of the 1930s brought a sharp -drop in colony trade, but the government created jobs for -thousands with road-building and other public works.</p> - -<p>Japan opened its war against China in 1937, and within a -year Hong Kong was bursting with the addition of 600,000 -refugees. Poverty and overcrowded housing offered ideal -conditions for epidemics of smallpox and beriberi which killed -4,500 persons in 1938. Still, the total population climbed to -1,600,000. Government refugee camps housed about 5,000 -people; another 27,000 regularly slept in the streets.</p> - -<p>Emboldened by victories in China and an alliance with Nazi -Germany, the Japanese militarists launched their “Greater -Far Eastern Co-Prosperity Sphere” by attacking Hong Kong, -Pearl Harbor and the Philippines on December 7-8, 1941. -Crossing the Chinese border at Lo Wu in the New Territories, -two Japanese divisions supported by overwhelming air power -invaded and conquered the colony within three weeks. They -proceeded without pause to loot its warehouses and strip its -factories of machinery for shipment to Japan.</p> - -<p>The Japanese imprisoned the remaining British residents and -raped and pillaged at will. By torture, starvation, and main<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -force they drove a million Chinese residents from the colony -and maintained a merciless control over the survivors by propaganda, -intimidation, imprisonment and the use of Chinese -fifth-columnists.</p> - -<p>With their smashing victories in the Philippines, East Indies -and at Singapore, the Japanese should have found it comparatively -easy to unite Asiatics against the whites who had once -lorded it over them. But they suffered from the same compulsion -as the Germans; at a time when they had a chance to -win allies among the people they had conquered, they botched -it by senseless cruelties. When their firecracker-like string of -victories had burned out, they had gained no friends, but instead -had earned millions of new enemies.</p> - -<p>Nearly four years passed before the Japanese were beaten -into unconditional surrender and the British rulers returned to -Hong Kong. Their return had a kind of spectral quality as -the British Pacific Fleet, commanded by Rear Admiral C. H. -J. Harcourt, steamed through Lei Yue Mun pass, gliding under -the silent muzzles of Japanese guns emplaced along the -mountainsides with their crews standing at attention beside -them.</p> - -<p>This was on August 30, 1945. The British went ashore to -find thousands of their countrymen and other Allied prisoners -gaunt and starving in prison camps. Many had been crippled -and deformed by torture. Others had been killed in Allied -bombing raids on Hong Kong. Seven large and seventy-two -small ships had been sunk in the harbor, 27,000 homes had -been destroyed. The fishing fleet was in ruins and the fishermen -were in rags. Nine-tenths of the surviving residents were -dead broke, while a few collaborators and black-marketers -had accumulated fortunes. Livestock had virtually disappeared. -Millions of carefully cultivated trees, planted to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -check erosion and retain the run-off of tropical rainfall for -drainage into the reservoirs, had been chopped down to provide -firewood. Schools were almost entirely suspended. Railroads -and ferry lines were in an advanced stage of disrepair. -Disease and crime had reached their highest rates in many -years.</p> - -<p>The British, who are inclined to procrastinate in the solution -of small crises, can be indomitable in the face of major -emergencies. Within six months after reoccupying the colony -they had restored its government and society to working order. -Six years after the British return, the colony was more -prosperous, more congested, and more progressive than it -had ever been before.</p> - -<p>Nationalist China was driven from the mainland in 1949, -and a new Communist state took its place. Britain promptly -recognized Red China as the ruling power on the mainland, -but relations between the Chinese Reds and Hong Kong were -strained by Communist-caused disturbances in the colony and -shooting “incidents” at sea and in the air. There was no apparent -danger of war, however. In 1951, the colony’s trade -amounted to $1,550,000,000, the highest point it had ever -reached.</p> - -<p>If there were signs of complacency in Hong Kong, they -were erased by the outbreak of the Korean war. The United -Nations clamped immediate restrictions on the colony’s trade -with Red China, and Red China slashed its imports from -Hong Kong. Trade volume declined still further when Hong -Kong voluntarily halted its exports to Korea and the sending -of strategic materials to Red China. The United States at first -included Hong Kong in its embargo of all trade with Red -China, but the colony prevailed upon America to ease the ban. -America agreed to accept goods from Hong Kong, provided<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -that they were accompanied by a Certificate of Origin attesting -that they were made in Hong Kong and had not simply -been transshipped from Communist China through the -colony.</p> - -<p>With the China market gone, as well as Hong Kong’s traditional -role as a transshipper to and from China, the colony executed -its most spectacular economic somersault since 1841; it -switched from trading to manufacturing. In six years, the -great entrepôt became an important industrial producer. By -1962, over 70 percent of the goods it exported were made in -the colony, and about half its workers were employed in industry.</p> - -<p>Having performed this overnight flip-flop without suffering -an economic set-back, Hong Kong has become more prosperous -than ever. Except that it has too many people, hasn’t -enough land to stand on, can’t raise enough food or store -enough water, is incessantly harried by rising tariffs and shipping -costs, and has no idea what its testy, gigantic neighbor to -the north will do next, Hong Kong would appear not to have -a worry in the world.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_TWO">CHAPTER TWO<br /> -<span class="smaller">An Avalanche from the North</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“When one reads of 1,000,000 homeless exiles all human -compassion baulks and the great sum of human tragedy -becomes a matter of statistical examination.”</p> - -<p class="hanging">—“<span class="smcap">A -Problem of People</span>,” Hong Kong Annual Report, 1956</p> - -</div> - -<p>From the end of World War II until the fall of 1949 the -mainland of China rumbled with the clash of contending -armies. Thousands of Chinese, uprooted and dispossessed by -the Nationalist-Communist struggle, streamed southward -across the Hong Kong border in a steady procession.</p> - -<p>The orderly nature of the exodus ended when Mao Tse-tung, -having beaten and dispersed the Nationalist forces of -Chiang Kai-shek, turned his guns on all people suspected of -thinking or acting against the People’s Republic of China. -What had been a slow withdrawal became a headlong flight -for life.</p> - -<p>For six months after the Reds took over the mainland,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -Hong Kong clung to its free-immigration policy. Then it reluctantly -adopted a formula of “one in, one out”—accepting -one immigrant if another person returned to China. But the -refugee flow continued at a reduced rate in spite of land and -sea patrols on both sides of the international boundary.</p> - -<p>In 1956, the British relaxed immigration rules for seven -months, hoping the refugees would go home. Instead, 56,000 -new refugees arrived from China, and the colony reimposed -its restrictions.</p> - -<p>The Chinese side of the frontier unexpectedly opened in -May, 1962, and 70,000 refugees dashed for Hong Kong. The -colony, alarmed and already desperately overcrowded, -strengthened and extended its boundary fence and returned -all but 10,000 of the new arrivals to China.</p> - -<p>This race for freedom aroused the Free World’s tardy compassion. -The United States moved to admit 6,000 Hong Kong -refugees, including some who had applied for admission as -long ago as 1954. Taiwan, Brazil, and Canada also expressed -willingness to accept a limited number. Until this change of -heart, Taiwan had taken only 15,000 colony refugees, and the -United States only 105 a year. None of these offers will materially -reduce the number of Hong Kong refugees, whose -total is officially estimated at 1,000,000. Unofficial estimates -set the total around 1,500,000.</p> - -<p>Whatever the total within this range, it stuns the imagination. -The well-intentioned observer who has come to sympathize -finds himself backing away from this amorphous mass, -unable to isolate or grasp its human content of individual misery, -privation and heartache. He wants to help, as he would -do if he saw a child struck down in the road, but when the -whole landscape is a panorama of tragedy, he hardly knows -where to begin.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p> - -<p>There are a dozen landscapes like that in Hong Kong; the -hills of Upper Kowloon with thousands of flimsy shacks -perched uncertainly on their steep granite faces; the heights -above Causeway Bay where squatter settlements flow down -the mountainside like a glacier of rubbish; the rooftops of -Wanchai, maggoty with close-packed sheds; the rotting tenements -of the Central District strewn in terraces of misery -across the lower slopes of Victoria Peak; the sink-hole of the -old Walled City in Kowloon with its open sewers and such -dark, narrow alleys that its inhabitants seem to be groping -around in a cave with a few holes punched through the roof.</p> - -<p>Yet there are people in the colony who have chosen to cut -their way through this thick tangle of indiscriminate suffering. -Going beyond that first fragile desire to help and the secondary -conclusion that no one person can do anything effective -against a problem of such vast dimensions, they have -learned to stand in the path of an avalanche and direct traffic. -They have opened a way to solve the refugee problem by the -simple process of starting somewhere. Ultimate solutions, in -the sense of housing and feeding all the refugees by giving -them productive jobs in a free economy, lie many years and -millions of dollars away. Meanwhile, people of courage and -resolution, dealing with individual human needs instead of -wallowing in statistics, have achieved wonders in improving -the lot of Hong Kong’s refugees. Who they are and what -they have done offer the real key to Hong Kong’s problem of -people.</p> - -<p>Sister Annie Margareth Skau, a Norwegian missionary -nurse of towering physical and spiritual stature, began her -work among Hong Kong’s refugees with invaluable postgraduate -training. She herself was a refugee from China, -driven out by the Reds.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> - -<p>Born in Oslo, she studied nursing at its City Hospital and decided -to become a “personal Christian,” dedicating her life to -labor as a missionary nurse of the Covenanters, or Mission -Covenant Church of Norway. The work was certain to be -arduous, for the Covenanters sent their workers to such remote -corners of the world as Lapland, the Congo or the interior -of China. Annie, who has an almost mystical intensity -of religious faith, had no qualms about her probable assignments. -Besides, she looked about as large and indestructible -as Michelangelo’s Moses, and possessed a temperament of -ebullient good nature.</p> - -<p>After serving successfully in several other missions, she was -sent to China in the late 1930s. Establishing herself at a mission -in Shensi, northeastern China, she was the only Western-trained -medical worker among the 2,000,000 residents of this -agricultural region. In all likelihood, she was the largest -woman ever seen by the Chinese children under her care—over -six feet, four inches tall, with a Valkyrie’s frame—but -so gentle that none of the children were awed by her presence. -Her appearance anywhere was a signal for laughter and -games; she never seemed too tired to play with children and -teach them little songs.</p> - -<p>Invading Japanese armies passed within two miles of her -mission and clinic in 1938, but none of the villagers ever betrayed -the foreigner’s presence. She had a quick, retentive -mind, and learned to speak Mandarin Chinese almost as well as -she knew her own language. On the rare occasions when an -English-speaking visitor reached the out-of-the-way settlement, -he was surprised to find Sister Annie speaking his language -quite capably. Throughout the war and into the postwar -era, she continued to bring Christianity and expert medical -care to her adopted people.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p> - -<p>When the Communists seized control of China, however, -the Christian missionaries were doomed. The Christian God -became a hateful image in a shrine reserved for Lenin, Stalin -and Mao Tse-tung, and a beloved missionary nurse in a farming -village was transformed into an enemy of the people. The -commissars and their lackeys began by hedging Annie about -with arbitrary regulations, then they confiscated medical supplies -intended for her patients.</p> - -<p>None of these measures succeeded in halting her work. -Exasperated at their failure, the local party leaders finally -dragged her before a kangaroo-style People’s Court. The -word had been passed that any villager who arose to denounce -her for crimes against the state would be handsomely -rewarded. Not a single accuser appeared. Having lost face -before the entire village, the Reds were more determined than -ever to punish her.</p> - -<p>If no one who knew Sister Annie could be lured into a denunciation -of her, the obvious solution was to haul her off to -a distant village where no one knew her. Having done this, -the Reds threw her into jail as an object-lesson to anyone who -befriended Christians. An old woman, knowing nothing of -Annie but remembering the humane work of other missionary -nurses in the village, begged the Communists to put her -in jail with the foreign prisoner so that she could comfort her.</p> - -<p>“Even the guards were kind to me,” Annie recalls. “The -village people didn’t jeer at me or try to hurt me; they kept -trying to pass food to me. They were loyal to the last minute!”</p> - -<p>Under the relentless persecution and mistreatment, Annie’s -strong body broke down, and in the summer of 1951, she was -close to death from pneumonia and malaria. The Reds, who -refused to let her leave the country when she was well, hurried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -to get rid of the ailing woman. Exhausted and gravely ill, -she left China and returned to Norway for a long rest and the -slow regaining of her normal health.</p> - -<p>Eighteen months later she came back to Asia knowing that -she would never be readmitted to a Communist China. But -there was still work to be done, and she turned her efforts to -a squalid shacktown in Hong Kong called Rennie’s Mill Camp.</p> - -<p>Three years earlier the routed remnants of Chiang’s army, -left behind on the mainland, had thrown together a cluster -of shacks beside Junk Bay, a backwater of the British colony -without roads, water, light or sanitation. Nearly 8,000 persons, -wounded soldiers and their wives and children, camped -haphazardly on the steep shores of the bay, ran up the Nationalist -flag and claimed the forlorn site as their own.</p> - -<p>When Annie reached the camp in March, 1953, traveling -by sampan and clambering over the high hills like a lost Viking, -she found it haunted by despair; a dirty, disease-ridden -place, dragged down by the decline of the Nationalist cause. -Another nurse had started a small clinic in a wooden hut, eight -by ten feet in floor area, which treated 600 patients a day. -Annie and the other nurse shared sleeping quarters in a cubicle -attached to the hut.</p> - -<p>Sometimes the cases were so numerous and critical that the -two nurses put the worst cases in their own cramped beds -and spent the night on their feet treating other patients. Their -medical equipment consisted of one thermometer, a few -antiseptics and dressings, and a rickety table that wobbled -groggily on the half-decayed floorboards.</p> - -<p>With the approach of Christmas, 1953, the fortunes of the -clinic sank to a new low. Both nurses were quite broke, unable -to buy the food and medical supplies their patients needed -so critically. Acting more from faith than reason, Annie set<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -out to pick her way over the precipitous rocks to Lei Yue -Mun pass and cross by sampan to Hong Kong Island, hoping -to beg for help.</p> - -<p>To her delighted surprise, the mission’s post-office box on -the island produced a windfall—$200 in contributions from -ten persons overseas. Charging into the shopping crowds, -Annie spent every cent on food and medicine. She scarcely -noticed the weight of her purchases as she trekked the hard -route back to Rennie’s Mill. Until three o’clock Christmas -morning, the two nurses were on their feet, handing out life-saving -presents and exchanging holiday greetings in Mandarin -and Cantonese.</p> - -<p>“The money problems weren’t so bad after that,” Annie -says. “Gifts came in from welfare organizations and individuals, -and we were able to build a little stone clinic and a home -for ourselves.”</p> - -<p>At the same time, health problems grew worse at Rennie’s -Mill. Drug addiction and tuberculosis spread through the -camp as its inhabitants abandoned hope of an early return to -China.</p> - -<p>“Bad housing and poor food started the TB,” she explains. -“But it got much worse when people gave up hope, or heard -about their relatives being killed by the Communists. Chinese -people are devoted to their parents, and to be separated from -them, or learn they’ve been killed—it’s heartbreaking.</p> - -<p>“That was when we realized we’d have to build a rest home -for those patients,” Annie says. “We didn’t have any money; -all we had was a mission to do the best we could. One day I -boarded a sampan with a group of children and we rowed -out into Junk Bay until we came to a little inlet. I saw a hill -just above us, jutting right out to the shore. I knew right then -we would build our chapel on that hill.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p> - -<p>Annie discusses the incident with the fervor and conviction -of one who has received a private revelation.</p> - -<p>“I saw the whole rest-center arranged around that chapel -almost as if it were already completed, built around love. I -had no idea where the money was coming from, not any kind -of an architect’s plan, but it didn’t matter. I knew that Christ -would find a way.”</p> - -<p>A way began to appear when a nurse who had worked with -Sister Annie visited the United States in 1954, telling children -in Wisconsin schools about their work. The response was electrifying. -One small boy stood up beside his desk to announce -with utter seriousness, “I want to give my heart to Jesus.” The -appeal spread like a prairie fire; by February, 1955, Wisconsin -school children had sent more than $2,500 for the new rest -home, which was called Haven of Hope Sanatorium. An -anonymous contributor donated another $5,000 through the -Church World Service, Hong Kong welfare agency of the -National Council of Churches of Christ in America.</p> - -<p>“Now our sanatorium had walls and a roof,” Annie says. -“So we prayed for furniture and food for our patients—and -for bedpans, too.</p> - -<p>“It was a hand-to-mouth existence,” she remembers without -a trace of self-pity. “Our staff had no resources—we were -so short of staff that some of us worked for two years without -a day off. We didn’t mind it at all; we worked with one -mind and one spirit, as if that sanatorium and what it stood for -was our one reason for living.”</p> - -<p>In its early stages, the sanatorium was nothing more than a -rest home. One day, almost as an afterthought on a busy -round of duties, Annie asked a few of her patients to help her -with some routine tasks. They pitched in at once and returned -the following day to volunteer for more duties. They kept at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -the work for several days, then called on Annie in a kind -of delegation.</p> - -<p>“Give us instructions, show us what to do,” they respectfully -demanded. “We want to learn how to be real nurses.”</p> - -<p>Annie agreed, taking care to see that none of the volunteers -exerted themselves beyond the limits of their precarious -health. After three months, they insisted on examinations to -show what they had learned.</p> - -<p>From modest and tentative beginnings, the courses multiplied -and expanded into a full-scale nursing school, offering a -two-and-a-half-year progression of classes in eleven different -subjects, with stiff exams. Most of the pupils are girls between -eighteen and twenty who specialize in TB nursing. The -eleventh class was graduated in February, 1962, and the demand -for new enrollments was so brisk that Annie, as Director -of Nursing Services, could accept only five out of sixty eager -applicants.</p> - -<p>The sanatorium grew into a 206-bed institution of modern -and spotless appearance, and a 40-bed rehabilitation center -for chronic and infectious TB patients has been built nearby. -Church World Service cut a road through to the isolated site -and it was later paved by the colony government. Tuberculosis -has been brought under control at Rennie’s Mill Camp, -and the Haven of Hope is drawing many of its patients from -outside. There is no danger of a shortage; TB strikes everywhere -among Hong Kong’s poor.</p> - -<p>Haven of Hope is administered by the Junk Bay Medical -Council, which also operates a clinic at Rennie’s Mill. Four -doctors comprise the sanatorium staff. Except for Annie -and Miss Martha Boss, the assistant matron, from Cleveland, -Ohio, all the nurses are Chinese. Miss Boss, trained in the same -diligent tradition as Annie, spends three days a week at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -sanatorium, three days on church work and school duties in -Rennie’s Mill, and the seventh day on an industrial medical -project.</p> - -<p>Rennie’s Mill Camp no longer looks like a shacktown. -Catholic and Protestant mission schools have been established, -and many residents are employed in handicraft shops. A new -police post has been erected beside the camp, and a bus line -carries camp residents to the business and shopping districts of -Kowloon. Soon a reservoir is to be constructed with government -aid on a hill above the camp, and a modern housing development -will replace inadequate dwellings.</p> - -<p>Taiwanese flags still fly in the breeze at many places in the -camp, and Nationalist Chinese contribute to its support. But -its main lease on life comes from the churches and the colony -of Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>Although the scope of Annie’s activities has become much -wider, she has lost none of her personal and religious attitude. -When she walks through the wards she is followed by the -smiles of hundreds of children. At any moment, she will stop -to lead a grinning group of little girls, perched on their beds -like sparrows, in a song. With Annie joining in the gestures, -the kids sing out in Cantonese “Jesus loves little children ... -like me ... (pointing to themselves) ... like you ... -(pointing at Annie or the girl in the nearest bed) ... like all -the others” (with a big, wide-open sweep of the arms).</p> - -<p>Annie hugs a lively, black-haired youngster and says quietly, -“Her mother was seven months pregnant when she swam -from China to Macao with this little one on her back. The -girl’s been here two years, and she’s gradually getting better. -Her mother went back to China, and has probably been liquidated -by the Communists.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> - -<p>Another girl reacts to Annie’s pat on the head with the wiggly -cordiality of a puppy.</p> - -<p>“This little one was scared to death of ‘imperialists’ when -she came here,” Annie explains. “It took us a long time to persuade -her that the Red propaganda wasn’t true.”</p> - -<p>Her first two patients at Haven of Hope, a brother and sister, -have now completely recovered. Both had seen their parents -tortured and killed by the Reds.</p> - -<p>“When the girl came to us, her face was like stone,” Annie -says. “For two years I played with her, trying all kinds of -funny things to bring her out of that frozen stupor, but she -never smiled once.</p> - -<p>“I wasn’t getting anywhere,” she continues. “Then I tried -something different. On July 6, 1955, I put her in a sampan -with eleven other kids, and took them all to see the wonderful -new building we’d just finished. You know, the first time -she got a look at it she broke into a big smile! It was the first -time she looked happy. Now she’s fourteen, and her greatest -ambition is to be a nurse.”</p> - -<p>A magnificent chapel, built exactly where Annie had visualized -it, was completed in time for Christmas services in 1961. -A group of Norwegian seamen donated an illuminated cross -to surmount its roof. At night, when their ships sail out from -Hong Kong, they can see it glowing above a line of hills that -cut back from the sea like the fiords of Norway.</p> - -<p>To Annie, the chapel embodies the same spirit she expressed -in naming the eleven wards at Haven of Hope Sanatorium: -Love, Peace, Joy, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, -Faithfulness, Neatness, Temperance, Hope and Courage.</p> - -<p>For qualities like these, exemplified in her work at Rennie’s -Mill Camp and the sanatorium, Sister Annie Margareth Skau<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -was given the Florence Nightingale Award of the International -Red Cross on May 18, 1961. Annie regarded the award -not as a personal tribute, but as an honor earned and shared -by everyone who worked or contributed to make the Haven -of Hope a reality.</p> - -<p>“There is so much that needs to be done for these poor, -homeless people,” she says. “Why, we’ve hardly begun the -job.”</p> - -<p>In 1951, the same year that Annie Skau was exiled from -Red China, the Communists drove out a remarkable European-Chinese -couple who had been helping moneyless families -to support themselves by setting up home industries. -Their house, with all their savings invested in it, was seized -by the state and they reached Hong Kong with a total capital -of thirty-four cents.</p> - -<p>The husband, Gus Borgeest, had been a production expediter -in a Shanghai textile mill for twenty years. His -background was almost as international as the U.N.; a British -subject, he was born in Shanghai of mixed British, Danish, -Portuguese, Italian and German ancestry. Mona, his Christian-Chinese -wife, was born of Cantonese parents in the Hong -Kong fishing town of Aberdeen.</p> - -<p>During the Japanese invasion, Gus was interned for two -years. He spent his time in prison reading about the Quakers -and became converted to their ideal of helping others. When -the war ended, he returned to his Shanghai job until Mona -contracted tuberculosis. To aid her recovery, the couple -moved to the more favorable climate of Hangchow. It was -only a stopover, for the political climate that developed after -the Reds took control made the survival of Christian welfare -workers an impossibility.</p> - -<p>Arriving in Hong Kong, Gus found a job in the Fish and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -Vegetable Marketing Organization of the colony government. -Mona had regained her health, and the two of them spent their -spare hours doing refugee welfare work in the squatter settlements. -It was thoroughly discouraging; living conditions -were deplorable and the refugees, subsisting on handouts, -were losing their pride and initiative.</p> - -<p>“We aren’t accomplishing anything,” Gus told Mona. “It’s -a waste of time—unless we can do something, find some way -to help people earn their way out of these miserable firetraps.”</p> - -<p>After a long series of discussions in which they considered -and discarded a variety of self-help schemes, Gus and Mona -agreed to stake all their resources on one hopeful but wholly -untried plan. They put aside every spare penny until they had -saved $700. Now Gus was ready to present their plan to the -appropriate officials of the colony government.</p> - -<p>He went to K. M. A. Barnett, District Commissioner and -the colony’s top authority on the Chinese people and their -customs. Mr. Barnett listened in some wonderment while Gus -outlined a proposal to build a refugee rehabilitation center on -a desolate island seven miles west of Hong Kong Island. He -would teach people how to make a living by farming marginal -land—and there was plenty of such land lying idle in -the colony.</p> - -<p>The Commissioner was friendly, but he needed the answers -to certain questions. What was Gus’s farming experience? -Twenty years in a textile plant. Why did Gus think he -could grow anything on that island? Hadn’t the Chinese farmers -abandoned it?—and they could grow almost anything, -anywhere! Gus was positive he could make it go. Did he -have any money? Gus mentioned the $700 and said he was -sure it would be enough for a starter. On the face of it, the -plan looked highly unfeasible to Mr. Barnett, but he sensed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -something out of the ordinary in Gus’s determination. Besides, -the Commissioner reflected, his office was never -crowded with people who intended to do something simply -for the benefit of their fellow men.</p> - -<p>Having weighed the matter thoroughly, District Commissioner -Barnett recommended that the strange couple from -Shanghai be given a chance. The colony government leased -the barren, 200-acre island to Gus for thirty-four dollars a -year, and he and Mona spent most of their savings to buy two -tents, bedding, a sack of rice, cooking utensils and farming -tools.</p> - -<p>On June 5, 1953, Gus, Mona, their five-year-old daughter, -Naomi, and two refugee farmers set sail for their new home, -which Gus had rechristened Sunshine Island, in a hired junk. -On their first night ashore it rained four inches in two hours, -but they stuck it out with Mona doing the cooking and Naomi -scampering around for field grass to ignite the fire. Twelve -days after they landed, a refugee fisherman, his wife -and daughter nosed their leaky boat against a sandy beach -and became the next settlers.</p> - -<p>Within a month, Gus and his helpers had tilled a small patch -of land and were raising some chickens, geese and nanny -goats. Three-fourths of his capital had been consumed by -these improvements and the farming books he pored over -every night. An interest-free loan from a Quaker friend kept -the venture afloat, and they sweated through the humid summer -building grass huts, planting crops, and slashing paths -through the shoulder-high sword grass.</p> - -<p>Any heavenly blessings they received did not cover weather -conditions, for Typhoon Tess flattened their huts and tore -up their garden. Yet the improbable colony earned its first -income at the end of five months—$2.60 from the sale of rabbits<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -they had raised. Loans and small gifts from friends overseas -furnished additional support. Virtually nothing went -swimmingly; the first few families who joined them on Sunshine -couldn’t stomach the solitary island and had no interest -in working to pay their way.</p> - -<p>One of the worst catastrophes in Hong Kong history—the -Shek Kip Mei fire that destroyed the shacks of more than -60,000 squatters—created an unsought opportunity for Gus. -Strapped for cash, he landed a temporary job helping to relocate -the fire victims and sent his earnings back to Mona, who -kept the Sunshine Island project breathing. He returned in a -few months to find the island earning about one-third of what -the Borgeests had spent on it.</p> - -<p>Both of them decided on some major changes. He talked to -welfare agencies and secured their help in selecting people -who had the desire and the qualifications to benefit from the -scheme; farmers and those who wanted to learn simple trades, -or people like Professor Ting, a former lecturer at Hangchow -Christian College, who was willing to mind the geese -while building up his shattered health. Every worker on the -island earned $.35 a day, plus food and lodging for his family; -a puny income, even by Hong Kong standards, but in their -view, infinitely preferable to handouts.</p> - -<p>Welfare organizations in Hong Kong had been watching -the progress of the fledgling colony and were quick to appreciate -its value. The United Church of Canada donated $960, -the Hong Kong Welfare Society put up $30 a month to pay -families working on the island, and other agencies joined in—Church -World Service, Catholic Relief Services and the Lutheran -World Federation—sending cash, supplies and carefully -chosen settlers.</p> - -<p>When the first stone houses on the island were completed in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -1955, Gus struck a note of triumph by giving them the high-sounding -name of Villa Borghese—a salute to his Italian ancestors. -Twenty families, comprising 100 persons, had entered -wholeheartedly into the spirit of the plan, digging terraced -gardens from the rocky hillsides and planting pineapples. Bamboo, -banana, and pine trees were set firmly on the hillsides or -in the sheltered hollow between Sunshine’s two highest hills. -Refugee students, earning their tuition from welfare agencies, -excavated a fish-breeding pond.</p> - -<p>For the first time Gus was able to pay himself a salary of -$36 a month, but as often as not in succeeding months he -turned it right back into the kitty to balance his accounts. Periodic -crises like typhoons, crop failures, and the death of valuable -livestock regularly badgered the colony, but Gus contrived -to ride them out.</p> - -<p>In 1957, Gus was laid low by a serious case of tuberculosis. -For six months he reluctantly remained in a chair placed on a -sunny terrace in front of his house. From there he directed -Mona in the management of the colony. Gradually regaining -his strength, he recovered fully in two years and resumed -active charge of the enterprise.</p> - -<p>Increased aid from the outside enabled Gus to raise every -worker’s daily pay to 70 cents. Sunshine Island lost its bleak -look; besides its new stone buildings, it had over 800 fruit trees -and 300 pigs, including 30 breeding sows. Roads had been -chopped through its spiny ridges, knitting the whole project -together.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong’s government staff, satisfied that Gus was doing -something solidly beneficial for refugees, furnished district -officers, agriculturists, forestry and fisheries experts as -consultants on various Sunshine Island jobs.</p> - -<p>But the human dividends of Sunshine Island were far more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -impressive than its physical achievements. More than 700 men -and women, including a number of drug addicts, had found -new hope on the island. After working there for six months -or a year and creating a small nest-egg from their savings, -they applied their newly acquired skills to start their own -farms on marginal land or get jobs in the city. A large majority -of them are now earning their own living in the British -colony.</p> - -<p>Gus, having conceived Sunshine Island as a pilot project -for farming marginal land, schooled a group of his “graduates” -in a marginal-farm resettlement at Cheung Sheung, in -the New Territories. Each new farmer received two acres -from the Hong Kong government, plus a cow, farm tools -and a small cash allowance. Practically all of them made the -grade as independent farmers.</p> - -<p>Activities expanded once more on Sunshine Island when -the Hong Kong Junior Chamber of Commerce donated -$2,500 to build a piggery for 30 animals, and 20 more sties -were added to it in 1961. Papaya and pomegranate trees were -added to the orchard. The island became a local attraction for -visitors, with Boy Scouts and other youth organizations camping -and swimming at a beach on the side of the island most distant -from the farm area.</p> - -<p>With the knowledge he paid a steep price for on Sunshine -Island, Gus has set up marginal-farm projects at three more -locations besides Cheung Sheung.</p> - -<p>“I think that Mona and I have reached our first major objective,” -he said, early in 1962. “That is to show refugee families -a better way of living than handouts and squatter settlements, -and to help strengthen the over-strained economy of -Hong Kong.”</p> - -<p>Several other organizations have adopted the self-help<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -system pioneered by the Borgeests, and Gus is ready to move -on to fresh challenges once the Sunshine Island settlement becomes -self-supporting. He believes this can be done within -three years; from there on, he would like to turn Sunshine -over to an administrative committee capable of running it -without him.</p> - -<p>The island has become a bustling work center. A one-handed -stonemason who has built hundreds of feet of stone-and-cement -walls for pig pastures is erecting the walls of another -piggery. Dozens of Hakka women in their black-fringed -straw hats are transporting dirt in straw baskets to clear the -site of a new road. One man tirelessly splits boulders with a -heavy hammer and a chisel; while he works, he listens to Cantonese -music issuing from his transistor radio, perched on an -adjoining rock. A sampan taxi, operating between Sunshine -and the nearby island of Peng Chau, supports a family with -several children and a seaworthy chow dog.</p> - -<p>Gus is absorbed in new plans to help others. Two years ago -he undertook a complete survey of the island of Shek Kwu -Chau, two miles west of Sunshine, to determine whether it -could be made into a rehabilitation center for some of Hong -Kong’s 250,000 narcotics addicts. With only slight modifications, -the survey has become the blueprint for the center, -opening in 1962 under the administration of the Society for -the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Addicts. He was one of -the early developers of Hei Ling Chau, the island leprosarium -run by the Mission to Lepers, and remains a member of its -administrative council.</p> - -<p>On the last day of August, 1961, Gus and Mona became -winners of a Ramon Magsaysay Award, the “Nobel Prize of -the East,” for their Sunshine Island accomplishments. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -award also carried a $10,000 prize, and the Borgeests decided -to save it for the education of their three daughters.</p> - -<p>“We have no other funds,” Gus explained. “But a lot of -people who heard about the prize must have decided that old -Gus is on easy street. Our contributions fell off, and our debts -started shooting up again.”</p> - -<p>At fifty-two, Gus is a ruggedly built man whose face and -bald head have been burned dark brown by the sun. His one -gospel is the doctrine of helping others to help themselves.</p> - -<p>“The Chinese people don’t want to live on anybody’s charity,” -Gus said. “And that’s doubly true of the refugees; they -wouldn’t have come here, most of them, if they’d been willing -to become stooges for a government that did all the thinking -for them.”</p> - -<p>Gus has a well-defined conception of the way he prefers -to spend his own future:</p> - -<p>“I’d like to devote the rest of my life to work among the -lepers and drug addicts. We couldn’t do much for the addicts -on Sunshine; we’d get them accustomed to living without -drugs, but they’d slip back into addiction when they met their -old companions back in the city.</p> - -<p>“And if there’s time enough, I’d like to go to one of the -rural areas in the Philippines with Mona and set up another -place like Sunshine Island. With what we’ve learned here, I -know we could do a lot better.”</p> - -<p>The heroic works of the Borgeests and Sister Annie Skau, -outstanding though they are, have directly affected the lives -of less than one percent of Hong Kong’s refugees. But the -dimensions of the crisis are so great that they have engaged -the attention of scores of humane and intelligent people. They -have gone far beyond routine assistance to devise creative and -practical solutions to the colony’s refugee problems.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p> - -<p>Monsignor John Romaniello, a Maryknoll missionary from -New Rochelle, N.Y., used his noodle to produce millions -of meals for hungry refugees. A roundish man with nothing -on his mind but the Lord’s work and noodles, he revels in -his title as “noodle king of Hong Kong.” He sings about -noodles, writes about noodles, puns about noodles and buttonholes -every American tourist he meets for contributions -to buy more noodles.</p> - -<p>It is showmanship with a purpose. Behind the kidding lies -an idea so obvious that no one ever thought of it until Monsignor -Romaniello came to Hong Kong in 1957 as director -of Catholic Relief Services. He noticed that millions of dollars’ -worth of American surplus foods like milk powder, corn -meal, and wheat flour being sent to the colony to feed refugees -were winding up on the black market. Having lived -among the Chinese for thirty years, he decided to keep a close -eye on the surplus-food traffic.</p> - -<p>One day he observed a young girl taking a sack of surplus -flour into a bakery, then paying the baker to convert it into -noodles. The simple incident stayed in his mind, nagging at -him. Later, while riding across the harbor on the Star Ferry, -the answer to a gigantic riddle came to him in one reflective -flash; the little girl was paying to have the flour made into -noodles because her mother, like most refugee mothers, had -no way of turning the flour into an edible meal. The same was -true of com meal; there was neither space nor cooking facilities -for it in the average refugee cubicle. In their raw state, -the surplus foods were alien to a Chinese palate.</p> - -<p>Why not convert these foods into noodles? No colony -baker was equipped to handle the job on the scale Monsignor -Romaniello envisioned. On any scale, the cost was too -high for the refugee feeding program. Monsignor Romaniello,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> -helped by other Maryknoll fathers, constructed a noodle-making -machine out of scrap parts and an old engine. It looked -like nothing ever designed by engineers, but it rolled out the -noodles.</p> - -<p>The Maryknoll noodles caught on at once with the Chinese, -who found them easy to prepare and agreeable to eat. -With funds provided by Catholic Relief Services and the -Hong Kong Junior Chamber of Commerce, the first noodle-making -contraption was replaced by a production-line model. -Within four years, Hong Kong noodles were pouring out of -the machines at the rate of 5,000,000 pounds a year, and welfare -organizations like the Church World Service had adopted -them. Noodle machines were exported to the Philippines, -Macao, Taiwan, Korea and Vietnam as the noodle mania -grew.</p> - -<p>Another Catholic priest, working in a phase of welfare -work wholly unlike that of the “noodle king,” has achieved a -degree of success comparable to that of Monsignor Romaniello. -He is Father P. J. Howatson, an Irish Jesuit who has become -a key figure in the colony’s youth leadership program.</p> - -<p>Welfare workers will tell you, holding their breath as they -do so, that gangs of young hoodlums have not yet infested -Hong Kong. Widespread poverty, overcrowded housing, and -a predominantly young population seem to offer fertile soil -for their growth, but welfare people believe juvenile gangs -have not appeared primarily because of the integral unity of -the Chinese family, with its respect for parents and elders.</p> - -<p>There is a second line of defense, the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs -Association, which embraces 13,000 of the poorest youngsters -in its recreational and leadership programs. Father Howatson -is the prime mover in the Association, doing some of its finest -work among rooftop squatters in Wanchai, a waterfront jungle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -of bars and cabarets where shiploads of pent-up sailors are -regularly turned loose.</p> - -<p>Because of the magnitude of Hong Kong’s welfare needs -and the bewildering assortment of private organizations attempting -to deal with them, there is an absolute necessity for -a central clearinghouse to eliminate overlapping in some areas -and neglect in others. This is the function of the Hong Kong -Council of Social Service, a coordinating agency of ninety -welfare organizations which regularly checks the balance -sheets of its affiliates. If they pass muster, the colony government -grants them substantial aid to supplement their own resources.</p> - -<p>The Council, under its executive secretary Madge Newcombe, -is also charged with discovering where and what the -needs of poor people are, and then of assigning the religious -or welfare societies best equipped to satisfy them. There is no -shortage of needs; the Council’s concern is to avoid imbalance -and wasted effort in meeting them.</p> - -<p>Five years ago the Council created the Central Relief Records -Office. With its file of approximately 200,000 cards, listing -the name of every relief client and the aid he is receiving -from each agency, the office has drastically reduced the duplication -of welfare-agency work and chiseling by potential -recipients. There is no need for begging; relief is so well organized -that any hungry person can get a meal at a welfare -agency.</p> - -<p>Apart from feeding and housing the colony’s displaced persons, -there is a human problem of especial poignance. A resettlement -estate, at its outset, is an assembly of strangers from -all over China, some from big cities, some from back-country -hamlets, tossed together like beans in a bowl.</p> - -<p>At Wong Tai Sin, one of the largest resettlement estates,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -60,000 people are packed into long rows of multi-story concrete -blocks. Physically, they are far better off than they were -in the shacktowns they came from, but when they first moved -in they were strangers lost in a crowd, rootless and with no -sense of community interests.</p> - -<p>During World Refugee Year (1959-60), the United States -government met the problem of building community consciousness -at Wong Tai Sin with one of its most effective gifts—$210,000 -to build a community center there. Now completed -and in full operation, it is a large, modern, five-story -building teeming with community enterprises.</p> - -<p>The variety of its activities is bewildering: classes for the -deaf, courses in Diesel mechanics and refrigeration engineering, -Chinese opera, day nurseries, social events, libraries, movies -and a hundred other interests—all of them designed to -form a congenial community out of thousands of isolated families.</p> - -<p>The idea worked so well that the United Kingdom put up -an equal amount of money to build a second center in the -new-born industrial city of Tsuen Wan. The Toronto and -Canadian World Refugee Year committees donated $75,000 -for a third community center at Chai Wan, on Hong Kong -Island. Others are planned, and the public response to the centers -has been so enthusiastic that the colony hopes to establish -one in every resettlement estate.</p> - -<p>The Hong Kong branch of Church World Service, a department -of the National Council of the Churches of Christ -in America, picked up fresh vigor a few years ago. Dr. Elbert -E. Gates, Jr., pastor of the First Baptist Church of Westfield, -N.J., made an incidental stop at Hong Kong during a -trip to Australia. He and his wife, June, had a close-up look -at the colony’s refugees, and what they saw made an unforgettable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -impression on them. In 1959, he gave up his pastorate -and took a one-third cut in salary to become director of the -Church World Service branch in Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>Working together, the couple have become leaders in colony -refugee activities. The statistical side alone is enormous—distributing -53,000 quarts of powdered milk a day and -2,500,000 balanced-ration biscuits a month, and operating a -noodle factory and a central kitchen with a daily capacity of -40,000 meals. There are scholarships for young people, dental -clinics, foundling homes, homes for orphaned girls and a dozen -other undertakings.</p> - -<p>Dr. Gates, a cheerful, tireless advocate of the colony’s poor -people, interrupts his work many times to show overseas visitors -what is being done, and still needs to be done, to help -the refugees. He takes most pleasure, perhaps, in displaying -the “self-help” projects of Church World Service.</p> - -<p>At one school in the hills of Kowloon, he directs a home -where girls are taught to make dresses, sweaters and ties for -the American market. All were formerly homeless, most are -under twenty years old, some are blind, others have only one -hand or one arm. They have all learned to knit, including the -girl with one arm, and are earning their living by making -high-quality products for sale in the best stores.</p> - -<p>“We don’t want to produce curios, or something that tries -to play on people’s sympathy by calling itself a refugee product,” -Dr. Gates says. “These girls have proved they can turn -out goods that will hold their own in a competitive market.”</p> - -<p>It is obvious that Doctor and Mrs. Gates are enjoying themselves -as much as those they help when they drop into the -Faith Hope Nursery, a joint enterprise of Church World -Service and the YWCA. The nursery children, two to five -years old, are shack-dwellers whose mothers work during the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -day. At the nursery, the kids receive daytime care, meals, -clothes and a daily bath, with plenty of time left over for -group singing and dancing. When the pastor and his wife appear, -moppet grins spread the width of the classroom and -there is a spirited exchange of Cantonese greetings.</p> - -<p>Church World Service, together with CARE, Catholic Relief -Services and the Lutheran World Service, form the -recognized “big four” of Hong Kong’s private welfare organizations. -Each one does its own work and cooperates willingly -with the other three, as well as scores of other Catholic, -Protestant and non-denominational groups. One hears a certain -amount of subdued muttering about this or that religious -group pushing hard for new members, but there is no sign -that it has seriously impaired their aim, which is to help all -poor people without regard to finicky distinctions of race or -religion.</p> - -<p>CARE, the non-denominational American member of the -big four, made a brilliant and original addition to its long-established -welfare program in 1961. This was the Ap Chau -Island settlement, built for the families of fishermen.</p> - -<p>The people who fish the waters around Ap Chau, a three-acre -island in the northeastern corner of the New Territories, -had for generations spent their entire lives on fishing junks, -never establishing homes on shore or attending schools. But -the technical demands of the modern fishing industry put -them at a competitive disadvantage, and they petitioned the -colony government for permission to build homes on Ap -Chau and send their children to school.</p> - -<p>Graham French, a Philadelphia philanthropist who was in -Hong Kong to observe CARE operations, heard about the -petition and became curious enough to investigate it thoroughly. -He discovered that the petitioners were so deeply indebted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -to loan-sharks that they had no real chance to finance -housing ashore unless they got outside funds. He offered to -give $17,500 to get the settlement started, CARE added another -$20,000 and the colony government spent $14,000 to -clear a site for the houses.</p> - -<p>With these combined funds, a settlement consisting of -houses for forty-eight families, or 360 people, was completed -in December, 1961. The Royal Engineers laid an undersea -1,000-yard pipeline from a mainland reservoir to supply the -island with fresh water. The fishing families, for their part, -formed a community cooperative to administer the scheme. -Rents go into a revolving fund, and members of the co-op can -borrow from it at one percent interest to repair and mechanize -their boats.</p> - -<p>The fishermen’s wives were at first so naïve about living on -shore that they tried to furnish their houses with a piled-up -heap of boards and braces resembling the poop deck of a fishing -junk.</p> - -<p>After a time, the seagoing ladies learned to adjust themselves -to conventional tables and chairs. Using sewing machines -supplied by CARE, they took instructions from the -government teacher on the island and learned to sew their -own curtains. Their husbands took carpentry instruction at -the same school and produced some acceptable furniture. Ultimately, -the entire project will become self-supporting.</p> - -<p>A similar cooperative settlement has been launched at Sai -Kung, a market town in the New Territories. Lawrence and -Horace Kadoorie, Hong Kong industrialists and philanthropists, -donated pigs to bolster the domestic economy of Sai -Kung. Three other allied ventures have been okayed by the -government for construction at Tai Tam, on Hong Kong Island, -and on the outlying islands of Tsing Yi and Po Toi.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> - -<p>Numerically, the most extensive of all private welfare -groups in Hong Kong are the Kaifongs, or Chinese neighborhood -welfare associations, with 665,000 members. Operating -on slim budgets, they have nevertheless managed to provide -medical care, distribute emergency relief supplies, conduct -hundreds of free classes, set up noodle factories and give anti-cholera -shots.</p> - -<p>The Kaifongs are a departure from the older Chinese practice -of limiting charity to your own family or clan; they -branch into such community-wide interests as traffic safety -and antinoise campaigns. Once they even put on a drive to -persuade Kowloon kids not to fly their kites in the path of -airliners approaching Kai Tak Airport! (This last one sounds -a bit overzealous, but not to anyone who has stood in the -streets of Kowloon Tong while the jets roared overhead, all -but untying his shoelaces with their vibrations.)</p> - -<p>Although the United States government has conducted no -regular foreign-aid program in Hong Kong, it has given the -colony almost $30,000,000 worth of aid, either as surplus foods -or as part of its Far East Refugee Program.</p> - -<p>The main burden of relief falls, as it should, on the -colony government. The Hong Kong administration spends -$10,000,000 annually on social welfare work and more than -$55,000,000 a year on every form of direct and indirect aid -to its millions of poor residents.</p> - -<p>The problem of what to do about its refugees had been with -the colony throughout its history. Whenever China was afflicted -by famine, unrest or revolution, thousands of its people -sought temporary haven in Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the most noted refugee of the pre-British era was -Ti Ping, the last boy Emperor of the Sung Dynasty, who was -driven out of China by the Mongols in 1279 <span class="smcapuc">A.D.</span> He encamped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -on the Kowloon Peninsula for almost a year, then resumed -his flight to the west, where he was defeated and -drowned in a sea battle with the Mongols. An inscribed rectangular -rock called the Sung Wong T’oi, or Terrace of the -Sung Emperor, stands near Kai Tak Airport to commemorate -his stopover.</p> - -<p>The British had barely settled in their new colony when a -group of refugees who had been plotting to overthrow the -Manchu emperors fled there in the 1840s. Unwilling to -endanger their relations with the Manchus, the British -branded the plotters under the arm and shipped them back to -China. The Tai Ping Rebellion of 1850, fomented by a Christian -Chinese, Hung Siu Tsuen, to depose the Manchus, provoked -serious disorder in Canton and brought another wave -of frightened Chinese to Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>Thousands of Chinese streamed into the colony during the -next decade, but most of them moved on to the goldfields of -California and Australia, or to contract labor in the Americas -and the islands of the Indian Ocean. Their passage was -expedited by labor-traders who often recruited manpower -by kidnaping Orientals and shipping them out in barbarously -overcrowded vessels.</p> - -<p>The Boxer Rebellion of 1900, bringing a rash of murders -of missionaries and Chinese Christians, forced thousands to -seek safety in Hong Kong. A far greater number arrived in -1911 when Dr. Sun Yat Sen overthrew the Manchu Empire. -In the early chaotic days of the Chinese Republic about -100,000 refugees came to the crown colony, jamming its -housing and creating prime conditions for a plague outbreak -which presently killed nearly 2,000 persons.</p> - -<p>There was a brief reversal in the direction of the refugee -procession when Britain entered World War I and 60,000 Chinese<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -turned back home. But continuing disorders in China -brought many right back to Hong Kong, and the southward -drift persisted through the 1920s.</p> - -<p>When the Japanese invaded China in 1937, the drift became -a tidal wave; in two years 600,000 refugees crossed the border. -The population had reached 1,600,000 when the Japanese -attacked Hong Kong in December, 1941.</p> - -<p>Having no desire to support such a large population, the -Japanese conquerors set to work to reduce the head-count. -Their methods were a model of brutality; starvation, execution -and driving the Chinese back to their homeland with bayonets. -All who attempted to detach themselves from the -northbound herd were instantly killed. By the end of the war, -the Japanese had cut the colony population to less than -600,000.</p> - -<p>During the war, the colony came perilously close to losing -its chances of ever being returned to its place in the British -Empire. At the Yalta Conference, President Franklin D. -Roosevelt told Stalin privately that he thought Hong Kong -should be returned to China or made into an internationalized -free port after the Japanese were defeated.</p> - -<p>Nothing was said to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, -who had flatly opposed every attempt to whittle down Britain’s -colonial possessions. Ten years after, when asked about -the Roosevelt proposal, Churchill replied, “According to the -American record [of the Yalta Conference], President Roosevelt -said he knew I would have strong objections to this suggestion. -That was certainly correct—and even an understatement.”</p> - -<p>Chiang Kai-shek also campaigned for the return of Hong -Kong to China and almost as soon as the war ended, James F. -Byrnes, American Secretary of State, announced that the future<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -status of Hong Kong would be determined at a meeting -of the Council of Foreign Ministers. As soon as they learned -about this, the British, led by Prime Minister Clement Attlee, -registered their emphatic disapproval and the idea died without -further discussion.</p> - -<p>Although Hong Kong did not go back to China, the -Chinese went back to Hong Kong. During the postwar struggles -of Nationalist and Communist forces, thousands of their -Chinese countrymen removed to Hong Kong, including virtually -all who had been driven from the colony by the Japanese. -But the great human avalanche came in 1949, when -the Reds gained absolute control of the country. Fugitives -from Communist “liberation” swarmed into Hong Kong at -the rate of 10,000 a week.</p> - -<p>One year after the Communists took over, the colony’s -population reached 2,360,000. More than 330,000 people were -living in hillside squatter settlements, sleeping on the sidewalks, -on tenement rooftops, even in the center strip of the -widest Kowloon streets. A shacktown fire in 1950 drove -20,000 persons from their homes. The next year a single fire -dishoused 10,000 people, and a series of fires in 1952 burned -out 15,000 others.</p> - -<p>Sooner or later, colony officials told themselves, the refugees -would return to China as the immigrant waves of other -years had done. The government took a firm stand on the doctrine -that it was not supposed to become the landlord for millions -of its residents, but it yielded sufficiently to erect temporary -wooden huts and bungalows for 40,000 squatters.</p> - -<p>All the high-principled resolutions to stay out of the public -housing business were swept away on Christmas Night, 1953. -A roaring conflagration broke out at Shek Kip Mei, in Upper -Kowloon, racing up the tiers of hillside shacks as if it were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -mounting a flight of steps. Somewhere between 60,000 and -70,000 people were left homeless. About half of them found -shelter with friends or relatives, and the government was -plunged into the enormous task of feeding, clothing and rehousing -the fire victims.</p> - -<p>Pausing just long enough to permit the displaced people -to sift their few remaining possessions from the ashes, the government -bulldozed the 45-acre site, leveled the ground, and -had erected emergency accommodations on it in fifty-three -days. The streets had hardly been cleared of homeless people -when a new shack fire at Tai Hang Tung dishoused 24,000 -others.</p> - -<p>Simultaneously, the colony recognized the inadequacy of -its cottage-and-bungalow housing, which required too much -land and provided for too few people. It began the construction -of multi-story resettlement estates—six- and seven-story -blocks of reinforced concrete clustered together in populous -communities. Eleven such estates, lodging 360,000 people in -fireproof and typhoon-proof structures, have been completed -since 1954 at a cost of $32,000,000. One toilet is shared by -hundreds of people and there is no electric light in the rooms -unless the tenant pays extra for it. But when they are seen beside -the remaining shacks, the multi-story blocks seem immeasurably -superior. In addition to the multi-story estates, -80,000 persons have been housed in fourteen cottage resettlement -areas.</p> - -<p>An apartment in a resettlement block is a concrete-walled -room, renting for $1.60 to $4.60 a month. The Hong Kong -Housing Authority has built a higher-quality low-cost apartment -in skyscraper developments, renting from $8 to $23 a -month, and 106,000 persons are to be accommodated in them -by 1964.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span></p> - -<p>Around 30,000 people live in flats built by the Hong Kong -Housing Society, a voluntary group aided by government -loan funds, and this number will be doubled in a few years. If -the colony maintains its present rate of building, it can provide -new apartments for 100,000 persons annually for the next five -years.</p> - -<p>This small mountain of statistics looms large on the landscape -until you consider that there are now about 500,000 to -600,000 people living in squatter shacks, on sidewalks and rooftops -and in tumbledown firetrap tenements. Theoretically, -they could all be rehoused in five or six years, but the colony’s -population is rising meanwhile at the rate of 150,000 a year.</p> - -<p>The dreams of Hong Kong housing officials are haunted -by figures; a baby born every five minutes and illegal immigrants -sneaking across the border at an incalculable rate. -Illegal immigration is never estimated at less than 10,000 a -year and often set as high as 40,000. Popular guesswork may -jack it up to 20,000 a month.</p> - -<p>In its own protection, the colony has been forced to forbid -further immigration, except at an approximate rate of fifty -a day. Its only shield against a smothering horde of advancing -people is the effectiveness of its land and marine police. To the -extent that the border police can restrain illegal immigration, -the colony may be able to catch up with its housing needs, -provided, of course, that the birth rate tapers off.</p> - -<p>The colony’s marine police are a small, well-trained force -contending with overwhelming odds. Their fleet of 27 boats -and 610 men is charged with patrolling 400 miles of coastline -and 728 square miles of territorial waters. They have one 58-foot -boat with a top speed of 22 knots and three jet boats -of 20-foot length, useful in hot pursuit, with a maximum -speed of 42 knots. Their 70-foot launches mount a 50-caliber<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> -Browning machine-gun on the foredeck and carry a cache of -smaller arms, but they deliver no more than 11 knots.</p> - -<p>As many as five of the patrol boats may be out on duty at -one time, but the sea lanes from Macao and China are -crowded with ships at all hours. A police launch cruising -along the western edge of Hong Kong waters on a clear day -will often have forty vessels within its sight.</p> - -<p>There are red sails in every sunset off Lantau, largest and -westernmost of Hong Kong’s 237 islands. The skipper of a -police launch may spend every spare moment scanning the -horizon for suspicious-looking craft, but even in full daylight -he cannot hope to detect and halt all the smugglers. At -night, when the smugglers slip through fog or run without -lights, the skipper’s chances are considerably slimmer. The -Red Chinese gunboats are also on the prowl just beyond territorial -limits, hoping to catch their runaway countrymen, -but they are often unsuccessful.</p> - -<p>The Hong Kong courts charged 1,551 illegal immigrants in -1961; another 1,763 were intercepted by the marine police and -sent back to China. Thousands of others slipped through the -net either at Macao or Hong Kong. Here are a few typical incidents -that occurred during two months in the winter of -1961-62.</p> - -<p>Eighty-three men, women, and children stole a Chinese -military launch and escaped to Macao. Marine police caught -seventy-three illegal immigrants in a motor junk off Lamma -Island. Police discovered thirty-two men and women attempting -to slip past Castle Peak in a sailing junk. A woman and two -children were arrested in Tai Tam Bay, Hong Kong Island. -A Communist gunboat intercepted a sampan near Lappa -Island, opposite Macao, firing shots into the hull and driving -the dozen women and children aboard back to Red territory.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -A Red gunboat fired on a junk at the mouth of the Canton -River estuary, sinking it with all twenty-nine immigrants -aboard.</p> - -<p>During the same period, an unknown number of illegal immigrants -swam across Starling Inlet from the Chinese mainland -to Hong Kong, using rafts and basketballs to keep themselves -afloat. A middle-aged man swam from Lappa Island -to Macao under the muzzles of Communist guns to visit his -son. On every dark night or at any time there is a chance of -screening their passage in foggy or overcast weather, the immigrants -keep coming in.</p> - -<p>Marine police inspectors say there is a well-organized traffic -in smuggling illegal immigrants. Smugglers can buy a second-hand -junk in Macao and stuff its hold with twenty to forty immigrants. -They have a regular scale of prices based on the -financial blood-count of each customer; $40 for well-heeled -Shanghai Chinese, $30 for a moderately solvent Fukienese, and -$13 to $20 for a Cantonese farmer or laborer. If the smugglers -fall into the hands of the marine police, they may spend a year -in prison, and their passengers will be sent back to an ice-cold -reception in Red China. Jail sentences seldom keep smugglers -from returning to the trade; the profits justify the risk.</p> - -<p>“If we catch a boat with people that look like genuine fishermen, -we may warn them to get a Hong Kong operating license -and let them go,” a marine police inspector said. “If we spot -one that looks like a regular smuggler, we arrest the whole -bunch.”</p> - -<p>The marine police crews are predominantly Cantonese; first-class -seamen and courageous policemen, but at best they can -scarcely hope to snare more than a minority of those who are -determined to break through the blockade. When the successful -ones reach Hong Kong Island or one of the sheltered coves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> -of the New Territories, they are met by friends, relatives or -confederates of the smugglers. They vanish into the almost -impenetrable masses of Chinese and emerge a few months later -to register as residents. In most cases the British have no alternative -but to accept them.</p> - -<p>Many of the police are themselves refugees from Red China. -They perform their antismuggling duties conscientiously, but -if refugees get through despite their best efforts and vigilance, -they may be something less than heartbroken.</p> - -<p>Protection of the land border with Red China is the responsibility -of the 200 uniformed men of the Frontier Division, -with headquarters at Fanling, four miles south of the border. -Measured in a straight line, the border is only thirteen miles -long, but 22 miles as it follows a snaky line from Deep Bay in -the west to Mirs Bay in the east. On the colony side, it -is backed up by a closed zone which varies in depth from a -few hundred yards to a mile. No one except police, farmers -living in the area, or persons carrying special passes from the -Commissioner of Police is allowed to enter or move about in -the closed area.</p> - -<p>Before the dramatic refugee surge of May, 1962, only nine-tenths -of the border was fenced on the British side, and the -stoutness of the fence was variable—high and topped with -barbed wire at some places, but no more than a plain, low fence -at others. The storming of the barrier in 1962 caused the British -to build an entirely new one which stretched the full length -of the border. Crowned with many strands of barbed wire, it -stood 10 feet high and was laid out like a long cage, with 20 -feet of enclosed ground between the outer, parallel fences.</p> - -<p>Between the marshlands on the west and the hilly country -in the east, the Frontier Division police have three main stations -and nine police posts. From each of these, police<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -observers scan the border with binoculars. Foot patrols also -keep a continuous watch along the boundary. At night, when -the closed area is under curfew, searchlights and dogs are -added to the regular patrols. When the integrity of the border -is as seriously threatened as it was by the spring invasion of -1962, the closed area may be increased to a depth of three -miles, as Governor Black ordered on May 19, 1962.</p> - -<p>Under normal conditions, farmers who live along the border -enjoy a kind of twilight-zone immunity. Known to the -patrols, they may cross the border during the day to work -either in Hong Kong or China without molestation, but they -must be home before nightfall, because the border, with all its -rail and road connections, shuts down at dark. Night crossings, -even before the 10-foot barrier went up, were discouraged by -peremptory challenges and bullets.</p> - -<p>The Reds have no fence on their side of the border. They -do not need it; nobody wants to get in.</p> - -<p>Why did the Red Chinese permit the transborder flight of -May, 1962? At first it was interpreted as a deliberate attempt -to embarrass the British, and certainly the colony’s police and -military units had a thankless assignment. When they transported -the captured refugees back to the border, they were -jeered at and reviled by colony residents. Protests were issued -by international relief officials.</p> - -<p>The onus soon shifted to Red China, which was revealed -by the exodus as a land of hunger. All news from Communist -China is censored or second-hand, so no accurate explanation -of the flight could be made at the time. It appeared, however, -that industrial retrenchment in the cities of China had caused -many city-dwellers to move to rural areas, perhaps to seek -food, perhaps to bolster the country’s sagging farm production.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> - -<p>Most of those who crossed the border in the big May surge -were from the adjoining province of Kwangtung, indicating -that free movement of people within China was confined to -this one southern area. Most of those interviewed in Hong -Kong complained that they were hungry, and that they had -lived on a substandard diet for months with no real hope of -improvement.</p> - -<p>There was a momentary temptation to regard the flight as -a sign that civil government had collapsed in Communist -China, but this hope faded on May 25, when the Reds again -sealed off the border. No official explanation for the turn-about -was made, but newspapermen in the colony suspected -that a sharp British protest to Peking may have prompted the -clamp-down.</p> - -<p>To the refugees in Hong Kong, the world spotlight meant -very little, except that it may have made other countries aware -that no place in the world has shielded so many fugitives from -Communist tyranny as the crown colony.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_THREE">CHAPTER THREE<br /> -<span class="smaller">Conflict and Coexistence with Two Chinas</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“There is a saying in China; ‘If the east wind does not -prevail over the west wind, then the west wind will prevail -over the east wind.’ I think the characteristic of the current -situation is that the east wind prevails over the west wind; -that is, the strength of socialism exceeds the strength of -imperialism.”</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">Mao Tse-tung, Moscow</span>, 1957</p> - -</div> - -<p>So spoke the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party at a -time when all the winds seemed to be blowing his way. For -eight years the People’s Republic of China had performed with -the disciplined enthusiasm of a collegiate cheering section, -expanding its industrial capacity at a prodigious rate and disseminating -its political influence throughout Asia. Soviet Russia -had given complete ideological support and technical assistance -to its junior partner in world Communism.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p> - -<p>Since then, the winds have shifted to a new quarter. The -Great Leap Forward that began in 1958 has struck a dead -calm. Backyard factories and foundries have failed to attain -either the standards or quantity of production anticipated, -but they succeeded for a time in clogging the country’s transportation -system and in interfering with the distribution of -food and other consumer goods. The same confused planning -that turned the emphasis from large-scale industrial production -to backyard factories also transformed the traditional -small Chinese farm and the medium-sized collective farm into -titanic agricultural communes. By a combination of mismanagement -and adverse growing conditions, the communes have -brought about the worst food shortage in China’s recent -history.</p> - -<p>In the summer of 1961, the prevailing winds from Moscow -turned unseasonably icy as an ideological split developed between -Russia and China. No one outside the Communist partnership -could assess the full significance of the break, but it -offered very little prospect of increased Soviet assistance to -Communist China.</p> - -<p>Every change in the political winds of mainland China -creates an eddy in Hong Kong. In the eight years when Red -China was swept along by the momentum of its revolutionary -spirit, the colony was beset by a succession of incidents. British -ships and planes became the target for Chinese Communist -guns. Long after the mainland fell under the unchallenged -domination of the Reds, the grim warfare between Communists -and Nationalists continued in the streets of Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>Whether by coincidence or direct cause, the second year -of the Great Leap Forward brought an unexpected lull in the -Communist harassment of the colony. Left-wing agitation in -the schools and trade unions persisted, but colony officials noticed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> -that Communist sympathizers, once so avid for violent -strikes and street demonstrations, seemed to have lost their -appetite for both. The assumption was that Peking had told -them they could expect no further support from that source. -At the same time, shooting incidents and border clashes virtually -ceased.</p> - -<p>There was no disposition in the colony to regard this undeclared -armistice as a bid for reconciliation. The news that -the Great Leap had made its first big stumble was already in -circulation, and the colony administration, quite unofficially, -reached its own conclusion; Communist China was temporarily -too busy mopping up its own mess to indulge its normal -passion for badgering Hong Kong. When China’s house -had restored order, its Communist leadership would be right -back at the colony’s throat.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong’s colonial administration has never deluded -itself with the belief that it could survive a massive assault by -Red China. In population and the size of its armed forces, -Hong Kong is outnumbered by approximately 200 to 1. -Against Japan in 1941, Hong Kong’s resistance lasted less than -three weeks; against Red China, it might last about half as long.</p> - -<p>But there are certain restraining factors unreflected in the -comparative strength of the opposing land forces. The most -tangible of these are the ships of the British and United States -navies, continually riding at anchor in Hong Kong harbor or -cruising in the surrounding seas. Aircraft carriers, submarines, -cruisers and destroyers equipped with planes and -missiles tend to put the brakes on impulsive acts of aggression -by an inferior naval power.</p> - -<p>A Communist grab for Hong Kong would almost inevitably -involve Red China in a major war. Great Britain has -shown no disposition to surrender this profitable possession<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> -without a fight, and although the United States has made no -specific pledge to defend the colony, it is not likely to let the -Chinese Communists snatch it from her principal ally.</p> - -<p>Red China’s instinctive belligerence may be tempered by -the fate of its first outright aggression, which did not keep the -United Nations out of Korea, but did a great deal to keep Red -China out of the United Nations for years thereafter.</p> - -<p>Aided in part by these considerations, Hong Kong has sat -since 1949 on the doorstep of a country dedicated to its destruction. -In the late 1940s, it was felt that a substantial cut in -the colony’s trade with China would ruin the British enclave -by purely peaceful methods. Most of the trade has been lost -since then, but Hong Kong has perversely grown more prosperous -than ever before.</p> - -<p>The overriding reason why Hong Kong continues to thrive -in the shadow of its hostile neighbor is economic. Ideologies -apart, they need each other.</p> - -<p>Despite the drop in their total trade, Hong Kong remains -Red China’s chief non-Communist trading partner. In recent -years it has become a lop-sided arrangement, with the Chinese -Communists shipping ten times more goods to the colony than -they purchase from her. Yet the imbalance appears to suit the -purposes of both sides.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong, which cannot produce enough food to sustain -its population for more than a few months of the year, has -imported an average of $200,000,000 worth of goods from -Red China in each of the last three years, and food represents -more than a third of the total. In the same years, Red China -imported about $20,000,000 annually from the colony. Thus -the Reds earned a favorable trade balance of $180,000,000 a -year, giving them the foreign exchange they need as critically -as Hong Kong needs food.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p> - -<p>It may be wondered why the Chinese Communists, with -three successive crop failures, are willing to export any of -their food. But they must earn foreign exchange to pay for -grain, flour, powdered milk and sugar to save themselves from -starvation, and their food purchases in the world market during -1960 and 1961 ran up a bill of $360,000,000.</p> - -<p>The whole pattern of mainland-colony trade has been reversed -since 1950. In that year, their trade came to $406,000,000, -or about a third of Hong Kong’s total world trade of -$1,314,000,000. By 1960, the total colony-mainland trade had -skidded to $228,000,000 and represented only one-seventh -of the colony’s world trade volume of $1,716,000,000.</p> - -<p>In 1950, Hong Kong exported $255,000,000 to Red China, -but imported only $151,000,000 from her. The crown colony -still serves as a major transshipment port for China’s trade with -other countries, but her importance as an exporter and re-exporter -from other countries to China was painfully diminished -by United Nations and United States embargoes during -the Korean war.</p> - -<p>The pinch of those embargoes was so tight that it looked for -a while as if Hong Kong, which had prospered on its Chinese -export trade for 110 years, would wither from the loss of it. -To the amazement of its economic obituary writers, the -colony side-stepped its assigned grave by developing its own -industries. Within a few years, Hong Kong became bigger as a -manufacturer than it had ever been as a trader.</p> - -<p>Red China’s benefits from the existing trade with Hong -Kong go further than the earning of foreign exchange from a -favorable trading balance. She also trades profitably in human -misery. The Chinese refugees who fled to Hong Kong are the -prime victims of this merciless squeeze.</p> - -<p>No matter how intensely the refugees dislike the Communist<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -regime on the mainland, they have not severed their ties -with friends and relatives in China. They are the first to know -of economic reverses and crop failure inside China because the -news is brought to them by travelers crossing the colony border. -It is a story repeated by almost every new refugee who -escapes from the homeland to Macao or Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>The effect on the Chinese in Hong Kong is irresistible; by -every tradition of family loyalty they are compelled to help -their starving kinsmen in China. In obedience to this obligation, -the Hong Kong Chinese sent 13,000,000 two-pound -packets of food and other household needs through the -colony’s post office in 1961 to friends and relatives across the -border.</p> - -<p>The squeeze takes the form of customs duties which often -exceed the value of the goods shipped. If the sender mails his -parcel from a Hong Kong post office, the receiver in China -pays the duty when it arrives. But the duty can be any amount -the Red Chinese officials choose to assign, and many recipients -refuse the parcels because they cannot pay for them. If a parcel -agent handles the shipment, sending it through the Chinese -post offices across the frontier or through his own agents inside -China, the Hong Kong sender has to pay all the duties in -colony currency before it starts on its way.</p> - -<p>One Chinese resident who came to the colony in 1962 told -<i>The South China Morning Post</i>, a Hong Kong English-language -daily, that the Red Chinese government was taking in -about $53,000 a day on these parcel duties, with the peak of -the loot coming at Chinese New Year, when presents -are shipped home in the greatest numbers. A vast percentage -of the parcel-senders were poor people, and each parcel cost -them anywhere from a day’s to a week’s wages, or more.</p> - -<p>The external harmony which has prevailed between the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -colony and the mainland since 1959 offers a glaring contrast -to the discord that preceded it. Ever since 1949, the Reds have -been taking angry swipes at the colony, a game in which their -worst enemies, the Chinese Nationalists, frequently joined.</p> - -<p>In the year that the Reds gained control of the mainland, -trade relations and communications between China and Hong -Kong were broken off. The Kowloon-Canton Railway suspended -transborder operations and Communist guerrilla forces -lined up threateningly along the frontier.</p> - -<p>While the Communists pressed the colony from the north, -the Nationalists launched a blockade of all ports along the -Chinese coast. Caught between the opposing forces, the colony -banned political societies with outside allegiance and bolstered -its own defenses. Additional lands and buildings were requisitioned -for military use and 900 volunteer soldiers were added -to its garrison.</p> - -<p>Great Britain sought to relieve the existing tension by recognizing -Red China on February 6, 1950, but there was no -exchange of diplomatic representatives. Swelling tides of Chinese -refugees continued to pour across the frontier and the -colony instituted its first immigration controls in May, 1950.</p> - -<p>The initial breach in Hong Kong’s policy of cautious neutrality -came on June 5, 1950, when two Nationalist warships, -enforcing their own blockade against the Reds, attacked the -800-ton British merchant vessel <i>Cheung Hing</i>. This dreadnought, -steaming along with a cargo of fertilizer from Amoy, -was raked with Nationalist shells which killed six of her passengers -and wounded six others.</p> - -<p>Early in August, 1950, the Reds produced their own series -of incidents. Communist gunboats fired on three British ships -just outside Hong Kong territorial waters and an armed Red -junk bombarded the American freighter <i>Steel Rover</i>. The day<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -after the <i>Rover</i> incident, a Communist shore battery on Ling -Ting Island, a few miles outside the southern limit of Hong -Kong waters, directed its cannon and machine guns against the -British freighter <i>Hangsang</i>, wounding two British officers. -Communist forts in the same area fired on the Norwegian -freighter <i>Pleasantville</i> on August 6, but no hits were scored.</p> - -<p>The shootings were collectively interpreted as a Red warning -to keep all Allied shipping away from her installations on -Ling Ting and the nearby Lema and Ladrone islands. On -August 17, the British destroyer <i>Concord</i> replied to the warning -by exchanging a half-hour of shellfire with the Communist -forts.</p> - -<p>None of these incidents was as disruptive as the Communist -agitation inside the colony. Here the core of the trouble arose -from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, or FTU, -an openly pro-Red group with more than sixty member unions -whose power was concentrated in shipyards, textile mills and -public utilities. The FTU succeeded in fomenting a streetcar -strike in 1949. With zealous devotion to the party line, the -FTU unions shoved themselves into every labor dispute they -could penetrate. They also displayed a touching concern for -the unhappy living conditions of the refugees, undeterred by -the fact that most of the refugees obviously preferred them -to conditions in Communist China.</p> - -<p>A flash fire in a refugee settlement on November 21, 1951, -drove 10,000 persons from their shacks and enabled Red -China to rush in with the offer to send a relief mission. The -Communist angels of mercy were to be met at the Hong Kong -terminus of the Kowloon-Canton Railway by a banner-waving -group of left-wing welcomers. They failed to show up, -and a riot broke out in which there was one fatality and thirty -injuries before police brought it under control.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p> - -<p>The left-wing unions trumpeted their public concern for -the refugees by a number of street demonstrations which police -barely managed to keep from exploding into new riots. -Wearying of the skirmishes, Police Commissioner Duncan -MacIntosh tried a new tack. With the consent of Governor -Alexander Grantham, he offered to satisfy the strident Communist -demands to improve the refugees’ lot by paying full -transportation costs and expenses of ten Hong Kong dollars -to every person who wanted to return to any part of Red -China. The only acceptance came from an old man who -wanted to be buried with his ancestors in Northern China.</p> - -<p>The sea-lane incidents resumed on September 25, 1952, -when a Communist gunboat halted the Macao ferry with a -burst of warning shots, searched the ship and removed a Chinese -passenger. In the same year, there were two other Communist -and three Nationalist attacks on British ships.</p> - -<p>A Communist warship came upon a Royal Naval launch -in the Pearl River estuary on September 10, 1953, riddled it -with shells and killed six men, wounding five others. A stiff -British protest was delivered to Peking without bringing either -an apology or compensation. The Nationalists kept up their -end of the harassment in that month with one of their warships -firing on the British destroyer <i>St. Bride’s Bay</i> off the China -coast.</p> - -<p>Each of these incidents stirred the British government to -send protests to Peking or Taipeh, but they usually elicited -only transient interest outside the countries directly involved.</p> - -<p>The Chinese Communists’ capture of two American newsmen -and an American merchant-marine captain on March 21, -1953, brought the United States government into the long -succession of Hong Kong incidents. The reaction was quick -and angry, for the Reds had subjected the United States to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -an unceasing campaign of vilification and had already imprisoned -more than thirty American civilians in China. The -Dixon-Applegate case came as a kind of climactic tail-twister.</p> - -<p>Richard Applegate, National Broadcasting Company correspondent -in Hong Kong, and Donald Dixon, International -News Service correspondent in Korea, were sailing five miles -west of Lantau Island on Applegate’s 42-foot sailboat, the -<i>Kert</i>, when they were stopped by a Chinese gunboat manned -by Chinese soldiers. The newsmen, accompanied by merchant -marine Captain Benjamin Krasner, his Chinese fiancée and two -Chinese sailors, were in international waters, bound for Macao -on a pleasure cruise. Protests that they were violating no law -had no effect on the Reds, who accused them of straying into -Chinese waters.</p> - -<p>The <i>Kert</i> and its six passengers were towed to the Communist -base at Lap Sap Mei, transferred to Canton and held -prisoners until September 15, 1954. The United States protested -vehemently to Peking, and Great Britain joined in demands -that the group be set free. Harry J. Anslinger, United -States Commissioner of Narcotics, had a private revelation -which he duly reported to the United Nations: The <i>Kert</i> had -been captured by Chinese narcotics smugglers, led by Lu -Wang-tse, a notorious woman pirate! Nothing more was heard -of the lady known as Lu—Applegate said after his release that -he could not imagine how the preposterous tale had originated, -but the Red Chinese let many months pass before they admitted -the capture.</p> - -<p>When the three Americans were finally released, they had -suffered physically from a skimpy diet of practically inedible -food. Captain Krasner’s fiancée, and one of the crewmen, a -British subject living in Hong Kong, were subsequently allowed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -to leave China, but the other Chinese crewman remained -a prisoner.</p> - -<p>The international repercussions of the Dixon-Applegate -affair were intensified by a fresh provocation which called -ships and planes of the United States, Britain and France into -emergency action. This was the callous and apparently senseless -shooting down of a British-owned Cathay Pacific Airways -C-54 Skymaster on July 23, 1954, with the loss of ten -lives, by three Red Chinese LA-9 Lavochkin piston-engined -fighter planes.</p> - -<p>The Skymaster, carrying twelve passengers and a crew of -six, took off from the Bangkok airport at 8:28 <span class="smcapuc">P.M.</span>, heading -northeast in bright moonlight over Thailand and Indochina -for the 1,071-mile flight to Hong Kong. The passenger load -was light, so most people occupied window seats. The sun -rose soon after the plane flew out over the South China Sea. -Cape Bastion, the southeastern tip of Hainan Island, a Communist -possession about the size of Denmark, became visible -50 miles away. Below, a brisk southwest wind whipped the -sea into whitecaps.</p> - -<p>Co-Pilot Cedric Carlton suggested a time-saving route -nearer to Hainan, but Captain Phillip Blown decided to hold -his present course, keeping far away from Hainan to avoid -another of the Red charges that their twelve-mile limit was -being violated by non-Communist flyers. At 8:45 <span class="smcapuc">A.M.</span>, Carlton -looked out a starboard window and shouted to Captain Blown -that two cream-colored fighter planes with Red Chinese markings -were coming up fast from the rear on his side. Captain -Blown put the plane on automatic pilot, took a quick look -back through the port window and saw a third fighter zeroing -in on his side of the tail.</p> - -<p>“Without any warning, they opened up with machine-gun<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -and cannon fire,” Captain Blown later wrote in his report. -“The noise and the shambles from their guns was terrific. It -was obviously a premeditated attack.”</p> - -<p>The hail of bullets from short range immediately set fire -to the Skymaster’s left outboard engine, and the No. 4 engine -on the far right. Flames burst from the auxiliary and main fuel -tanks beside the No. 4 engine at almost the same moment.</p> - -<p>Captain Blown, flying at 9,000 feet, instantly went into a -dive. He turned sharply left and right as he descended, trying -to shake the pursuing fighters, and headed for the sea at 300 -miles an hour. He was fighting to get out of the line of fire long -enough to dump his gas and check the flames that were eating -away a broad section of the skin on his right wing.</p> - -<p>The guns of the LA-9s kept up their clatter on his tail and -bullets tore through the plane cabin, splintering the interior -and killing several passengers. Bullets whizzed past the two -pilots and smashed the boost pressure and fuel-flow gauges. At -5,000 feet, the rudder controls snapped; at 3,000, the right -aileron control was shot off. The No. 4 engine was feathered, -but its extinguisher failed to stifle the raging flames.</p> - -<p>The Skymaster began to stall groggily toward the right, -but Captain Blown checked it by throttling back his two left-wing -engines and pouring full power on No. 3, the only operative -engine on the right side. The ship’s speed dropped to -160 miles an hour, and the right wing began to dip.</p> - -<p>With the small degree of control remaining, Captain Blown -plunged the Skymaster through the shoulder of a 15-foot wave -as the right wing and No. 4 engine snapped off, then slammed -into the middle of the next wave. The solid impact of the water -caved in the cockpit windows. The tail broke off, up-ended -in unison with the fuselage and headed for the sea bottom. Less<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span> -than two minutes elapsed between the attack and the ditching.</p> - -<p>Thirty seconds after hitting the water, the fuselage sank out -of sight. Two of the Red fighters executed a U-turn around -the wreckage before heading back to their base at Sanya, on -the southern end of Hainan Island. Few of the victims had time -to put on life jackets. When the cabin went down, only those -washed clear of it had a chance to survive.</p> - -<p>The eight survivors clambered or were dragged aboard the -twenty-man inflated rubber raft. Captain Blown spread a -weather awning over the raft and warned all passengers to -keep out of sight under it in case of another attack.</p> - -<p>Steve Wong, the Chinese radio operator, had died in the -wreck. Captain Blown remembered seeing him talk into the -mike all during the dive toward the sea and sending a final -message, “Losing altitude, engine on fire.” The message was -heard at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong and rescue operations -started immediately.</p> - -<p>Two hours later, rescue planes began to circle over the raft—Hornets, -a Sunderland, Valetta, York and a French B-24, -but none could land on the water. A pair of U.S. Air Force -SA-16 Grumman Albatrosses were dispatched from Sangley -Point in the Philippines. One of the big amphibians landed -in sheltered water on the lee side of Tinhosa Island and taxied -out to the raft in a perilously rough sea.</p> - -<p>The rescuers were guided to the spot by smoke flares -dropped by the French B-24. Dozens of Chinese junks wallowed -and rocked on the waves at some distance from the raft, -making no attempt to interfere as American fighter planes -flew cover over the raft. The survivors had been on the raft -for seven hours before being rescued.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p> - -<p>Besides the three fatalities among the crew—Stewardess -Rose Chen, Steve Wong and Flight Engineer G. W. Cattanach—there -were seven passenger deaths, including a tea merchant, -a Hong Kong University student, an American exporter -and his two sons, and the owner of a Hong Kong curio -shop. Captain Blown, who continued as a Cathay Pacific Airways -pilot for many years, received a Queen’s Commendation -for his cool-headed efforts to save the Skymaster and the lives -of those aboard.</p> - -<p>Humphrey Trevelyan, British Chargé d’Affaires at Peking, -delivered his government’s strongly worded protest, and the -Red Chinese ultimately paid $1,027,600 indemnity for the loss -of the plane. No explanation of the shooting was given, except -for undocumented guesses that the Communists may have -been trying to kill or kidnap some person on the plane or to -scare off all ships approaching her territorial limits.</p> - -<p>The shooting prompted John Foster Dulles, American Secretary -of State, to issue a hot denunciation of the “further -barbarity” of the Chinese Reds. The U.S. Navy Department -dispatched two aircraft carriers, the <i>Hornet</i> and the <i>Philippine -Sea</i>, to join in the rescue. Their planes raced to the rescue -scene, ready to start shooting if there were any Red Chinese -interference. It was one of the angriest moments between -the U.S. and Red China since the Korean war. It passed without -further raising of American tempers, but reinforced the -already intense American antipathy for Mao’s Communist -state.</p> - -<p>Less than one year later, the destruction of a second airliner -in the South China Sea thrust Hong Kong into the Communist-Nationalist -crossfire. A Lockheed Constellation of Air-India -International took off from Kai Tak Airport, bound for -the first Afro-Asian Conference at Bandoeng carrying eight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -Red Chinese delegates. The conference was intended to assure -the uncommitted nations that Communist China had put aside -its warlike ways to become an exemplar of peaceful coexistence.</p> - -<p>There was an appalling roar as the Constellation approached -Sarawak; a bomb burst in the baggage compartment, setting -the aircraft afire. Pilot Captain D. K. Jatar, showing incredible -skill and nerve, managed to guide the shattered plane to a jolting -belly-landing at 150 miles an hour. But the impact with -the sea tore the Constellation apart and it sank in moments, -leaving a circle of flames on the surface. Before the radio went -dead, the ship had issued an international distress call.</p> - -<p>Eleven passengers and five crewmen, including Captain -Jatar, died in the crash and explosion. Three surviving crew -members drifted in a life raft for nine hours until they were -picked up by the British frigate <i>Dampier</i>. All the Chinese delegates -were among those killed, and Peking charged sabotage. -The accusation proved to be well-based; the bomb had been -planted by a Nationalist saboteur, employed as a cleaner by -the British maintenance company at Kai Tak Airport. Hong -Kong police offered a $17,500 reward for his arrest, but he -escaped to Taiwan on another airplane.</p> - -<p>The Hong Kong government issued a warrant for the -bomber’s arrest, but the Nationalist authorities replied that -they had no legal basis for his extradition to the colony. There -the matter rested, with the abiding hatred between Peking and -Taipeh continuing as before.</p> - -<p>Each of the sea and air incidents threatened the security of -the colony to some degree, but none rocked its internal structure -with the earthquake power of the Double Ten riots of -October, 1956. No other crisis since World War II has presented -such a frontal challenge to its ability to preserve law<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> -and order. Three days of savage guerrilla warfare raged -through thickly congested streets, and when the fight was -over, the British administration had had the fright of its life.</p> - -<p>Statistics convey none of the heat of these bloody battles, -but they measure a few of their dimensions: 59 people killed, -500 injured, nearly $1,000,000 in property damage, 6,000 -arrests, 1,241 prison sentences and four executions for murder. -Nearly 3,000 police and several army battalions were engaged -in subduing the rioters. From east to west, the riots extended -across eleven miles of Upper Kowloon and the New -Territories, and were marked by fifty-four skirmishes between -mobs and the uniformed forces.</p> - -<p>If the genesis of the riots were to be narrowed down to a -single proximate cause, it would have to be something as trivial -as an argument over a few paper flags pasted on a concrete -wall. Physically, that was where they started, but their true -origin goes back at least three centuries.</p> - -<p>The riots took their name from the common designation of -a patriotic holiday on October 10, the tenth day of the tenth -month, marking the anniversary of the establishment of the -Chinese Republic in 1911. In Hong Kong, it is preceded by -the October 1 celebration of the birthday of Red China. Each -holiday gave Nationalist or Communist sympathizers an opportunity -to explode strings of firecrackers, hold rallies and -fly their national flags. On both days, police were out in full -force to prevent riots between the opposing Chinese groups, -and they managed to keep the lid down fairly well until 1956.</p> - -<p>The October 1 holiday in 1956 passed without undue commotion -and October 10 began with no indication of Communist -violence. Nationalist flags were displayed by refugees -all over the colony, particularly in the heavily populated resettlement -estates of Upper Kowloon. The refugees were predominantly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> -pro-Nationalist, having been driven from their -homeland by the Reds. After years of exile and grinding poverty, -many of them were steeped in bitterness and yearning -for revenge against the Communists.</p> - -<p>The Triad gangs, whose members played a key part in the -Double Ten riots, had been established in China three centuries -ago as a patriotic society dedicated to the overthrow of the -foreign Manchus who dethroned the native Ming Dynasty. -Their professed ideals slowly rotted away and they devolved -into a band of thugs, living on protection rackets, shake-downs -of street peddlers and petty criminals, enforced by fear -and strong-arm brutality. Since World War I, crime has become -their primary business and their patriotism survives only -as a front.</p> - -<p>On October 10, 1956, pro-Nationalist residents of the Shek -Kip Mei Resettlement Estate began to take down the paper -flags they had pasted on the concrete walls of the housing -blocks. Housing officials had objected that the pasted flags -were difficult to remove after the Double Ten holiday was -over, and the tenants, who could still fly flags from poles or -ropes, accepted the cleanup job unprotestingly.</p> - -<p>At Li Cheng Uk, a resettlement estate about a quarter of -a mile to the northwest of Shek Kip Mei, housing officials -themselves removed Nationalist flags and symbols stuck on the -walls. It was early in the morning of the Double Tenth, when -an unfriendly crowd of about 400 gathered quickly and demanded -that the flags be restored. Police were called, but the -crowd swelled to more than 2,000 by early afternoon and its -demands became more extravagant. Impatient for action, some -of the crowd attacked two resettlement officials, beating them -severely. Police units, hurrying to help the injured men, were -met with a barrage of flying bottles. They replied with tear gas<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> -and the mob, turning its anger on the police, showered them -with rocks. A resettlement office was set afire but police reinforcements -succeeded in dispersing the mob. By midafternoon, -with two persons arrested and four injured, peace appeared -to have been restored.</p> - -<p>Right after the dinner hour, a newly formed mob at Li -Cheng Uk renewed the rock-throwing attacks on police. Nationalist -flags were unfurled and a shouting mass of rioters -charged into police lines. Four riot units of 240 men were -called out and the strengthened force threw a cordon around -six blocks while a sporadic exchange of rocks and tear gas continued. -The area enclosed by the cordon became relatively -quiet, but new disorders broke out along its southern edge. Police -vehicles were attacked, and members of Triads were -sighted in the center of the commotion.</p> - -<p>Rioting became general and violent by 10:30 <span class="smcapuc">P.M.</span> and police -set up roadblocks on main routes into the area. The mobs -altered their tactics, splitting into small fighting squads that -pounded a segment of the police lines with a swift, sharp attack, -then scattered and ran before police could bring up reserves. -Within a few minutes, the attack squads would re-form -on another block and hit police lines again. As the evening advanced, -the riot zone kept expanding into other parts of Kowloon. -Police units were alerted on Hong Kong Island to forestall -possible riots there.</p> - -<p>Police were only one of the mob targets. A fire engine returning -from a minor blaze near the Kowloon resettlement -estates was bombarded with bricks, bottles and chunks of concrete. -The engine driver, struck on the head by a flying object, -lost control of the truck and it plunged erratically into a -crowd, killing three and injuring five. Ambulances were stoned -as they arrived to pick up the casualties. An Auxiliary Fire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> -Service vehicle was dumped over and set on fire. Hordes of -rioters swarmed into the area, more police were summoned -and a four-hour battle ensued.</p> - -<p>The looting phase of the riots began with an attack on a -bakery in the heart of the disturbed area. After smashing the -bakery windows and setting it afire, rioters turned their rock-and-stone -batteries on firemen called to put out the flames. -Two floors of the building were destroyed before the firemen -could extinguish the blaze. Meanwhile, rioters went berserk -on the streets, looting and burning shops until the massed -strength of police laboriously regained control of the neighborhood.</p> - -<p>Another battle was fought in the crowded streets of Mongkok. -Rocks were dropped on the police from balconies while -Triad gangs embarked on the looting of shops. Marauding -gangs roamed the Kowloon streets down to Austin Road, the -northern edge of the tourist and luxury shopping section, before -police hammered them into submission.</p> - -<p>General restoration of order in Kowloon was still far off. -October 11 was only a half-hour old when police learned -that a mob infiltrated by Triad gangsters was preparing to set -fire to a pro-Communist private school. Police sent to investigate -were pelted with rocks and forced to withdraw with -five men injured. A riot unit used tear gas to pen the rioters -inside the resettlement buildings while other police went to -the school. They found looters and arsonists busily at work -and arrested eleven men.</p> - -<p>About 3:45 <span class="smcapuc">A.M.</span>, hoodlums became active near Kai Tak -Airport, a mile and a half east of Tai Hang Tung, wrecking a -traffic pagoda.</p> - -<p>Sunrise on October 11 brought a lull, but at 10 <span class="smcapuc">A.M.</span>, there -was renewed rioting at Li Cheng Uk. Triad thugs peddled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> -Nationalist flags by threatening to beat up anyone who refused -to buy. Looting and mob barricades again confronted police -who had been hard-hit by injuries.</p> - -<p>One mob launched a full-scale attack on the Sham Shui -Po police station, but were repelled by gunfire and scattered -into the side streets when an armored car pursued them. Mobs -of ever-increasing size were fast-moving and elusive, and tear -gas did little more than drive them to another location where -they attacked again. They lighted bonfires in the streets and -then heaved rocks at the firemen called to extinguish them.</p> - -<p>The Kowloon rioters displayed no signs of a unified battle -plan, nor any concerted push toward a strategic objective. -But their actions revealed a consistent pattern of criminality -after the looting and extortion began, confirming the police -belief that Triads were in control. Police decided to shoot to -kill, but realized that even this last-ditch measure would be -useless unless they deployed their units to surround the rioters -and take them prisoner. Shortly after noon of October 11—and -very late by many people’s judgment—three battalions of -the Hong Kong army garrison were thrown into the fight.</p> - -<p>With army battalions in action, the mob spirit began to die -down throughout Kowloon by evening. A curfew was imposed, -cross-harbor ferry service suspended, and the main -impetus of the Kowloon riots came to an end.</p> - -<p>Rigid enforcement of the curfew slowly cleared the streets -of bystanders, but failed to drive the active rioters to cover. -Looting and stoning of police persisted in Mongkok until after -midnight, when riot guns and tear gas finally halted it. Strong-arm -gangs armed with rocks, hammers, and iron bars prowled -through eastern Kowloon, extorting money from shopkeepers, -looting factories and battling police. Three rioters<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -were killed and more than 400 arrested before the plundering -was checked.</p> - -<p>Looting and arson continued for the third day, October 12, -at many places in Kowloon. The mass riots of the first two -days were replaced by a merciless street war between bands -of gangsters and the uniformed services of the colony. Three -looters were shot to death in a raid on a provision shop -in Mongkok. Firemen, ambulance crews and practically every -man in a uniform was stoned or beaten if he ventured into a -riot area.</p> - -<p>On the afternoon of the 12th, police began dragnet raids on -the hideouts of rioters and looters, taking 1,170 prisoners. The -next day, raids at Li Cheng Uk by police and military units -took 1,000 prisoners, and 700 others were rounded up at Tai -Hang Tung.</p> - -<p>On the morning of October 14, the curfew was lifted in -Kowloon and most of the army units were relieved. But a -night curfew continued for three more nights in northwestern -Kowloon.</p> - -<p>The day after the Kowloon riots erupted, a related but different -kind of rioting broke out in Tsuen Wan, a New Territories -factory town five and one-half miles west of Li Cheng -Uk. In this area of textile and enamelware factories, most of -the workers lived in company dormitories; physically close, -but divided into intensely hostile pro- and anti-Communist -unions.</p> - -<p>Tsuen Wan had experienced some friction over the refusal -of factory owners to display Nationalist flags on plant buildings -during the Double Ten holiday, although pro-Nationalist -workers could display the flags in their dormitories. No open -protest was made until the afternoon of the next day, when a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span> -mob gathered outside a cotton mill and insisted that Nationalist -flags be shown. The company acceded, and even -granted the crowd leaders a small amount of money.</p> - -<p>But the right-wing unions were in no mood for peaceful -solutions that same evening when they launched a series of -raids on Communist union offices; they looted and burned the -offices and beat some leftist workers so savagely that five of -them died. Sixty other leftist union members were collared by -a mob and dragged off to a Nationalist rally where they were -kicked and punched until many were unconscious. Meanwhile, -another group of right-wing unionists continued to raid -Communist union offices, assaulting any members they could -find. Army troops were called to restore order, and their -heavy vehicles crashed through mob barricades to remove the -injured and clamp a strict curfew on Tsuen Wan.</p> - -<p>One mile south of the town, mobs were still on a rampage, -attacking a canning factory and setting it on fire. Four other -factories on the outskirts of Tsuen Wan were besieged by -mobs carrying Nationalist flags. Their demands were identical; -either the plant would put out Nationalist flags and pay protection -to the mob, or the place would be burned down. Management -officials hastened to comply.</p> - -<p>Several large textile mills were also favored with mob visits -and a peremptory demand that they fire all pro-Red workers. -Four miles west of Tsuen Wan, a Nationalist union group -combined forces with a Triad gang, looted a textile factory, -set fire to an automobile, stole a factory truck and withdrew -after having their demands satisfied by management. Five -houses and shops identified with Communist interests were invaded -and wrecked.</p> - -<p>The Tsuen Wan curfew was extended to surrounding -areas and remained in force until October 16 while police and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -the army locked horns with the Nationalist rioters. Left-wingers -were not an immediate problem, most of them having fled -to the hills for their lives. But the rightist demonstrators were -tough; they were disciplined fighters, ably led and guided -by whistle-blast commands. Eight persons were killed, 109 -seriously injured and 684 arrested before the rioters capitulated.</p> - -<p>Long after the restoration of law and order, fear continued -to keep workers away from their jobs. Full production did -not resume at factories and mills in the Tsuen Wan area until -early in November.</p> - -<p>When the last of the Double Ten disorders ended, the hard-pressed -colony government had a chance to assess events. Most -of the property damaged by mobs belonged to Communists or -their sympathizers, but Nationalist vengeance was by no -means the only reason for its destruction; the longer the riots -continued, the more inescapable became the conclusion that -they were directed by criminals bent on manipulating patriotic -emotions to enrich themselves.</p> - -<p>The Double Ten riots did more than weaken the prestige -of the Triads, whose leaders were either arrested or deported; -it helped to illustrate the futility of waging a street war in -Hong Kong over the Nationalist-Communist issue. Partisanship -toward either side still burns strongly among the older -Chinese, but it is a dwindling flame. Younger people, and many -Chinese intellectuals within the colony, seem indifferent or -hostile to both camps. Practically no one wants to return to -Red China, and Taiwan had shown little inclination to welcome -Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong until the border -rush of May, 1962.</p> - -<p>The turmoil occasioned by the Double Ten riots was succeeded -by a period of comparative calm between Red China<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -and the colony. But it ended in 1958, when the Chinese Communists -clamped tight restrictions on inshore fishing by boats -from Hong Kong. The Reds, perennially belligerent over the -suspected invasion of their territorial limits, demanded that any -boats fishing in their waters must have a Communist registration -in addition to their colony registry. The registration also -involved a Communist share of the fisherman’s catch, and -Hong Kong boats resented the gouge. The apparent solution -was to keep their craft out of Communist waters.</p> - -<p>The Reds made the problem more complex by invading -Hong Kong waters on numerous patrol swoops to seize Hong -Kong junks. The first of these came in October, 1958, when -Red patrol boats grabbed several junks near Po Toi Island, -on the southern edge of colony waters. In December, a Communist -gunboat fired on junks in colony waters, killing two -fishermen and injuring several others. A month later, a Chinese -gunboat crossed into colony waters and captured two -fishing boats with six persons aboard. In May, 1959, an armed -Communist tug pushed nine miles into Hong Kong waters to -round up a pair of large fishing junks.</p> - -<p>In self-defense, many Hong Kong fishermen abandoned inshore -fishing, and ventured much farther out to sea. Without -intending to, the Reds helped to stimulate the mechanization -of the colony’s fishing fleet and improve its efficiency.</p> - -<p>The colonial administration at Hong Kong carefully -avoids comment on the Nationalist-Communist issue. It can, -of course, initiate no foreign policy of its own, but must keep -precisely to the line set down by the British government. It is -expected to get along as best it can with both Red China and -Taiwan, and leave the high-level thundering to London.</p> - -<p>While the colony’s officials are well aware that the United -States and other Western powers are using Hong Kong as an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -observation post on Red China, and that both Red China and -Taiwan have their corps of spies in the colony, they take no -official cognizance of such activities until they become too -conspicuous. Unfortunately, they often do. Toward the end -of 1961, the colony had 21 Nationalist spies in custody, including -a former leader of guerrilla forces in Southeast Asia.</p> - -<p>Even more embarrassing are the cases in which one of the -colony’s officials turns out to be a foreign spy. On October 2, -1961, the colony government arrested John Chao-ko Tsang, -an Assistant Superintendent of Police and one of its most promising -career men, and deported him to Red China on November -30. The case created a sensation, for Tsang had the highest -post of any colony official ever involved in an espionage -case.</p> - -<p>With its customary delicacy in matters affecting Red China, -the government announced only that Tsang was being deported -as an alien. Fourteen other “aliens” were rounded up -for questioning in the case, and four of them were sent across -the border at Lo Wu with John Tsang. Tsang was later -rumored to be in charge of public security for the Reds at Canton.</p> - -<p>Tsang’s arrest was pure luck. A Chinese detective returning -from Macao on another case noticed a man dressed as a common -laborer take a bundle of $100 banknotes from one pocket -and put it into another. The detective questioned him about the -large amount of money, but found his answers pretty thin. -He was accordingly hauled to a police station, questioned -further and searched. A letter found on him was eventually -traced to John Tsang. Unofficially, the letter was said to contain -instructions from a Communist espionage cell in Macao.</p> - -<p>The former Assistant Superintendent was thirty-eight years -old, and so intelligent and popular that he looked to be headed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -for a top place in the department. Born in China, he had come -to Hong Kong before the Reds ruled the mainland, joined the -police in 1948 and rose rapidly from the ranks. He had gone -to Cambridge University in 1960 for advanced studies, married -while there, and returned to the colony in mid-1961. He -was then one of the highest-ranking Chinese officers in the department.</p> - -<p>The nature of Tsang’s work gave him an expert’s knowledge -of the colony’s defenses and internal security, information -of obvious value to the Reds. His associates in the police -force still doubt that he came to Hong Kong as a spy, believing -that he turned Communist after he became established in -the colony. His wife and mother remained in Hong Kong -after his deportation.</p> - -<p>The Tsang case was also an embarrassment to Hong Kong -Chinese who aspired to high office in the colony. It bolstered -the anti-Chinese bias of old-school colonialists, giving them an -opportunity to say, “See! When you give those Chinese a good -job, they sell you out.”</p> - -<p>The stream of political abuse which Peking had directed at -Hong Kong for a decade was superseded in 1960 by a stream -of fresh water flowing at the rate of 5 billion gallons a year. -On November 15, 1960, the two governments signed an agreement -under which Red China was to tap its newly built Sham -Chun reservoir, two miles north of the colony border, to provide -an auxiliary supply for Hong Kong. The colony put up its -own pumping station and laid ten miles of steel pipeline, four -feet in diameter, to convey the water to its own large reservoir -at Tai Lam, near Castle Peak. The water began flowing in December, -1960, and the arrangements for receiving and paying -for it have proceeded smoothly since then.</p> - -<p>No one has assessed the symbolic or political significance of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -the deal, which meets only a small fraction of the colony’s -water needs, but it disconcerts many American tourists.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean to tell me I’ve been drinking Communist -water?” they ask. Most of the food they ate in Hong Kong -probably came from Red China, but water is different. Some -of them eye it suspiciously, as if they expected it to have a reddish -hue or to contain traces of poison. The water is purified -and filtered in Hong Kong, however, and thus far it has maintained -a crystal-clear neutrality.</p> - -<p>The life-or-death issue between Red China and Hong Kong -is one that may not be decided until June 30, 1997, the termination -date of the New Territories lease. If it is not renewed, -more than 90 percent of the colony’s land will revert to China, -leaving Great Britain with Hong Kong Island, most of the -Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island.</p> - -<p>If China refuses to renew, as she has a clear legal right to do -under the terms of the 99-year lease, she will get much more -than the land itself. With it will come the colony’s only -modern airport, practically all its productive farmland, its -chief industrial centers at Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong, by far -the greater part of its reservoirs and water-supply system, -from one-third to one-half its population and all its mineral resources -except a few quarries and clay pits.</p> - -<p>“It would be folly to try to foresee what will happen in -thirty-five years,” said one of the colony’s principal officials in -1962. “In this age of fission and fusion, it’s impossible to see -even five years ahead.”</p> - -<p>On one point, there is little doubt among the colony’s officials: -without the New Territories, Hong Kong would be untenable.</p> - -<p>Outside of the colony, the 1997 deadline looms like doom; -inside, it is just another of those far-off worries, like an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -epidemic or a catastrophic typhoon. Everyone knows it is -coming; meanwhile, they go on making money, putting up -new factories and hotels and planning gigantic public works.</p> - -<p>Some of the colony’s leading businessmen expect the Chinese -Communists, or any other power ruling the mainland in -1997, to drive a tough bargain for the New Territories and -then renew the lease for another 99 years.</p> - -<p>Red China, which holds all the cards, hasn’t tipped its hand.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_FOUR">CHAPTER FOUR<br /> -<span class="smaller">Industrial Growth and Growing Pains</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some -have greatness thrust upon them.”</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">Shakespeare</span>, <i>Twelfth Night</i></p> - -</div> - -<p>In 1951 the economy of Hong Kong set two memorable -precedents; it reached the highest level in the colony’s 110-year -history and then fell flat on its face. When the year ended, it -looked as if Hong Kong was finished as a world trading port.</p> - -<p>Twelve months earlier all indicators had pointed toward a -continuing boom. Red China, frantically buying goods to -equip itself for the Korean war, had pushed the colony’s trade -volume to an all-time high of $1,314,000,000 in 1950. Buying -continued at the same furious rate until May 18, 1951, when -most of the trade was choked off by the United Nations embargo -on shipments to Red China. Even so, Hong Kong’s total -trade volume reached a new high of $1,628,000,000 in 1951.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p> - -<p>The U.N. embargo administered the <i>coup de grâce</i> to -the crown colony trade with Communist China, but it was -only the last of a series of trade restrictions arising from the -Korean war. The United States embargoed all its trade with -Red China when the conflict broke out in June, 1950, and at -first included Hong Kong in the ban. The colony voluntarily -stopped its trade with North Korea in the same month and -banned a list of strategic exports to Red China in August, 1950. -In December, 1950, and March, 1951, the colony increased its -list of strategic items banned for export to China.</p> - -<p>The cumulative effect of these restrictions, which were critically -important in checking Chinese Communist aggression, -was to push Hong Kong to the edge of economic disaster. -With the loss of the China trade, the colony lost half its export -market and about one quarter of its imports. This was the -trade which had always been the main reason for the colony’s -existence.</p> - -<p>Prospects for reviving the China trade when the Korean war -was over did not look encouraging. Long before the embargoes -and restrictions had gone into effect, the Chinese had -begun to shift their trade from Hong Kong to Soviet Russia -and Europe.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong had grown and prospered on its ability to receive, -process and reship the products of others, but its own -productive capacity was insignificant. With a few minor exceptions, -its industries—chiefly the building, repairing and -supplying of ships—existed to serve its trade. Its banks and insurance -companies, too, lived almost entirely on the colony’s -trade. Accordingly, when trade collapsed toward the end of -1951, the whole economy of the colony came crashing down -with it.</p> - -<p>In the aftermath of the 1951 debacle, there was at first no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> -thought of substituting industry for trade. For a variety of -reasons, industry in the colony had never been developed independently -of trade. Certainly Great Britain had not established -the colony to produce goods which would compete with -English manufacturers. The Hong Kong market was too small -and its people generally too poor to support its own industries. -There was no tariff wall to protect the colony’s goods from -outside competition, and this factor alone had stifled several -early attempts to launch local industries.</p> - -<p>Many natural handicaps combined to make the colony a -most unlikely place for industry. Its mineral resources were -few and limited in quantity. It had no local source of power -to run a plant. Its water supply was chronically short of ordinary -needs and suitable land for factories was scarce and expensive. -The colony could not raise enough food nor provide -enough housing to take care of its potential factory workers. -And if anyone were imprudent enough to invest his money in -an expensive industrial establishment, how could he be sure -that the Reds would not move in and take it over, just as they -had grabbed the mills and plants of Shanghai?</p> - -<p>The colony had a few assets worth noting, however. Its -government was stable and orderly, and had attracted a heavy -influx of capital from pre-Communist China and the shaky -regimes of Southeast Asia. Its banking, shipping and insurance -services were the most efficient on the mainland of Asia, and -its merchant community had well-cultivated connections with -the world market. Its sheltered deep-water harbor was one of -the best in Asia.</p> - -<p>The colony’s possibilities as a future industrial power were -further enhanced by an unlimited supply of cheap labor and -the immigration of skilled workers and experienced industrialists -from Red China. Its labor unions numbered in the hundreds,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> -but were so weakened by factional fights and political -objectives that they were unable to drive a hard bargain in -wage negotiations. Under Imperial Preference and the Ottawa -Agreements of 1932, colonial products paid a lower tariff rate -within the British Commonwealth than their foreign competitors.</p> - -<p>Finally, any industry in Hong Kong could rely on one intangible -asset of unique value; the character of the average -Chinese workman. In most cases he was a refugee, uneducated -and penniless but determined to reestablish himself with any -job he could find. Having landed a job, he worked at it with a -diligence, energy and skill that astounded Western observers.</p> - -<p>Although industry had accounted for a very minor part in -the colony’s economy before 1951, its beginnings go back to -the earliest years. Its first recorded product was the eighty-ton -vessel, <i>Celestial</i>, built and launched by Captain John Lamont at -East Point, on Hong Kong Island, on February 7, 1843. The -California gold rush of 1849 and the Australian gold strike two -years later caused a shipping boom in Hong Kong as scores of -sailing ships carried Chinese labor to work in the goldfields. -Shipbuilding expanded rapidly, a dry dock was constructed on -the island and a whole new industry of refitting and supplying -ships came into being. A foundry for the casting of ship -cannon was established in the same era when cannon were the -only valid insurance against South China’s coastal pirates.</p> - -<p>A group of ship-repair yards was consolidated in 1863 as -the Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co., which subsequently -sold its Chinese facilities and established its headquarters at -Hung Hom, on Kowloon Bay. The Taikoo Dockyard & Engineering -Co. began operations at Quarry Bay, on the north -shore of Hong Kong island, in 1908. Between them, the two -yards have completed nearly 1,400 ships, ranging from large<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -cargo and passenger vessels to light harbor craft. Each company -employs about 4,000 men, which is still the largest number -employed by any Hong Kong industrialist.</p> - -<p>These two companies, equipped to build 10,000-ton ships -and capable of repairing practically any ocean liner that enters -the harbor, remain the giants of local industry. But where they -and about two dozen smaller shipyards employed 28 percent -of the colony’s industrial workers in 1938, they now hire -around 3 percent. Theirs is not a declining industry, but it -has become a hopelessly outnumbered one.</p> - -<p>The colony’s oldest export industry has a rather spicy history, -antedating the establishment of Hong Kong by at least -twenty years. A Cantonese hawker with an eye for trade discovered -that the roots of the ginger plant when boiled in syrup -had a strong appeal for British traders. Following the line of -the most susceptible palates, the merchant, Li Chy, moved his -ginger-preserving plant to Hong Kong in 1846. Some helpful -soul introduced the product to Queen Victoria, who was so -taken with its flavor that she made it a regular dessert at royal -banquets, and suggested that it be named the “Cock Brand.” -Whether or not the Queen’s intervention actually occurred is -open to question, but there is no doubt that preserved ginger -became a favorite English and European delicacy. Li Chy’s -Chy Loong Co. and a dozen eager imitators kept Caucasian -tongues tingling until 1937, when U Tat Chee, the Ginger -King, formed a syndicate to standardize quality and prices. -During the Korean war, the United States detected a perceptible -Marxist taint in the ginger that grew in Red China -and banned its importation. A more democratic strain was then -planted in the New Territories, and with suitable documentary -evidence, permitted to enter the United States. Preserved -ginger exports currently bubble along at 225 tons a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -year, pleasing overseas tastes and being credited by the Chinese -with curing the lesser debilities of old age.</p> - -<p>Sailing ships were insatiable rope-consumers, and from this -demand grew the Hong Kong Rope Manufacturing Co., -formed in 1883, and still doing business in Kennedy Town at -the west end of Hong Kong Island.</p> - -<p>The Green Island Cement Co., founded in Macao and transferred -to Hong Kong in 1899, drew most of its raw materials -from outside the colony to supply the local building industry. -After replacing a kiln and four grinding mills hauled away by -the Japanese in World War II, it got back into production in -time to ride upward with the postwar building boom.</p> - -<p>The Taikoo Sugar Refinery Co., established in 1884, was -one of the first local companies to provide houses for its workers. -Extensively modernized in 1925, it prospered until the -Japanese looted and wrecked its plant so thoroughly that it -was unable to resume production until the fall of 1950.</p> - -<p>A 55,000-spindle cotton mill made a pioneer beginning in -1898, but the unrelieved humidity of the climate damaged its -machinery and impaired its efficiency. Stiff competition did -the rest and it was out of business before World War II. Flour -mills and shell-button factories prospered for a time, then -wilted in the heat of competition.</p> - -<p>As cattle country, Hong Kong is slightly superior to the -Sahara Desert. Nevertheless, Sir Patrick Manson, a doctor -who specialized in tropical medicine, decided to establish a -dairy company in 1886. He leased 330 acres of semi-vertical -pasture from the crown and his first herd of 80 cows -clambered and skidded around its dizzying slopes for a decade -until an epizootic of rinderpest exterminated them. A new -herd which soon outgrew its pasturage was stall-fed thereafter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -living on fodder grass hand-gathered by patient Chinese -women. Today’s herd includes about half the colony’s 3,000 -dairy cows and is the chief domestic source of milk and butter. -The dairy company has proliferated into a nutritional -combine called The Dairy Farm, Ice & Cold Storage Co., -which runs a chain of food stores, restaurants, soda fountains -and ice and cold storage plants.</p> - -<p>The match-making industry, dating from 1938, offers a -gloomy illustration of Gresham’s Law. Factories were built -on Peng Chau, To Kwa Wan in eastern Kowloon and at Yuen -Long in the New Territories, turning out tiny, cheap wooden -matches. Factory equipment was primitive, wages low -and the matches, more often than not, splintery and unpredictable. -At its peak in 1947, the industry employed almost -1,000 workers, chiefly women. Then Macao entered the -market with still lower wages and skimpier matches. Every -box of Macao matches ought to bear the warning: “Take -Cover Before Striking Match,” but they far outsell the colony -product. They have also done a lot to stimulate the manufacture -of low-cost cigarette lighters.</p> - -<p>Because of the colony’s habitual preoccupation with trade, -many of its industries existed for decades without attracting -much attention outside their own circle of customers. With -the collapse of trade in 1951, they assumed such unexpected -importance that they seemed to have been invented for the -occasion. Some of them, like the printing and beverage industries, -were a century old. Cosmetics, furniture manufacturing -and the fabrication of nails and screws dated from the -early 1900s. Three industries of considerable importance in -the export market—electric batteries and flashlights, rubber -footwear, and canned goods—had been around since the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -1920s. Enamelware, electro-plating, machinery, tobacco, and -motion picture industries appeared during the depression decade, -and the leather industry emerged in 1947.</p> - -<p>Cottage industries, or small enterprises operating out of the -home or a back-room workshop, are as old as Chinese civilization, -embracing everything from wood and ivory carvings to -musical instruments, jade, coffins, toys, beadwork, lanterns -and silk-covered New Year’s dragons. They average perhaps -a dozen employees each, and number in the thousands.</p> - -<p>The colony government has kept a careful record of total -employment in registered factories (with 20 or more employees -and subject to government inspection) and recorded -workshops (15-19 workers and subject to inspection), but it -has never had a statistical record of the number of industrial -workers outside these two categories.</p> - -<p>There are government estimates, but no precise figures, for -the number of persons working in cottage industries, or such -major industrial groups as building construction, engineering -construction, agriculture, fishing and public transport. Estimates -of the number of people working in shops, offices, and -other commercial establishments are even hazier.</p> - -<p>A purely statistical assessment of changes in Hong Kong industry -that followed the 1951 trade collapse must necessarily -be limited to the registered and recorded industries. Luckily, -it has been the registered and recorded factories which most -clearly reflected the colony’s recent economic revolution.</p> - -<p>Between 1947, when the postwar boom began moving, and -1951, when the U.N. embargo was imposed, the number -of registered and recorded industries rose from 1,050 to 1,961 -and their employed force nearly doubled. The colony’s trade -had been shooting upward at almost the same rate, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -Net Domestic Product (the total value of all its goods and -services) had increased by 75 percent.</p> - -<p>The embargo halted the trade boom and reduced its volume -by almost one-third in 1952. Not until 1960 did the total -climb back to the record level of 1951. Colony traders, -abruptly cut off from the China mainland market, had to find -new markets or liquidate their accumulated stocks. Some -found new markets in Southeast Asia; others liquidated their -stock for whatever it would bring. Colony imports rose uncomfortably -above exports, investment capital began searching -around for better opportunities outside Hong Kong and -unemployment became an additional cause for anxiety.</p> - -<p>One obvious need was to step up the colony’s export volume -at once. It was in this situation that the “poor relation” -in Hong Kong’s economy—its industry—came into its -own.</p> - -<p>Despite its rapid postwar growth, the colony’s industry -had supplied only about ten percent of the products it exported. -In simple desperation, the traders invested their -Korean war profits in local industry. So also did the transplanted -Shanghai industrialists who had lost their factories to -the Chinese Communists but had retained their capital and -managerial skills. The effect on Hong Kong was basic and far-reaching.</p> - -<p>After a two-year period of readjustment, the number of -industrial undertakings, or individual registered and recorded -manufacturers, increased at the rate of 500 a year. Employment -in the industries more than doubled; by the end of 1961, -the colony had 6,359 companies with 271,729 workers. The -climb continued into 1962.</p> - -<p>Local industry, which had once contributed only ten percent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -of the value of colony exports, contributed more than -seventy percent by 1962. Trade had made its comeback by -then, but it showed no sign of regaining the dominant position -it had occupied until 1952.</p> - -<p>Entirely without warning and almost against its will, Hong -Kong had become a manufacturing center instead of an entrepôt. -New industries had cropped up from nowhere, taken a -firm hold and climbed to the most important positions in the -colony’s productive economy. A few of the old industries -had slumped, but most were expanding with the general prosperity.</p> - -<p>During the uneasy two-year period of transition from trade -to manufacturing, the colony had to lay down two sets of -regulations to stabilize its trade relations with Japan and the -United States.</p> - -<p>Japanese industry, swiftly reviving during the American -Occupation, began pouring cotton yarn and piecegoods, -household utensils and metalware into the Hong Kong -market. In 1952, Hong Kong imported four times more from -Japan than it exported to her. But the colony was less concerned -about export-import balances than it was over reducing -the Sterling Area’s adverse balance of payments with -Japan. Japanese imports were tightly restricted or suspended -from early in 1952 until the second half of 1953. Meanwhile, -local industries enjoyed a welcome breather from Japanese -competition, especially in their home market.</p> - -<p>Restoration of trade with the United States was essential. -The volume of this trade had taken a steep dive after the U.S. -and U.N. embargoes on trade with China, and the United -States wanted no Communist products funneled through -Hong Kong, nor any Red Chinese raw materials fabricated in -the colony. The Hong Kong Commerce and Industry Department<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> -and the U.S. Treasury Department finally worked -out a solution: the Comprehensive Certificate of Origin, covering -every kind of goods that might be suspected of Red -Chinese origin. Among these were silk, linen, cotton, jade, -furniture, Chinese antiques and handicrafts. Goods of North -Korean origin were similarly classified.</p> - -<p>In enforcing the Comprehensive Certificate of Origin regulations, -the Commerce and Industry Department directly supervises -the raw material supply and the finished products of -the factories; in some cases, it seals the goods after examination -and keeps them under surveillance until they are exported. -Severe legal and administrative penalties are slapped -on manufacturers or dealers who are caught falsifying a Comprehensive -Certificate of Origin. The colony government -protects the validity of the certificates to insure trade relations -with its biggest customer, and because it gives the colony -a monopoly on certain goods for which Red China would -otherwise have the market sewed up. The most vociferous -critics of the Comprehensive Certificate of Origin are American -tourists who recoil from it as if they had been handed -two sets of income-tax demands for the same year.</p> - -<p>With the road clear for industrial expansion, the response -was overwhelming, and more than half the growth came in -six light industries. Between 1948 and 1958, the six light-industry -groups showed these increases in employment: garment-making, -20,000; metal products, 13,000; cotton spinning, -11,000; cotton weaving, 9,000; plastic wares, 8,000; and rubber -footwear, 3,000.</p> - -<p>At the end of 1961, registered and recorded industries employed -a round total of 272,000 persons, with 42 percent of -these workers concentrated in two categories; textile-making -with 69,000, and garment-making with 45,000. Metal products<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -were third in line with 28,000. Shipbuilding and ship-breaking -employed 13,000. Plastics, non-existent until 1947, -had separated into two major industries, plastic wares and -plastic flowers, with each employing around 13,000 workers. -Food manufacturing, printing and publishing, rubber products, -machinery, electrical apparatus and chemicals were the -other leaders. In the metal-products line, just one of its many -specialized products, the manufacture of flashlight cases, employed -more than 6,000 persons.</p> - -<p>The success of Hong Kong’s light industries is typified by -three of its leaders in plastics, textiles and metal wares. The -Three Ts—H.C. Ting, P. Y. Tang and John Tung—were -prosperous Shanghai industrialists when the Chinese Communists -closed in on them. Each one managed to reestablish -himself in Hong Kong as the head of a major industry. Together, -they represent one of Red China’s unintentionally generous -gifts to the colony—the exodus of capital and management -skill. A whole new complex of tall, modern buildings -in the North Point section of Hong Kong Island called Little -Shanghai is a monument to this newly arrived capital.</p> - -<p>H. C. Ting, managing director and principal owner of Kader -Industrial Co., Ltd. at North Point, began as a battery salesman -for a Shanghai factory, set up his own company, the Wei -Ming Battery Works, in 1925, and began tinkering around -in a laboratory to develop a long-lived battery. He picked up -his chemistry as he went along and painstakingly dissected -hundreds of messy cells until he evolved a really durable battery -that sold well. He branched into flashlights, bulbs and -carbon rods, survived the Japanese invasion of China and -planned to try his luck in the plastics industry after the war. -Foreign exchange limitations made it impossible to equip a -plastics factory in Shanghai, so he sent a group of his employees<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -to Hong Kong in 1947 with instructions to set up a plant.</p> - -<p>The new factory was to include a cold-storage unit which -could cool and store plastics and also make ice for sale. It -was a dismal flop and Mr. Ting hurried down the following -year to untangle the snarls. He soon discovered that he had, -in effect, enrolled himself for a cram course in refrigeration -engineering, but he learned enough to make the plant pay.</p> - -<p>Today the North Point plant, greatly enlarged, employs -1,300 people and makes 400 different plastic items. Its four-story -building of prestressed, reinforced concrete backs into a -rocky hillside which is being blasted away to make room for -a new ten-story plant. Mr. Ting trains all his own workers, -pays them straight wages instead of the usual piece-work rates -and hands out annual bonuses, in some instances, equal to ten -months’ pay.</p> - -<p>Operating on the general premise that he’ll try anything -until he makes it work, Mr. Ting designs many of his own -products, and if he can’t find a machine to make it, designs -that also. One machine molds a plastic automatic pistol and -its bullets in a single operation; the model is so precisely fitted -that it works as smoothly as the original gun. Other machines -mold a pair of binoculars with one press, then equip it with -accurate lenses stamped out of clear Styrene plastic. A plastic -doll, including the eyes, is pressed out in seconds, but the mold -has been carefully developed from a hand-made clay original -that is reproduced first in plaster of Paris and then in polyester -before the steel die is cut. Dressing the dolls keeps 100 girls -busy at Kader sewing machines. The plant works three shifts -daily, but Mr. Ting sleeps through one shift at his penthouse -on the roof. His latest venture is transistor radios, jointly undertaken -with a Japanese electrical appliance company.</p> - -<p>“We can compete with anything except junk,” Mr. Ting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -said. “If Hong Kong turns out quality products at reasonable -prices, we can gradually raise the living standards of our labor -to the level of other countries. It can’t be done overnight; they -tried it in Red China and failed.”</p> - -<p>P. Y. Tang, head of the South Sea Textile Manufacturing -Co. at Tsuen Wan, is an engineering graduate of the -Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the largest producer -of cotton yarn and grey cloth in the colony. His main -plant covers nine acres along the waterfront and contains -45,000 spindles and 900 looms. Its employed force numbers -2,100.</p> - -<p>Tsuen Wan, now an industrial center with more than -60,000 residents, was a village with a few huts and no roads -when Mr. Tang erected a pilot plant there in 1948. He had -brought 300 technicians and skilled workers, plus his own administrative -experience as managing director of the gigantic -Ching Foong Cotton Manufacturing Co. in Shanghai and -other cities of China.</p> - -<p>Experience was not enough; Hong Kong had practically -nothing to help the mill get started—no cotton, power, spare -parts, skilled labor or parallel industries, such as weaving and -garment-making, that could use yarn and doth. There was no -local market and the humid climate quickly rusted the machinery.</p> - -<p>Mr. Tang beat the rust problem and shaved his operating -costs by keeping the machines in continuous use, running -8,500 hours a year, compared with 3,700 hours a year in German -mills and 1,500 hours in English ones. He opened up new -markets for his prolific output in Great Britain, the United -States, Australia, Africa, and elsewhere. His early sales were -made at a loss, but with his markets established and Red China<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> -knocked out of the market by the U.N. embargo, South Sea -sales and profits soared.</p> - -<p>The main plant is completely air-conditioned, reducing -summer working temperatures by twenty degrees. The spindles -and looms, imported from Japan, England, Switzerland -and the United States, are the finest obtainable. Much of the -carding, combing, and sizing machinery is fully automatic, -tended by Chinese girls in their early twenties. Some of the -girls appear to be prematurely grey, but it’s nothing more -than loose cotton that has settled on their black hair; all wear -breathing masks to protect their lungs from floating cotton. -Every phase of the operation is under strict quality control, -preserving the uniform diameter of the yarn and testing its -tensile strength.</p> - -<p>The South Sea plant sometimes disconcerts visiting textile -executives, who expect a Hong Kong textile mill to look -like an over-extended cottage industry. What they find here, -and in several other Hong Kong mills, is a streamlined efficiency -equal to the best in the world.</p> - -<p>The young men and women employees, most of them single, -live in free dormitories near the plant, pay an average of -27 cents a day for meals and have a choice of Cantonese, -Shanghai or Swatow cuisine. They have workmen’s compensation, -a barber shop with electric hair-dryers for the women, -a vocational training program, and for high-performance -workers, a lounge and recreation center. The plant is non-union, -with a six-day, 48-hour week. Wages are slightly above -the colony average for a registered factory, ranging from -$1.38 to $2.25 a day.</p> - -<p>Mr. Tang has been in the thick of the fight to protect the -colony’s textile industry from demands—especially clamorous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -in England and the United States—that its exports be reduced.</p> - -<p>“I just can’t see the wisdom of Western powers in restricting -Hong Kong textile exports,” he told David Lan, a reporter -for <i>The China Mail</i>, a colony daily. “We have no hinterland -or diversified industries to which refugees may turn from a -threatened textile industry.”</p> - -<p>“From 1959 through 1961, total colony exports of cotton -piece goods were less than 5 percent of Great Britain’s production, -and 0.53 percent of United States output,” he stated.</p> - -<p>“We are asking for no aid but only a fair chance to trade,” -he said.</p> - -<p>John Tung, third of the alliterative industrial Taipans, has -been connected with the colony’s metalware industry since -1937. Like Mr. Tang, he was the son of a Chinese industrialist. -His father started the I. Feng Enamelling Company in Shanghai -shortly after World War I and established a Hong Kong -branch in 1937. John, working part-time for his father while -he attended the University of Shanghai, left both school and -job and founded his own firm, the Freezinhot Bottle Co., to -manufacture vacuum flasks. By 1940, he, too, set up a Hong -Kong branch. When the Communists expropriated Shanghai -industries, he moved to the colony to direct both the I. Feng -and Freezinhot branches.</p> - -<p>The I. Feng enterprise prospered, and in the familiar -Hong Kong pattern, dozens of small operators rushed in to -cut some of the pie. By 1956 there were approximately 30 of -them in the field and Mr. Tung had to cut back his production. -The marginal companies went broke in the glutted -market, but I. Feng remained the largest in its line. Mr. Tung -proceeded to build the Freezinhot bottles by handling all the -manufacturing processes in his own plant, instead of the usual -practice of contracting them out, and successfully invaded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -Japanese markets in Africa, Latin America and Southeast -Asia.</p> - -<p>Like many other Hong Kong manufacturers, he set up subsidiary -companies outside the colony. Bet-hedging is widely -practiced among colony entrepreneurs; the economic climate -is unpredictable and no one wants to be caught flat-footed. In -the colony, Mr. Tung also runs a firebrick works, a marble -plant and a trading company, shuttling daily between his various -offices.</p> - -<p>He takes a coolly realistic view of tomorrow’s prospects, -declaring that the market for enamelware and vacuum bottles -in underdeveloped countries will drop when hot running -water, electric percolators and refrigerators make his products -less useful, or the countries develop their own industries -to meet the need. He probably would not be offended if his -potential competitors subscribed to this pessimistic outlook.</p> - -<p>Mr. Tung’s survival in the 1956 enamelware boom illustrates -a recurring weakness in the colony’s economy, the -perennial, headlong dash to make a fast dollar. The urge is -irresistible, with new industries coming over the horizon and -eager money lying in wait for them. At the first sniff of profit, -the money swarms into the latest bonanza, fresh companies -pop up like dandelions and products flood the market. Older -firms slash prices repeatedly to meet each competitive assault; -presently, the bottom falls out and half the old and new -companies disappear in a welter of bad debts. The frantic -cycle has swept through the apparel, film, glove, plastic -flower, and enamelware industries without losing any of its -momentum or lure. It is often and justly deplored, but in -Hong Kong it will always be difficult to find an investor panting -to turn a slow dollar.</p> - -<p>The race for a quick profit careens along at a perilous pace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> -in the colony’s building industry, where the investor in a large -apartment or office building may get all his capital back within -four years, or go broke in six months. The industry moved -ahead at a moderate $25 million-a-year rate until about two -years after the post-embargo manufacturing boom began. -Then it took off, reaching a new record of $42,000,000 in -1959. In 1960 it shot up to $69,000,000, and held the steep -angle of climb into 1961.</p> - -<p>It is the building aspect of Hong Kong’s industrial spurt -that strikes every visitor at once. A skyscraper bank building -and two hotels, of 600 and 1,000 rooms respectively, are going -up in the central business district of Hong Kong Island. There -is hardly a square block in the main business area where there -is not at least one building under construction.</p> - -<p>The transformation of the Tsim Sha Tsui section at the -tip of Kowloon Peninsula is even more startling. In the 1920s, -it was predominantly a quiet house-and-garden neighborhood -strung along both sides of Nathan Road, the main north -to south street. The Peninsula Hotel opened at the south end -of Nathan Road in 1928 to become the new social center of -the colony, and its Peninsula Court annex was added in 1957.</p> - -<p>During the 1950s, Tsim Sha Tsui slowly became an area -of small hotels and luxury shops catering to tourists. An epidemic -of building fever swept over it in 1959, and the place -will never be the same again. Three huge hotels—the Ambassador, -Imperial and Park—opened in 1961 with a total of -1,025 rooms. Two years later, the 800-room President was to -join the Kowloon tourist parade. Tall apartment buildings, -reaching almost as high as their rents, and an assortment of -compact luxury hotels, sprouted through the thick crust of -tourists and shoppers. Guests at the top of the newly opened -Imperial Hotel looked down on a scene of general devastation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -at the opposite side of Nathan Road; dozens of old structures -being demolished to make way for larger and more expensive -ones.</p> - -<p>New hotels opening throughout the colony in 1963 will -add 3,368 rooms, doubling its tourist capacity. Many of them -will show the familiar marks of speculative building—undersized -rooms, insufficient elevator service, thin walls and -cracked masonry. The best hotels will stay the course, but the -merely flashy ones may be pulled through the same wringer -as the overly eager, overnight speculators in other industries.</p> - -<p>The construction industry, which employs 160,000 people, -roughly estimated, was also active in less speculative projects. -From 1957 through 1961, it erected more than 200 factories, -many of them on reclaimed land. Government construction -on water-supply facilities, land reclamation, and -resettlement estates ran just over $40,000,000 in 1960-61, -and was scheduled to increase considerably in the next fiscal -year.</p> - -<p>All of the large new hotels in Hong Kong were built to -serve a tourist trade which could scarcely have supported -three of them in 1940. For well over a century, Hong Kong -had about as much tourist appeal as the islands of Langerhans; -and in its early days, the English used to sing a derisive song, -“You can go to Hong Kong for Me.” In the popular mind, it -was associated with such disagreeable phenomena as rainstorms, -typhoons, floods, pirates, malaria, bubonic plague, -squalor and poisoners. Most of these scourges have disappeared, -but it took travelers many years to forget them. -People went to Hong Kong only on government or private -business or because, being either rich or retired, they had been -everywhere else and wanted to add one more odd-sounding -place to their itinerary.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p> - -<p>Distance alone was a formidable obstacle; by today’s shortest -air route, Hong Kong is 10,611 miles from New York and -7,286 miles from London. It was much farther by ship, and -it took weeks to get there. Imperial Airways opened the first -regular airline service from Europe in 1936, and Pan American -World Airways started weekly transpacific flights in -1937. Early flights from New York or London still required -a week, more or less, and although faster piston-engined -planes gradually pared down the time, it took the introduction -of jet airliners in 1958 to cut the longest flights to -approximately 24 hours.</p> - -<p>The new Kai Tak Airport, whose 8,350-foot runway juts -into Kowloon Bay on a strip of reclaimed land, opened on -September 12, 1958, six weeks earlier than the first oceanic -jet passenger service. Scheduled ocean liners and cruise ships -continue to call at Hong Kong, but four-fifths of all tourists -arrive by air at Kai Tak. More than 210,000 of them came in -1961, with Americans and residents of the British Commonwealth -comprising the two largest groups. Not included in -this total are the 132,000 members of the American armed -forces who had shore leave in the colony during 1961. For -many years they have been the largest group of colony visitors; -liberal spenders and generally law-abiding.</p> - -<p>After ignoring Hong Kong effortlessly for decades, Americans -had their attention drawn to it by a variety of stimulants. -Hollywood motion pictures such as <i>Soldier of Fortune</i>, -<i>Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing</i>, <i>The World of Suzie -Wong</i>, and <i>Ferry to Hong Kong</i> were of varying artistic -merit, but they all helped the tourist business. Television, radio -and film personalities—Arthur Godfrey, William Holden, -Jack Paar, Ed Sullivan, and David Brinkley—presented documentary -reports on the colony. There was even a television<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -adventure serial about Hong Kong, but with the exception of -a few on-the-spot film clips spliced in for authenticity, it dealt -with people, places and customs unknown to any colony resident.</p> - -<p>Tourism stands next to the textile industry as a source of -foreign exchange and it has created thousands of jobs for -hotel and restaurant workers, entertainers, guides and shop -clerks. Recognizing its economic value, the colony government -set up the Hong Kong Tourist Association a few years -ago. The association beams its Lorelei serenade to tourists overseas, -but in its own yard, it functions as a watchdog. Its warning -yip is brief: Don’t flim-flam the tourists, or you’ll kill a -$120 million-a-year industry.</p> - -<p>Transportation facilities in and out of the colony are -equipped to handle any foreseeable increase in freight or passenger -traffic during the next few years. Seventy-six shipping -lines sail to 234 ports around the world. Nineteen airlines -operate out of Kai Tak, with the four busiest—Cathay Pacific -(chiefly regional), British Overseas Airways, Pan American -and Japan Air Lines—averaging two or more arrivals and departures -every day.</p> - -<p>No one has the exact figures on how many people are employed -in all the industries of the colony beyond the registered -and recorded factories and including every category. -But 1,200,000 have some sort of job, whether working at -home, in factories, on farms, at sea or for the government. -Government employs about 50,000.</p> - -<p>There is no minimum wage. Most workers are paid by the -day or on a piece-work basis. Normal daily wages of industrial -workers are 50 cents to $1.30 for the unskilled, $1.20 to -$1.70 for semiskilled, and $1.30 to $3.50 for skilled men. -Women get 30 percent less than men. Overtime is at time and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -quarter or time and a half, with the latter prevalent. Incentive -pay is given for good performance and attendance. Some -companies provide free or subsidized food to compensate -workers for cost-of-living jumps. A bonus of one month’s -wages is paid by many companies just before the Chinese New -Year.</p> - -<p>As a rule the European firms and a few westernized Chinese -firms provide a cost of living allowance on top of the -basic wage. Yet in spite of rapid industrial expansion, inflation -has been slight; the index rose only 22 points between 1947 -and 1961. The eight-hour day and six-day, 48-hour week are -observed by most European companies, but some Chinese -companies have an 11-hour day. Women and all workers -under eighteen are given a second rest day a week by law. -Many big companies, especially those dealing in textiles, provide -dormitories and free bedding for unmarried workers; -some house the families of married workers, and the government -encourages this practice by providing land for such -quarters at half the market price. A few companies provide -recreation rooms and free transportation to and from the -job. Workmen’s compensation insurance has been prescribed -by law since 1953. Women, as well as children under fourteen -years old, may not work between 8 <span class="smcapuc">P.M.</span> and <span class="smcapuc">7 A.M.</span></p> - -<p>Hong Kong wages look tiny to an American worker who -earns more in an hour than a colony factory hand receives in -a day. But the chasm between the two standards of living is -not so vast. The Hong Kong worker takes the bus, streetcar -or ferryboat for less than two cents a ride; his lunch costs -about ten cents, and his month’s rent is under $5.00 if he lives -in a resettlement estate, and below $23 a month if he occupies -a low-income Housing Authority development unit.</p> - -<p>There are 245 labor unions in the colony, but they lack biting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -power in wage negotiations. Three have more than 10,000 -members each: the seamen’s union; the spinning, weaving and -dyeing workers; and the motor transport workers. These -three, with the unions of the seafarers, workers in Western-type -employment, restaurant and café employees, government -workers and teachers, represent 40 percent of all union -membership. The unions split into a pro-Communist Federation -and a pro-Nationalist Council. The pro-Red unions are -strongest among seamen, public utilities, shipyards and textiles; -the anti-Reds are most influential in the building trades, -food and catering and numerous small industries. Only 25 -of the 245 labor unions are free of political leadership. Collective -bargaining is generally confined to the transport, printing, -and enamelware industries, and to taxi drivers.</p> - -<p>Most wages are set by agreement between the worker and -his employer; the agreement is verbal and follows no uniform -wage-scale. Family connections, references from friends, or -the contracting system are used to get jobs. Except in the large -shipyards and textile mills, the apprentice system is mostly a -matter of observation and imitation. Several private trade -schools train boys and girls in various jobs, and Hong Kong -Technical College and Hong Kong University teach engineering, -commerce and highly advanced technical specialties, -with the university giving a full range of professional training. -But when all are combined, they fall far short of the -demand.</p> - -<p>The majority of the colony’s industrial workers impress -both employers and outside observers as industrious, purposeful, -capable and intelligent. They are unwilling to make -bold, independent decisions, some employers complain. On -the other hand, they are seldom encouraged to do so.</p> - -<p>In the last few years, an increasing number of American<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> -businessmen have found the risks and rewards of the colony’s -economy well worth their interest. The first American trading -concern, Russell & Co., was established there in 1850, but -the road was rocky, and Russell, along with several later -Yankee traders, faded out of the picture before 1900. About a -dozen American companies located agencies in Hong Kong -in the early 1900s. Most notable of these was the International -Banking Corp., which opened a Hong Kong branch in -1902; after a series of mergers and name changes it became a -major branch of the First National City Bank of New York, -occupying its own large building in the central financial district.</p> - -<p>Except for First National City, Singer Sewing Machine Co., -National Cash Register Co. and a few others, most of the -American offices were agencies or area representatives until -the last decade.</p> - -<p>Anker B. Henningsen, a Montana-born businessman of -Danish ancestry, came to Hong Kong from China, where his -family had been in business since 1913. With his son A. P. Henningsen, -he heads a group of companies that distribute Coca-Cola -and other soft drinks, export and import women’s wearing -apparel, run a quality dress shop called Paquerette, Ltd., -and act as agents for a number of American chemical, pharmaceutical -and manufacturing companies. They employ 300 -people.</p> - -<p>The older Henningsen’s father, a Danish immigrant to the -United States, had built a prosperous produce business in the -Northwest and later supplemented it by shipping eggs from -China to the U.S. Eggs came in by the boatload until his competitors -sabotaged the business by circulating the canard that -the Chinese eggs were hundreds of years old. Mr. Henningsen -turned then to Europe for his primary market, but his American<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> -produce operations took a beating in the 1919 to 1921 depression. -A. B. went out to China in 1923 to start his own ice -cream and frozen-drink-on-a-stick business. He had to install -refrigeration units in all his retail outlets, working out of a -central plant with 3,000 employees. In cold months, he packed -and shipped eggs; in summer, he made and sold 125,000 frozen -suckers a day. Sticks for the suckers were stamped out of Idaho -pine planks, shipped from the U.S. in the form of heavyweight -packing crates to avoid lumber duty. It was no small -item; the Shanghai plant used 250,000 board feet of Idaho pine -a year.</p> - -<p>In 1933 he set up a dairy business, imported 500 head of -American cattle and a full line of equipment for a modern -dairy farm. A few years later, Japanese bombers killed the entire -herd. He was president of the American Association and -the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai when he -and 1,500 other Americans were interned by the invading Japanese. -As head of the American business community, he was -permitted to organize a hospital, school and food facilities for -the prisoners. Repatriated to the United States in September, -1943, he operated a dried-egg plant for the Army during the -rest of the war. He returned to China after the war, and ran -produce and export companies until the Reds began to gain -control of the country. Liquidating his interests in China, he -came to Hong Kong and organized a soft-drink bottling -company in 1948.</p> - -<p>He and his son extended branches to Japan, Korea and Taiwan, -but closed them down after a time, he said, because he -could not find executive personnel capable and willing to run -them. He expects Hong Kong to survive and prosper, despite -the ever-present threat from Red China.</p> - -<p>“Hong Kong is China’s best source of foreign exchange,”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -Mr. Henningsen says. “If the Reds took it over, the whole -economy would collapse, just as it did in Shanghai. The Communists -have mismanaged their food supply so badly that their -people can’t work. All they get to eat is a small rice ration, a -few vegetables, very little fish and no meat at all. If people are -underfed, they just die on the vine.”</p> - -<p>Robert J. Newton, another native of the American Northwest, -has established his own prosperous business in the colony. -Born in Salem, Oregon, he worked as a construction engineer -in California, Hawaii and the Philippines. He made his -first Hong Kong visit in the early 1930s, found it easy to do -business with the people there and was deeply impressed by -the skill of its workmen. He returned to the colony often in -succeeding years.</p> - -<p>He had made the building of boats his lifetime hobby, and -was frequently praised for the quality of his craftsmanship. -But it was not until the 1950s that he began to consider boat -construction as a possible business. His two sons, Whitney and -John, became his associates, with John heading a distributorship -for Bireley’s soft drinks. Whitney became the manager -of American Marine, Ltd., the boat-building yard established -by his father.</p> - -<p>In 1958, the company set up operations in a tin-roofed shed -that was not much larger than a two-car garage. The yard site -was along the shore of an inlet on Clear Water Peninsula, -nearly five miles due east of Kowloon. Well away from other -industrial areas, it lay just across Junk Bay from the Chinese -Nationalist refugee settlement at Rennie’s Mill Camp.</p> - -<p>American Marine, which produces pleasure boats for the -American market, outgrew its corporate cradle in a few -weeks; its present shed is 500 feet long and 300 feet wide, and -will be doubled in area during 1962. The company turns out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -40 to 50 yachts a year, selling from $7,000 to $70,000 each. -Mr. Newton and his son are the only Americans in the company; -all of their 300 workmen are Chinese.</p> - -<p>Mr. Newton’s basic assumption was that he could produce -a sailboat, modified luxury junk, motor sailer, or power -cruiser to the finest design specifications, ship it to the United -States as deck cargo on a freighter, and still undersell American -boat-builders by a fair margin. The idea appears to be -sound. His yard crew is working on 30 boats at a time and -expects to raise its annual output to 80 or 100 boats a year -when the enlarged shed has been completed.</p> - -<p>Wood for his boats comes from many countries—Sitka -spruce, for spars, from the American Northwest; teak from -Thailand; and other hardwoods from Borneo and mahogany -planking from the Philippines. Engines and fittings come -from the United States. The largest of his boats to date is a -59-foot motor sailer, and all are built to the specifications of -American marine designers and architects such as Sparkman -& Stephens, Inc. of New York, and William Lapworth of Los -Angeles. It takes six to eight months to finish most boats.</p> - -<p>One problem he has, Mr. Newton explains, is training -Chinese workmen to use power tools. Ten years ago power -equipment was a great rarity in the colony; now American -Marine has 50 electric drills, planers, bandsaws and a bolt-threader. -Some of his workmen had never seen a power tool -before they were trained to use them at the boatyard. Whitney -Newton’s ability to speak Cantonese is helpful, but the -instructor has to proceed with the utmost caution in introducing -a greenhorn to a bandsaw.</p> - -<p>American Marine builds a few modified junks, using American -equipment and finishing them like yachts. The three masts -of the typical Chinese junk are retained, but the rigging is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -simplified and the usual ponderous rudder is greatly reduced -in size. They sell for $10,000 or more. The Newtons built one -for Don the Beachcomber, Hollywood restaurant owner. -Americans are often infatuated with the romantic outline of -a large working junk, but they would soon go aground trying -to handle its complicated sails.</p> - -<p>American Marine follows the Chinese practice of paying -one month’s bonus to its workers at the New Year. Trucks -carry the men to and from work. A barracks and mess hall -accommodate those who live at the yard. The hamlet of Hang -Hau, half-destroyed by fire years ago and still in ruins, was -American Marine’s only neighbor in 1958. Now there is a mill -for cold-rolled steel and a ship-breaking shop, with the light-colored -buildings of Haven of Hope Sanatorium arrayed -along the hills of the opposite shore.</p> - -<p>Mandarin Textiles, Ltd., best known in the United States -for its Dynasty line of high-styled women’s apparel, is also -directed by an American, Linden E. Johnson. Mr. Johnson, -who served with the U.S. armed forces in China during -World War II, stayed on to become a Shanghai textile executive. -When the Reds drove him out of China, he came to Hong -Kong and founded Mandarin with a Chinese partner who was -murdered by a fellow-Chinese in 1957. Mr. Johnson kept the -business going, completed an eight-story plant in Kowloon, -near Kai Tak, in 1958, and expanded it into one of the colony’s -finest tailoring and designing houses.</p> - -<p>Mandarin, which makes the Empire line in cottons in addition -to the Dynasty silks and brocades, employs up to 1,300 -workers. It provides a recreation room, catered meals and -classes in English for its work force. Most of its permanent -staff are highly skilled people, like the young sewing-machine -operator who stitches intricate rose and tea-leaf designs on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -quilted fabrics at high speed, working from memory with unerring -accuracy. The cutters, tailors, and pressers are advanced -craftsmen, trained by long apprenticeship.</p> - -<p>Mandarin introduces about fifteen new silk and brocade -patterns each year, originated by its own designer, Doris -Saunders, with such names as Cherry Blossom, Ivory Blue, -Sing Song and Garland. Its stockroom carries nearly 500 patterns, -including as many as eight different color variations on a -single pattern. Wives of visiting VIPs often tend to go haywire -when exposed to this exciting inventory, and have had to -be led or dragged away from the shelves. Most of the brocades -are woven by the Fou Wah mills in Tsuen Wan. Finished -garments are packed in waterproof paper and special -shipping boxes and sent to the U.S. by air express or sea -freight.</p> - -<p>Mandarin keeps its finger on the high-fashion pulse through -its Dynasty Salon in the colony’s Hotel Peninsula, but it also -cagily remains in touch with a wider and less sophisticated -market by noting what the American sailors buy at its servicemen’s -outlet in Wanchai, where the fleet comes in.</p> - -<p>Textiles have become the largest single factor in the colony’s -economy. Textile exports totaled $273.5 million in -1960, or 55 percent of the colony’s entire domestic exports. In -1961, textiles constituted 52 percent of all exports. The industry -employs 42 percent of all the workers in registered and -recorded industries. It has a capacity of 614,000 spindles and -18,700 looms.</p> - -<p>All this is cause for rejoicing in Hong Kong textile circles, -but to textile producers in England, the United States and -Canada, it is a problem that becomes greater all the time. The -United States absorbed 31 percent of the colony’s textile exports -in 1960, and the British Isles were a close second with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -26 percent. Textile exports to the United States took a sharp -drop in 1961, while those to the British Isles showed only a -slight decline.</p> - -<p>There was much concern among Lancashire mill-owners -when Hong Kong cottons began to hit the English market. -American textile producers and textile union leaders joined in -a protest that was echoed with lesser volume by the Canadian -textile industry. In all three countries, textile men declared -that if they had to compete with Hong Kong’s low wage-scales, -they would be driven to the wall.</p> - -<p>American textile producers have their own special complaints -against the Hong Kong industry. They point out that -because of the existing price differential, Hong Kong can buy -U.S. cotton at 8½ cents less per pound than American mills -can, and that the colony has been stocking up heavily on it. -In 1960, Hong Kong imported 55 percent of its raw cotton -from the United States. The U.S. textile men say that while -Japan’s textile exports have been held down by a five-year -quota limitation, Hong Kong has rushed in to sell America -the items that Japan agreed not to sell.</p> - -<p>The demand for restrictions on colony textile exports to -the United States began in 1958. United States officials visited -the colony in 1959 with a proposal for a voluntary cut in the -exports. The Hong Kong garment manufacturers proposed a -three-year quota arrangement, starting in July, 1960, to hold -exports to the 1959 level, plus 15 percent on cotton blouses -and blouse sets, shorts and trousers, sport shirts, brassieres and -pajamas. American textile producers immediately rejected the -proposal as far too generous to Hong Kong competitors.</p> - -<p>During the negotiations, American importers placed huge -orders with Hong Kong to get in ahead of the threatened limitations. -When the agreement blew up, they found an interesting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -variety of reasons why they couldn’t accept most of -what they had ordered, such as late deliveries, and unsatisfactory -quality. Exports to the U.S. dropped and the decline persisted -into 1961.</p> - -<p>In May, 1961, President Kennedy proposed an international -textile conference to work out some agreeable way to control -textile exports. The United States then suggested that Hong -Kong cut its textile exports at least 30 percent below the levels -of 1960. But the word “quota” had assumed a fearsome aspect -in Hong Kong because of a textile agreement involving -the colony, England, India and Pakistan. Hong Kong had -agreed to limit its exports to the British Isles, provided that -Pakistan and India would do the same. In 1961, the Hong Kong -industry began to suspect that India and Pakistan might jump -the traces, leaving the colony interests holding the bag.</p> - -<p>A large section of the Hong Kong press is rabidly pro-textile -industry, and every American move toward textile controls -is headlined as a thrust at the heart of the colony’s principal -industry. Communist papers shoved their way into the -act by crying that American restrictions would starve the -refugee workers who left the People’s Republic of China to -escape that very fate.</p> - -<p>After the July 1961 International Textile Conference at -Geneva, the Hong Kong government, following long bilateral -discussions with the U.S., agreed to limit its exports according -to the Geneva Textile Agreement, with July 1960-June -1961 as the base year, and dividing the affected export -items into 64 different categories. Starting date of the agreement -was October 1, 1961.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the United States Tariff Commission began to -study the 8½-cents-a-pound cotton export differential at the -direction of President Kennedy. Genuinely alarmed, Hong<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -Kong business groups hired Dean Acheson, lawyer and former -American Secretary of State, to represent them before -the Commission and help to retain the price differential.</p> - -<p>The textile volcano erupted again in March, 1962, when the -colony government, acting under the one-year agreement that -went into effect the previous October, banned eight categories -of textile exports to the United States. The Hong Kong <i>Tiger -Standard</i>, clamorous advocate of the textile interests, excoriated -the move as a prelude to economic ruin. Pandemonium -ran through the industry. The government ban was -lifted almost immediately. Prospects of a peaceful solution -seemed as poor as ever.</p> - -<p>On September 6, 1962, the U.S. Tariff Commission voted -to retain the 8½-cent export differential and rejected a proposal -to raise the duty on cotton imports. This action coaxed -the Hong Kong manufacturers out of their sulks, but it sent -the American textile-makers into a fresh tantrum.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong’s motion picture industry is one of the world’s -most prolific, and least-known, producers of feature films. -More than 300 feature-length pictures were made in 1961 by -its six major studios and scores of independent producers who -rented working space from the big studios. All were in Cantonese -or Mandarin, aimed at the Overseas Chinese market in -Taiwan, the Philippines, Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Mandarin -features are generally based on heroic or historical -themes, with rich costuming and elaborate sets; each one -takes 35 to 40 days of shooting and costs around $40,000. A -few Mandarin films have contemporary stories. Cantonese -films, usually drawing on time-tested plots from Cantonese -opera, can be run off in 10 or 15 days for less than $20,000 and -are more popular than Mandarin with the Hong Kong fans.</p> - -<p>As might be guessed from their shooting schedule, many of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -these quickies are rubbish. But the quality of the Mandarin -films has improved, and a few super-productions costing as -much as $175,000 are made every year. Hong Kong films have -won top honors at the East Asian Film Festival for the last -four years.</p> - -<p>The Shaw Brothers, Run Run Shaw and Run Me Shaw, bill -themselves with typical cinematic restraint as The Greatest -Purveyors of Entertainment in the Far East, and are the kings -of the local industry. Late in 1961 they moved their Hong -Kong organization into a modern and elaborate studio at -Clearwater Bay in the New Territories. Its four sound stages -were to be increased to six within a few months, and its employed -force numbered several hundred, plus an equal number -of low-paid extras.</p> - -<p>Lin Dai, twenty-six-year-old beauty and box-office queen -of the Shaw Brothers studio, took the 1961 best-actress -Golden Harvest Award. As the highest-paid star, she earned -$42,000 annually on a three-picture-a-year contract. A singer, -actress and dancer, she is stunning by any standards, East or -West, and the studio plans to release some of her best films in -the American art-theater circuit. Thus far, their American -audience has been restricted to Chinese-American viewers.</p> - -<p>The Shaws, who also own studios in Malaya and a chain of -120 theaters in Southeast Asia, began operations in Hong Kong -three years after Grandview Film Co. founded the local industry -in 1933. After a slow start, the industry boomed in the -early 1950s, overexpanded and crashed, leaving only four companies -in the field by 1956. Pro-Nationalist studios such as -Shaw Brothers have no market in Red China, but there are a -number of Hong Kong film-makers who have a pro-Communist -slant. Shaw’s new studio can produce wide-screen -pictures, overcoming one of the handicaps that has limited the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -growth of the industry in the colony. Generally speaking, -there is still plenty of room for technical and artistic improvement.</p> - -<p>The 1961 Hong Kong census reported a total of 337,000 -women in all the employed forces, yet women have played -a disproportionately small part in the direction of industry -and public affairs until the last twenty years or so. It -is not surprising that Chinese women were excluded from -public life, since they had few rights outside their homes until -the establishment of the Chinese Republic in 1911. But British -women, presumably well-educated and qualified to take executive -responsibilities, found few opportunities to do so. The fact -that Queen Victoria ruled the colony for the first sixty years -of its existence should have helped, but it didn’t. What influence -women had was unseen, and was exerted through their -husbands or other men.</p> - -<p>Even today there is not one woman in the top echelon of -Hong Kong government, although women constitute about -one-twelfth of the government’s Class I and II administrative -staff officers (more than a third of these women are Chinese).</p> - -<p>In nongovernmental posts, there are about ten women conducting -their own retail shops, chiefly in fashions, jewelry and -objets d’art. Rosalind Henwood, an American, heads an air -freight forwarding business.</p> - -<p>There are about a dozen women of prominence in writing, -advertising and publicity. Two of them, Mrs. Beatrice -M. Church and Miss Elma Kelly, direct their own advertising -and publicity agencies. Mrs. Church, a former Far Eastern -correspondent for the <i>London Daily Mail</i>, survived Japanese -air attacks and ship-sinkings during World War II, served in -the SWANS, a women’s service affiliated with the British -Navy, and returned to Hong Kong to reestablish the pioneering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -advertising and publicity firm she had founded with her -husband, Captain Charles Church. Captain Church, his health -shattered by Japanese tortures during imprisonment at Singapore, -died of the effects of his injuries in 1950. Mrs. Church assumed -sole control of the business, the Advertising and Publicity -Bureau, and has successfully operated it since then. Miss -Kelly, a native of Melbourne, Australia, began her career as -an analytical chemist. She also was a Japanese war prisoner before -setting up her own agency, Cathay, Ltd., in Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>There are about 20 women executives and administrators -in private or semipublic health and welfare agencies. Women -staff officers in government health and welfare work number -approximately 150—by far the largest group of women in -civil-service staff posts. The colony has a small number of -women doctors, educators and lawyers, plus one architect, -but most women professionals in these fields are government -officers.</p> - -<p>Women employed in art or cultural activities total about -fifteen, including several Chinese movie actresses. Miss Aileen -Woods, a colony resident for nearly forty years, is widely -known for her Down Memory Lane program over Radio -Hong Kong, which she conducted from 1947 to 1954. A -Japanese prisoner in Hong Kong during the war, she subsisted -on a semistarvation diet of rice, fish and boiled sweet-potato -leaves; her weight fell to 81 pounds and many of her fellow -prisoners died. Miss Woods, now seventy-five years old and in -excellent health, was honored by a personal visit from Princess -Alexandra of Kent during the Princess’s tour of Hong Kong -in November, 1961. She was awarded the Coronation Medal -in 1953, and the Member of the British Empire in 1958. She -still does occasional programs for Radio Hong Kong, a government -agency, and is regarded as the unofficial dean of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -colony’s working women, having begun her career as a -world-touring featured dancer in the <i>Ziegfeld Follies</i> and -other shows more than fifty years ago.</p> - -<p>In private business and professional activities, as in government -staff positions, about one-third of the colony’s career -women are Chinese, and both groups of women have -achieved much greater prestige and success than any previous -generation of the colony’s women. Among the -Tanka fishing people of Hong Kong, women own most of -the fishing junks. On Po Toi, a small island southeast of Hong -Kong Island, a Chinese woman, who died in 1957, held the -rank of village elder; as such, she was the arbiter of all local -disputes, having an authority rarely given to women. Many -women in the colony hope that the lady from Po Toi will become -a trend-setter instead of a legend.</p> - -<p>What are the prospects for Hong Kong industry and trade? -Among the many persons who have weighed these prospects -are three of the most influential men in the commercial life -of the colony: Hugh Barton, chairman and managing director -of Jardine, Matheson & Co.; Sir Michael Turner, chairman, -general manager and a director of the Hongkong & Shanghai -Banking Corp.; and John L. Marden, chairman of Wheelock, -Marden & Co. A listing of their combined directorships -would fill two closely printed pages, and it would be only a -mild exaggeration to say that they and the companies they -head are in everything of a business nature in the colony. Each -man also holds an important position in the colony government; -Sir Michael as an unofficial member of the Executive -Council, Mr. Barton as an unofficial member of the Legislative -Council, and Mr. Marden with unofficial membership in the -Urban Council.</p> - -<p>Mr. Barton heads one of the oldest and most respected business<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -houses in Hong Kong, with financial or operational control -of companies in such diverse lines as real estate, shipping, -wharves, warehousing, insurance, utilities, textiles, transport, -engineering, airlines and trading. Jardine’s, as it is commonly -called, was deeply engaged in the opium trade during the -colony’s early years, but has long since turned to other interests.</p> - -<p>One of its recent investments, the Jardine Dyeing & Finishing -Co., was established two years ago and now produces -two million yards of high-quality cloth per month.</p> - -<p>Barton believes that if the United States drops the 8½-cents-a-pound -cotton export differential, most of the cloth produced -in Hong Kong will not be able to compete in the world -market. Of the 500 million yards of cloth produced annually -by Hong Kong, a relatively small amount is exported to the -United States.</p> - -<p>However, Barton feels, removal of the 8½-cent differential -would cripple the local industry’s efforts to produce its cloth -cheaply enough to compete in the markets of Southeast Asia -and elsewhere.</p> - -<p>“Many people urge the textile industry to accept tight controls -of its exports, or they want our textile producers to -diversify by going into new industries,” he says. “But the -imposition of such controls doesn’t fit the character of Hong -Kong, which has prospered because it is a free port with a -minimum of controls.</p> - -<p>“Of course it is easy to advise diversification, but what about -the Shanghai textile industrialists who spent a lifetime becoming -experts in the business? The Hong Kong textile industry -is built on that knowledge, and it can’t be reconverted to some -other industry overnight,” Barton states.</p> - -<p>He feels that some degree of diversification is certainly desirable,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -but that Hong Kong cannot afford to drop its textile -industry.</p> - -<p>“There is a fresh Indonesian market for low-grade textiles -produced here,” he says. “And there are many good markets -for Hong Kong’s made-up cloth.”</p> - -<p>He points out that local industry in many lines was hit by -a 1961 substantial rise in shipping costs and port charges. In -turn, the shipping industry has taken a loss from the invasion -of the dry-cargo field by the super-tankers originally built to -ship oil. Freighters, tramp steamers, and ocean liners have all -experienced a drop-off in profits because of this invasion, he -declares. Many new nations, partly influenced by national -pride and prestige, have launched their own shipping lines, -further crowding and depressing the profit margins of existing -lines.</p> - -<p>“Industrial production and tourism are our two lungs,” -Barton says of Hong Kong’s economy. “We not only have to -maintain our present employment levels; we must also find -jobs for thousands and thousands of young people in the next -few years.”</p> - -<p>He cites one of the major discoveries of the 1961 census—that -40.8 percent of the total population of Hong Kong is under -fifteen years of age—as evidence of the coming demand -for new jobs.</p> - -<p>Accustomed to economic upheavals, Jardine’s has adapted -itself to changed conditions by investing in growth industries, -and by developing new industrial sites at Tsuen Wan, Kwun -Tong and West Point. It is selling some of its land holdings to -finance a six-year modernization of the wharf operations of -the Hongkong and Kowloon Wharf & Godown Co. Its new -international ship terminal in Kowloon, costing $7 to $8 million,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -will include a pier 1,200 feet long, and will have car parks, -shopping areas and a bowling alley.</p> - -<p>Sir Michael Turner, head of the Hongkong & Shanghai -Bank, emphasizes that local industries, confronted with restrictions -in their export markets, must seek new markets for their -output.</p> - -<p>“Our land and labor costs are rising,” Sir Michael says. “But -we must be able to compete with Japan, Formosa, and ultimately, -Red China. Red China can ignore costs and flood our -markets, as they did previously in shoes and textiles.”</p> - -<p>Sir Michael has a limited faith in the doctrine that the -colony’s market problems can be solved by diversification of -its industries.</p> - -<p>“Even diversification means that we’ll encounter resistance -in the new lines we enter.” He believes that the colony’s industries -must maintain quality and raise it where possible, -rather than lowering standards to compete with inferior products.</p> - -<p>He says that Hong Kong has attracted investment capital -from all over Southeast Asia because of its exceptional political -stability, and because local industry was not disrupted -by union work-stoppages. He cites the traditional Chinese -dislike of regulation and regimentation as a factor inhibiting -the expansion of union power.</p> - -<p>“The shortage of land and water is still our greatest limitation,” -Sir Michael says. “Land development is very costly, -and although the builder of an apartment house may recover -his costs in one year, that is not possible in the construction of -factories.”</p> - -<p>He notes that the colony has a serious problem of “under-employment,” -rather than unemployment. He adds that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> -colony’s predominantly young population would necessitate -a sharp increase in government spending for schools and hospitals. -Like Mr. Barton, he recognizes that thousands of additional -jobs must be ready for young people when they begin -moving into the employment market.</p> - -<p>He regards the preservation of Imperial Preference as vital -to the colony in meeting Japanese competition, but he believes -that Hong Kong will not be injured by the European Common -Market if the colony’s economic needs are recognized -in the agreement.</p> - -<p>Although the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank is commonly -viewed as the incarnation of everything British, its founders -included an American, two Parsees, two Germans and an Ottoman -Jew. For many years it has been a leader in employing -and training Portuguese office workers, accepting them on -individual merit instead of drawing a rigidly British line. The -bank celebrates its centennial in 1964.</p> - -<p>John L. Marden is the chief executive of a company which -dates from 1933 under its present title, but has corporate -origins going back to the opening of the China trade. The -Wheelock Marden companies have interests in shipping, shipbuilding, -textiles, finance, aviation, land, insurance, merchandising -and many other lines.</p> - -<p>Among Hong Kong’s industrial assets, Mr. Marden lists its -freedom from controls, its political stability, its low income -tax on individuals and corporations and its resistance to inflation.</p> - -<p>It is his conviction that Hong Kong industry should concentrate -on quality products, and those which require a high -labor content. He cites transistor radios of the less complicated -type as an example of the colony’s high-labor products.</p> - -<p>“I think we should emphasize that there is something more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> -at stake than profits,” Marden says. “The colony is seeking to -create 300,000 new jobs for the young people who will be -coming on the job market soon; if we can do this without appealing -for outside aid, then we’ve made a contribution to -the economy of the entire free world.”</p> - -<p>In the past, he believes, colony industries just took orders -as they came. Now, in his opinion, the industries must develop -their own marketing facilities to discover what products are -needed, and then work to meet these needs. He feels that there -must be greater diversification if Hong Kong is to hold its -place in the industrial world.</p> - -<p>These three men, like practically every leader in its industrial -and political community, are acutely conscious of the -many hazards that Hong Kong faces.</p> - -<p>And not one of them acts or speaks as though he were not -solidly confident that Hong Kong will overcome its handicaps -and external dangers and go on to greater prosperity.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_FIVE">CHAPTER FIVE<br /> -<span class="smaller">High Land, Low Water</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“It is unfortunate that the space between the foot of the -mountains and the edge of the sea is so very limited.”</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">Hall -& Bernard</span>, <i>The Nemesis in China</i>, 1847</p> - -</div> - -<p>Hong Kong has always had more land and water than it -could use, because most of the land is a hilly waste and most of -the water is salty.</p> - -<p>From the first years of the colony until today, the persisting -shortage of usable land and fresh water has confronted -every governor with a problem that he could neither solve nor -ignore. They have all wrestled with it, none more vigorously -than the governors of the last fifteen years, and the problem -has become more costly, complex and acute than ever.</p> - -<p>In any community, land and water problems are related to -each other; in the peculiar circumstances of Hong Kong’s -climate, geography and population, they intersect at more -points than Laocoön and the serpents.</p> - -<p>Consider the governor’s alternatives: If he stores the entire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -run-off of the summer rainy season in the reservoirs it will -barely meet the minimum needs of the urban millions on Kowloon -and Hong Kong Island, and it will cause the withering of -the crops of farmers in the New Territories during the winter -dry season. If he cuts the city supply, how can he meet the -ever-increasing needs of the new industrial centers, like Tsuen -Wan and Kwun Tong, that the government is building on -land reclaimed from the sea?</p> - -<p>The if’s are endless: If he stops the reclamation program to -reduce the demand for more water, real estate costs will climb -so fast that local industries will price themselves out of the export -market. If he builds all the reservoirs the colony needs, -who will pay for them? If he doesn’t, how can the fast-growing -population of the colony survive? If the reservoirs displace -more farmers, who will raise the food?</p> - -<p>The present disposition of the colony government is to provide -as much additional land and water as it can, and let the -if’s fall where they may. To that end, it has spent about $60 -million on reclamation and $55 million to increase its -water supply since World War II. Over the next decade, its -further expenditures in these two areas may reach $300 million. -Many projects have not yet been authorized, but much -of the preliminary surveying has been done. With the need for -them becoming more imperative as the colony’s population -continues to increase, it is not so much a question of if as of -when.</p> - -<p>Allocation of several hundred million dollars to correct -deficiencies of the topography is none too large for the job -that must be done. When one has noted that Hong Kong has -a sheltered deep-water harbor (probably the bed of an old -river that flowed from west to east), that one-seventh of its -land is arable, and that its mines and quarries yield a modest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -amount of iron ore, building stone, kaolin clay, graphite, lead, -wolfram and a few other minerals, one has exhausted the -list of its terrestrial assets. Its liabilities are unlimited.</p> - -<p>Three broken lines of perpendicular hills cut across the -colony from northeast to southwest, with irregular spurs -branching off haphazardly; two dozen peaks poke up from -1,000 to 3,140 feet. Eighty percent of the surface is either too -steep for roads or buildings, too barren to grow anything but -wiry grass or scrub, too swampy to walk through or so hacked -up by erosion that it is worthless and an eyesore. The rest, except -for farmland, is either in forest or packed with people -in numbers ranging from 1,800 to 2,800 an acre. Rivers tumble -from the high hills in all directions, but they are short and -unreliable, mostly summer torrents and winter trickles.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong’s weather is impartially disrespectful toward -annual averages, periodic tables and the population. Rainfall -averages about 85 inches a year, with the rainy season extending -from April through September. There have been long -summer droughts and ruinous winter floods. On July 19, 1926, -it rained nearly 4 inches in one hour and 21 inches in 24 hours.</p> - -<p>Prevailing winds blow from the east in every month but -June, and the colony’s fishing settlements have been located -to protect them from it. The protection avails nothing against -typhoons, which usually form in the Caroline Islands, curve -northwards over the Philippines and hit Hong Kong from all -angles, principally during the June to October season, though -there is no month which has not had at least one of them. Four -out of five bypass the colony, but the fifth may inflict devastation -on ships, boats and shoreline villages. It never snows -and freezing temperatures are extremely rare, yet the high, -year-round humidity can put a raw edge on cool wintry days -and make summer clothing stickily uncomfortable. Except for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -flat farmland in the northwestern New Territories, topsoil is -thin, highly acid and leaches badly during the rainy season.</p> - -<p>This chronicle of drawbacks only tends to revive the question -every British administrator since 1841 must have asked -himself: Why did we ever settle this hump-backed wasteland? -They have answered the question by a dogged and unremitting -effort to make it a habitable place.</p> - -<p>The first English traders had scarcely settled along the -north shore of Hong Kong Island when it became evident that -there was a shortage of suitable land. The slopes of Mt. Gough -and Victoria Peak rose steeply behind Queen’s Road, the only -street along the shore. Holders of waterfront lots on the road -extended them toward the harbor pretty much at random, giving -them more level land but creating a jagged shoreline unprotected -by any seawall. Several governors sought to build a -straight and solid seawall, but the lot-holders balked at paying -its cost.</p> - -<p>Two poorly constructed seawalls, erected in piecemeal -fashion, were wrecked by typhoons before the government -was able to push through a unified seawall and reclamation -scheme. By 1904, a massive seawall stretched along the island -front for two miles, and Queen’s Road stood two blocks inland -from the harbor. Most of the colony’s principal office -buildings have been built on this reclaimed land.</p> - -<p>Once the value of reclamation had been proved, the whole -northern shore of the island was gradually faced with a seawall. -Much of the Wanchai district rose from the sea in the -1920s and its new-found land was soon covered with -tenements or bars and cabarets catering to the sailors’ trade. -Swamps became solid ground and promontories were swallowed -up by the seven-mile-long reclamation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> - -<p>Starting in 1867, a succession of seawall and land-fill projects -altered the size and shape of the Kowloon Peninsula.</p> - -<p>By the time of the Japanese invasion, a total of 1,425 acres, -or more than two square miles, had been reclaimed. The gain -was twofold, for it not only added level land, it absorbed all -the fill from sites where obstructing hills had been cut down -to make existing ground usable.</p> - -<p>The foundation of the colony’s tourist industry and air -cargo business rests on land reclaimed from Kowloon Bay -and converted into an international airport. Its name and its -origin go back to 1918, when two real estate promoters, Sir -Kai Ho Kai and Au Tak, organized the Kai Tak Land Development -Co. to create building sites by filling in the northern -end of Kowloon Bay. Homesites and an 800-foot-long airstrip -were in use on the land by 1924, with Fowler’s Flying -School the first aviation tenant. Government took it over in -1930, improving and enlarging it in preparation for the first -international flight, an Imperial Airways’ weekly service to -Penang started March 24, 1936, linking with the main route -between England and Australia. Four other international airlines, -including Pan American and Air France, joined the formation -before the Japanese seized the field in 1941. The Japanese -extended its area and built two concrete runways, but its -buildings were bombed into rubble before the war ended.</p> - -<p>Restored to full operations in 1947, Kai Tak handled the -strangest one-way traffic boom in its history. In one month of -1949, 41,000 passengers were flown in from China to escape -the advancing Communist armies. Mainland service ended a -year later, and traffic declined to one-third of its former -volume. The field itself, penned in by rocky peaks, had -reached the limits of its development, and the largest four-engined<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -ships were rapidly outgrowing it. For jets, it would -be a cow pasture at the bottom of a canyon.</p> - -<p>The Department of Civil Aviation, after concluding that -nothing further could be done to expand the existing field, -began casting around for alternate sites. Fourteen of them, -including Stonecutters Island and Stanley Bay, were ruled -out for excessive cost, inaccessibility, or risky topography before -the experts decided to put the airport right next to the -old one, on a strip of land that didn’t then exist.</p> - -<p>The government put up the money and the job of building -a promontory 7,800 feet long and 800 feet wide that -would point directly into Kowloon Bay began in 1956. A few -hills would have to be knocked down to clear the approaches, -but disposal of the dirt would be simple, since 20 million cubic -yards of fill were needed to build the promontory. The new -airport runway was to have a length of 8,350 feet, extending -the full length of the reclaimed strip and well beyond its -landward end.</p> - -<p>Three thousand laborers, most of them hauling dirt by hand, -worked nearly three years to lay down the man-made -peninsula. Although it was near the old airport, it overcame -the earlier field’s approach limitations by being pointed -straight at the 1,500-foot-wide harbor entrance of Lei Yue -Mun, and at the opposite end, having the Kowloon hills truncated -to permit another clear shot at the runway, depending -on which direction best fitted weather conditions.</p> - -<p>The new runway went into use in 1958, with the completion -of the terminal coming several years later. Temporary terminal -buildings bulged with incoming tourists, but they were -moved through these buildings fairly well. Most colony residents -are hardly aware of the arrival and departure of the -huge jets, though they shake the earth with their thunder as -they pass over Kowloon. Kai Tak has become a full 24-hour -airport. Its 200-foot-wide runway is stressed to take a maximum -plane weight of 400,000 pounds, well above the limit -of the heaviest airliners. From the air it looks like a super-highway -lost at sea.</p> - -<div id="Illustrations"> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="500" height="425" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">North from Victoria Peak. The colony government and main business -section are chiefly based on Hong Kong Island, foreground. -Kowloon Peninsula and the long runway of Kai Tak Airport lie at -top center. The New Territories start with the mountains in the -background, extend north to the Red China border. Hong Kong is -one of the busiest seaports in the world.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Hong Kong in a hurry. Queens Road Central, in the colony’s -commercial center, swarms with pedestrians in a typical noon-hour -rush.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus4.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">A Chinese funeral procession. Chief mourners ride in a -rickshaw. Street bands, drummers, and cymbal players march with -them. Firecrackers are exploded along the way to dispel evil spirits.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus5.jpg" width="500" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Many picturesque laddered streets, such as the one above, climb the -slopes of Victoria Peak in the heavily populated Western District of -Hong Kong Island. Passable only by foot or in sedan chair, they -also serve as playgrounds for children and runs for dogs, cats, and -chickens.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus6.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Night view of Government House, executive mansion of Hong -Kong’s British Governor. Behind it are Victoria Peak and tiers of fine -apartment buildings.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus7.jpg" width="500" height="275" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Billy Tingle, the colony’s best known -athletic instructor, demonstrates the game of cricket to young pupils -at the Hong Kong Cricket Club.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus8.jpg" width="500" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">In contrast to Hong Kong’s many fashionable and modern houses and -apartment buildings, thousands of tightly packed boats serve as floating -homes in the mud flats of Aberdeen, on Hong Kong Island. -Periodically they are damaged or destroyed by typhoon.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus9.jpg" width="500" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Bearded monsters like the one above adorn the prow of rowing shells -which participate in Hong Kong’s annual Dragon Boat Festival races, -part of a colorful religious observance held annually in the late -spring.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus10.jpg" width="500" height="575" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Workmen unload 800-pound hampers of vegetables from Red China -at Lo Wu, where a railroad bridge crosses the Sham Chun River on -the Hong Kong-China border. The Communist flag flies above guard -post at the right.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus11.jpg" width="500" height="525" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">A marine police inspector at Hong Kong hauls in a water-logged -sampan used by six refugees in their escape from Red China. They -spent three nights and two days in the leaky craft before a fishing -junk picked them up near Lantau Island. Because of the overwhelming -number of refugees arriving in Hong Kong police were forced to -return the six to Red China.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/illus12.jpg" width="350" height="500" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">This Hong Kong -heroin addict has been -reduced to near starvation -by his craving for -the drug. Drug addiction -in the colony is -closely related to crime -and poor living conditions.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus13.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">A hollowed-out -wooden doll -found in the home of a -dope smuggler. The heroin -cache, covered with -a closely fitted lid, was -difficult to detect.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus14.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Girls at work in the vast spinning room of the South Sea -Textile Manufacturing Co. at Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, one of the -world’s most modern textile mills.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus15.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">By contrast, a woman uses -a primitive wooden plow to till a rice field in the New Territories, -where power equipment is too large and too costly for the tiny farms.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus16.jpg" width="500" height="350" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">A carpenter at a Shau Kei Wan shipyard on Hong Kong -Island uses an ancient bow type of drill in building a Chinese junk.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus17.jpg" width="500" height="300" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">At another yard in Shau Kei Wan, a workman employs a portable -electric power drill. Primitive and modern tools often are used -side-by-side in the changing and expanding Hong Kong boat industry.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus18.jpg" width="500" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">A young refugee Chinese girl paints artificial birds at the China Refugee -Development Organization factory in Kowloon, where about 40,000 -of these wire paper and cotton birds are produced every month for -sale overseas.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus19.jpg" width="500" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">A welfare pioneer, Gus Borgeest established a farm colony on desolate -Sunshine Island, Hong Kong, to teach refugees how to raise crops on -marginal land. With him is his wife, Mona, and Ruth, one of their -daughters.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus20.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">A freighter moored to a Hong Kong harbor buoy off-loads its cargo -into junks and lighters. There most cargo is handled in this way, -rather than by transferring it directly to piers.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus21.jpg" width="500" height="400" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Fishing junks sail along Tolo Channel, one of the deep-water inlets -in the Eastern New Territories of Hong Kong. The bleak hills are -characteristic of the colony’s predominately rocky, barren terrain.</p> -</div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/illus22.jpg" width="500" height="650" alt="" /> -<p class="caption">Refugees from Red China collect tin, tar paper, scrap lumber and -sacking for use in making their flimsy shelters. Multi-story concrete -resettlement developments are gradually replacing such shacks in -Hong Kong.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> - -<p>Opening of the new Kai Tak Airport brought the colony -an additional gain by freeing 70 acres of the old field for industrial -development.</p> - -<p>Less than half a mile from the seaward end of Kai Tak, the -first new town in the government’s history is being built—Kwun -Tong, an industrial, commercial and residential area -along the northeastern shore of Kowloon Bay. A ten-year -project of large extent, it required the removal of a whole -range of hills. The spoil was then hauled to the bay and -dumped behind a protecting seawall 2,477 feet long. The -leveled hills and the land reclaimed from the sea will provide -a 514-acre site, close to a square mile, for an industrial center -whose population is expected to reach 300,000 within a few -years.</p> - -<p>Digging and filling began in 1955 and have proceeded with -such speed that today, in order to get a panoramic view of the -project, one has to go to a hill three quarters of a mile back -from the seawall. Block after block of multi-storied factories -stretch along the sea front, approximately eighty of them, several -blocks deep in the industrial zone between the seawall -and Kwun Tong Road, which cuts directly across the town. -On the landward side of Kwun Tong Road, the commercial -and recreational zones are beginning to take shape; behind -them, the long files of resettlement estates housing 60,000 persons -and various government-aided housing for another 15,000. -Privately built houses are also being developed.</p> - -<p>Kwun Tong has all the noisy, dusty confusion of any construction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -job in progress, but there are already 15,000 people -working in its completed factories, making cotton yarn, furniture, -garments, and other products. Most of the factories are -humming and a few betray signs of hasty organization. One -plant spent two years tinkering with stop-gap orders for simple -novelties while its management tried to find some profitable -use for a million dollars’ worth of fine machinery standing -idle under its roof.</p> - -<p>Kwun Tong will never be a beauty spot because its main -function is industrial. Nearly half its total area will be reserved -for homes and commercial use, however. Proceeds from land -sales are expected to repay the government for its $17 million -investment in Kwun Tong.</p> - -<p>Tsuen Wan, a second industrial town about eight miles -northwest of Kwun Tong in the New Territories, has reclaimed -around 70 acres from the sea. Gin Drinkers’ Bay, an -adjoining inlet used for ship-breaking, is being filled in to provide -400 more acres of industrial sites. No one knows the -origin of its name but it no longer matters; this glass will soon -be filled with earth. When completed, Tsuen Wan will be a -town of about 175,000 people.</p> - -<p>Specialized reclamation projects have been pushed ahead at -many other spots. At North Point, on Hong Kong Island, -12,000 people live in tall apartments built on recently reclaimed -land. The new City Hall opened in 1962 on reclaimed -waterfront land in the Central District. Five blocks of the -central waterfront, just west of the reclaimed land on which -the Star Ferry’s Hong Kong Island terminal sits, are being extended -several hundred feet into the harbor for more building -sites.</p> - -<p>The principal land-fill operations have been restricted to -the island and Kowloon Bay, except for Tseun Wan. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -limitation has been human, rather than geographic; most urban -workers can’t afford to travel to outlying locations and they -don’t want to anyway. They plainly prefer the excitement, -gossip and sociability of the crowded cities.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, central reclamation possibilities are running -out, unless the government proposes to pave its entire harbor. -As a more likely alternative, it sent engineers out in 1957 to -study reclamation sites in the bays and shallow inlets of the -New Territories. Five have been tentatively chosen that could -be developed to create 3,000 more acres of land. The cost -would come to more than $83 million, so there’s no eagerness -to tackle the project at once.</p> - -<p>The never-ending task of providing more land for the -colony’s growing population would be meaningless without -the assurance of an adequate water supply. At this stage in the -colony’s development, even when the work of increasing the -water supply is proceeding on a scale no previous generation -would have attempted, the builders and planners are not deluding -themselves. They know that when they have completed -the last unit of the reservoir system under construction, -the needs of the colony will probably have outstripped its -capacity. There were times in the past when some optimistic -governor, presiding at the opening of a new dam or reservoir, -fancied that the problem had been met. The next drought was -sufficient to knock his hopeful predictions into a cocked hat.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong has never been inclined to waste water. On the -rare occasions when its people had a full supply, as in certain -periods of 1958 and 1959, its maximum average consumption -ran to about 88 million gallons a day for nearly 3,000,000 people. -New York City, with just under 8,000,000 people, consumes -about 1 billion 200 million gallons a day. Because of -an unparalleled water-supply system, Americans are the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -world’s champion water-wasters. An American will use 100 -gallons a day, compared with 27 gallons per person in Hong -Kong, and about 50 gallons per person in Great Britain.</p> - -<p>There are compelling reasons why Hong Kong residents -will not waste water. The colony, unlike New York City, -cannot draw from a watershed covering several states. Except -for a relatively small amount piped in from Red China since -1960, it has had to rely on surface water collected entirely -from its 398¼ square miles of land area, which is about one-fourth -larger than New York City. And it has to get the water -while the getting is good; during the annual five-month dry -season, the surface run-off averages only 600,000 gallons a -day.</p> - -<p>The colony may have been mistaken from the start about -its potential water resources; even before it was established, -sailing ships stopped regularly at Hong Kong Island to draw -clear, sparkling water from its hillside springs. After the island -was settled the springs soon fell short of needs, and five wells -were sunk to tap new sources of supply. Their levels, too, sank -as rapidly as the population rose. Governor Hercules Robinson -expressed his concern over the dwindling supplies by offering -$5,000 in 1859 to anyone who could design a reservoir -system adequate for 85,000 residents. S. B. Rawling, civilian -clerk-of-works for the Army Royal Engineers, took the prize -with a plan to build a 2-million-gallon reservoir at Pok Fu -Lam, on the slopes of Victoria Peak, and carry the water -through a ten-inch pipe to tanks above Victoria City.</p> - -<p>Completed in four years, Pok Fu Lam proved to be short of -the need even then, for the population had risen to 125,000. -Striving to catch up, the colony installed a much larger reservoir -above Pok Fu Lam, linked it to a pair of supplementary -reservoirs, and discovered that the demand was still in advance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -of supply. Before the end of the century, new reservoirs had -been added at Tai Tam and Wong Nai Chung, and the water -finally reached the eastern sections of the city. Filtration -through sand beds was also incorporated into the system.</p> - -<p>None of these efforts satisfied the popular needs for long. -Completion of Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir in 1917 near the southeastern -end of the island raised the storage capacity to 1 billion, -419 gallons and everyone thought the problem was solved at -last. A series of punishing droughts killed that bright hope, -and the building of the Aberdeen Reservoirs rounded out all -the parts of the island that could be drained for storage. Two -reservoirs on the Kowloon Peninsula were tied to the island -with underwater pipelines, but this was done only after a -spring drought in 1929 had dried up five of the island’s six reservoirs, -making it necessary to bring in water by ship from as -far away as Shanghai.</p> - -<p>The rain-gathering potential of the New Territories had -been exploited by the 1930s with the construction of the Shek -Li Pui and the Jubilee Reservoirs. When the Japanese arrived, -they found 13 reservoirs with a storage capacity of 6 billion -gallons. They let the mains deteriorate during their occupation -of the colony, applying their own brand of water-rationing by -cutting off all supply to entire sections of the colony whenever -they chose to.</p> - -<p>Following World War II, the government tried deep boring -to reach underground water resources, but this turned out -to be scarcely worth the effort. After years of surveying and -study, engineers laid out the Tai Lam Chung Reservoir System, -at the central western end of the New Territories. This -called for construction of a two-section dam 2,300 feet long -and 200 feet high. This gigantic main dam, built entirely of -concrete, created a reservoir of 4 billion, 500 million gallons.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -Twenty-three miles of “catchwaters,” or concrete channels to -trap run-off from the rains, funneled the surface water from -11,000 acres into the reservoir. It took eight years to construct, -being completed in 1960 at a cost of almost $25 million.</p> - -<p>None of these large dams served the needs of the hundreds -of small villages in the New Territories, which still relied on -wells and streams or threw up earth dams in hilly areas to form -their own miniature reservoirs. After World War II the colony -government and the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association, -a private philanthropic body, furnished grants of cement -to replace these crude and leaky installations with concrete -dams and concrete-lined wells, plus pipes to carry the water -into the villages.</p> - -<p>Rice crops in the New Territories were dependent on their -own irrigation systems, traditionally constructed of earth -channels and dams. They were laid out with evident shrewdness -to cover the greatest possible area, but the dams and channels -had to be nursed along constantly to prevent leaking and -to keep them from becoming choked with weeds. The government -and the Kadoorie Association also furnished materials -to replace these systems with concrete dams and channels. -Nearly 600 dams and more than 220,000 feet of channels have -been improved in this way since World War II.</p> - -<p>When the Tai Lam Chung Reservoir was under construction, -a very delicate balance of catchwaters and irrigation -channels had to be worked out so that the reservoir collected -all the excess summer rain not required for irrigation, but -did not draw off the sparse winter rains which farmers had -to have. The farmers’ initial assumption when they saw the -huge catchwater channels passing the farms on their way to -the reservoir was that they were being robbed of water; it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -took considerable diplomacy and convincing proof to allay -their suspicions.</p> - -<p>Farmers who learned that their villages were about to be -inundated by the big reservoir were even less happy. They rejected -the government’s proposal to move them to another -rural area and insisted on moving, if move they must, to the -developing industrial town of Tsuen Wan. They received -the full market price for their farm property and were resettled -in new houses at Tsuen Wan, with shop space they could -rent to replace their farming income. A few holdouts threatened -to stay in their old homes until the reservoir floated them -to glory, but belatedly reversed themselves and walked out on -dry land.</p> - -<p>The Tai Lam Chung relocation was hardly concluded when -the government found itself involved in an even knottier problem. -Continuing demands for more water forced the construction -of still another dam—Shek Pik, on Lantau Island. This -was a remote part of the colony, much larger than Hong Kong -Island, but completely without roads until 1957. A few -government people visited the island regularly, but its isolated -villages, with their square stone towers or “cannon houses,” -were more likely to regard all visitors as pirates until proved -otherwise. Armed and alert, they holed up in the towers to -defend themselves against marauders who still stage occasional -raids in sparsely settled areas.</p> - -<p>Two villages in southwestern Lantau, Shek Pik and Fan -Pui, would have to be removed to make way for the new dam. -Their people, having no knowledge of modern technology -and no need for a dam, viewed the project with fear and -hostility. The dam was not, in fact, being built for them; its -collected water was to be carried by pipeline to Hong Kong<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -Island, Kowloon and Peng Chau. Fan Pui, the smaller village, -had to be treated with diplomacy and compensated before -its 62 people consented to move to another rural area -on the island. Inhabitants of Shek Pik elected to move to -Tsuen Wan, settling in new five-story blocks. The oldest inhabitant, -an eighty-six-year-old woman, made the transfer -with full official ceremony, her sedan chair borne by four policemen. -The ancestral tablets and household gods also made -the trip on the shoulder-poles of respectful bearers. Anything -less than this diplomatic ritual would have made the entire -relocation impossible.</p> - -<p>Preliminary work on the Shek Pik Dam became a trail-blazing -venture into unexplored territory. A ten-mile paved road -had to be built along the edge of the sea from the sheltered -harbor at Silver Mine Bay to the future dam site. Test borings -at the foot of Shek Pik Valley where the dam was to cross disclosed -that the ground was a porous mixture of gravel, boulders, -and rotten granite down to 137 feet below the surface. -Since the ground stood only 15 feet above sea level, seawater -would be able to seep into the reservoir and the fresh water -in the reservoir would escape beneath the dam, undermining -it.</p> - -<p>If a regular concrete dam were to be built on such ground, -its foundations would have to go down at least 137 feet, a -frightfully expensive procedure. Engineers produced a reasonable -alternative by using the recently developed technique -called grouting. In this process, a mixture of water, cement, -and clay is pumped into porous ground under high pressure, -sealing off the foundation without requiring excavation to -bed rock. A series of tests established that this process -was feasible for Shek Pik, and preparations to build an earth -dam were made in 1958.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span></p> - -<p>The dam was to be 2,300 feet long, with a maximum -height of 180 feet. It would back up 5 billion, 400 million -gallons; a third of the colony’s total water storage. A ten-mile -tunnel was to carry the water from the treatment works near -the dam to Silver Mine Bay. From there it would be pumped -under the sea in twin 30-inch-diameter pipelines to reach Hong -Kong Island, eight miles east of Lantau. Fifteen miles of -catchwaters were to drain about twelve square miles of land, -aided by the fact that rainfall on Lantau Island is generally -ten percent heavier than on Hong Kong Island and is more -evenly distributed throughout the year.</p> - -<p>One of the tunnels was delayed for a time by a peculiarly -Chinese problem; its “fung shui” was regarded as injurious to a -resident dragon. The fung shui, a very important consideration -among local people, meant that any proposed change in the -local landscape had to be undertaken with great care. It would -never do to nip off the top of a hill that was shaped like -a dragon, for that might blind the mythical beast and put a hex -on the countryside. The thing to do was to hire a fung shui -expert from a nearby village; for a suitable fee, he would propitiate -the dragon and the work of dam-building could proceed.</p> - -<p>In a more practical way, the engineers had to install concrete -channels and pipelines to make certain that sufficient -quantities of water were diverted to irrigate farms near the -catchment area. Hillsides above the big catchwaters had to -be faced with chunam, a mixture of straw, lime, clay and cement -which keeps the hillside soil from washing into the catchwaters -and clogging them.</p> - -<p>By early 1962, the southwestern portion of Lantau was criss-crossed -by deep catchwaters and the earth dam was rising at -the foot of the valley, with its core of impermeable clay being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -made ready for a covering of ordinary clay and dirt. Up in the -mountains at the head of the valley, Buddhist monks and nuns -continued their quiet, contemplative existence in the Po Lin -Monastery, almost untouched by the dam project. Even when -a few more guests stayed overnight at the Po Lin hostel, the -pattern of prayer and work did not change.</p> - -<p>Construction of the dam, pipelines, tunnels, and catchwaters -became an international venture, with French, English, American, -and Hong Kong contractors sharing the work under supervision -of government engineers. The entire $40 million -job is to be completed late in 1963.</p> - -<p>There were no claims that the completion of Shek Pik -would give the colony all the water it required. The new dam -on Lantau and the water pumped in from China would be -helpful, but far short of indicated needs.</p> - -<p>Two factors balanced each other in planning further exploitation -of the colony’s water resources. More reservoirs -of the type already in use would displace more farmland than -Hong Kong could afford to lose. But the introduction of -grouting, the foundation technique successfully employed at -Shek Pik, made it possible to consider reservoir sites which -would have seemed ridiculously unsuitable a few years earlier. -And these sites, it appeared, could be developed without invading -farm areas.</p> - -<p>In the late 1950s, engineers of the Public Works Department -and two consulting firms directed their search for more -water toward the thinly settled scrub country of the eastern -New Territories. This part of the colony consists of two peninsulas -with the irregular outline of an ink-blot, separated by -the broad, ten-mile-long Tolo Channel. Both peninsulas are -chopped into by dozens of deep bays, coves and inlets bordered -by high, rocky hills. Hundreds of inshore fishermen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -ply the surrounding waters, but most of the region is too barren -and mountainous for farming.</p> - -<p>Survey engineers made two recommendations which -startled laymen: (1) Build a 6,600-foot-long dam across the -entrance of Plover Cove, a four-square-mile inlet from Tolo -Channel, and cut it off from the sea. (2) Build a similar but -much shorter dam to seal off Hebe Haven, an inlet about one-fourth -as large as Plover Cove. When the dams were finished -all that would be necessary would be to pump the seawater -out of the inlets and let the rains fill them with fresh water. -The two reservoirs would be enough to double the storage -capacity of the colony’s water-supply system.</p> - -<p>These basic recommendations in further discussions evolved -into an integrated scheme of tremendous size and complexity, -covering the entire eastern half of the New Territories. It -included a series of service reservoirs and pumping stations -along a main pipeline extending from the Red China border -to Kowloon. These would be linked to Plover Cove and Hebe -Haven by another system of tunnels. Virtually all the surface -rains in the eastern end of the New Territories would be fed -through catchwaters into the two main reservoirs. Since Hebe -Haven might collect more summer rain than it could hold, -the excess water could be conveyed by tunnel to Plover Cove, -with its much larger capacity. Even the water brought by -pipeline from Red China would be fed into the integrated -system. Three balancing reservoirs, to maintain a controlled -and even flow of water, and two large new filtration plants, -to purify the water before it made the last stage of its journey -to urban consumers, were to become part of the system.</p> - -<p>Many of the connecting pipelines were to be designed to -convey water in either direction, making the utmost use of -storage capacity. By these refinements of the original recommendations,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -the capacity of the integrated scheme would be -raised to 100 million gallons a day when it came into full use.</p> - -<p>The first stage of the gigantic new system had made remarkable -progress by the early part of 1962. The Lion Rock Tunnel -had already been begun by cutting through the side of a -mountain to connect the filtration plant at Sha Tin with a -pair of service reservoirs in Kowloon. The tunnel, 32 feet in -diameter, will carry three pipelines, each four feet in diameter, -and a two-lane, 24-foot-wide auto road three-fourths of a -mile through Lion Rock Mountain. Excavation work on the -Lion Rock Reservoirs, with a total capacity of 41 million gallons, -had almost been completed. At the other end of the tunnel, -at the Sha Tin filtration plant and pumping station, a hillside -site as extensive as four football fields had been excavated -and the spoil was being used to fill a shallow inlet. Construction -of ten miles of tunnels and the 10-foot-high Lower Shing -Mun Dam were well advanced.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, engineers were probing the soil structure at -the entrance of Plover Cove. Working from barges in 35 feet -of water, they bored down through 35 feet of soft clay, -reaching to almost twice that depth before they found impermeable -clay and rock to form the foundation for their -earth-fill dam. When complete, the dam will extend 35 feet -above the water and 70 feet below it, with grouting to provide -a watertight foundation. The main section of the dam will -cross the cove’s wide entrance. Two shorter sections will close -off side entrances to the cove.</p> - -<p>The first stage of this integrated scheme will be rounded -out in 1964. Both Hebe Haven and Plover Cove should be -ready by 1970, though any completion dates beyond 1964 are -likely to be elastic. At each stage, improvements are introduced -and existing goals altered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p> - -<p>In addition to these broad-scale developments, the colony -has taken immediate measures to conserve the present supply -of fresh water by making it possible to use salt water for such -purposes as flushing and fire-fighting. Since 1958, salt-water -mains have been installed in four densely populated sections -of Kowloon and two on Hong Kong Island. Fluoridation of -the entire water supply began in March, 1961.</p> - -<p>The possibility of distillation of seawater for producing a -fresh-water supply has been examined by engineers, but thus -far the outlook is discouraging; the cost remains far too high. -There is even a faint, faraway hope that some day atomic -energy may be employed to distill an unlimited supply of -fresh water from the ocean at low cost.</p> - -<p>If every phase of Hong Kong’s integrated scheme is in operation -by 1970, its water shortage may be over. Similarly, if all -the reclamation projects now under consideration are brought -to fulfillment in the next decade, there may be enough land -to meet all ordinary requirements.</p> - -<p>The determination of these requirements, however, will -derive from the Department of Public Works only secondarily. -The primary determinant will come from the Registry of -Marriages.</p> - -<p>Any recent visitor to the Central Marriage Registry would -appreciate the difficulties in predicting the population of -Hong Kong even five years hence; there the walls of two -long corridors are so thickly papered with overlapping notices -of marriage that not much more than the names and occupations -of the prospective couples remain visible.</p> - -<p>Neither land nor water is likely to become a surplus commodity -in tomorrow’s Hong Kong.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_SIX">CHAPTER SIX<br /> -<span class="smaller">A New Day for Farms and Fisheries</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“On our small and peculiar land area, it would be impossible -to reach a high order of self-sufficiency in food production.”</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">W. -J. Blackie</span>, former Hong Kong Director -of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry</p> - -</div> - -<p>For more than a thousand years men have wrested a precarious -living from the farms and fishing grounds of the New -Territories, yet they remained outside the economic and social -orbit of Hong Kong until a few months after World War -II.</p> - -<p>Politically, the New Territories had been part of the British -crown colony since 1898. Nevertheless, the people of this -scrambled-egg land mass and the 235 islands around it had -held their interest in its British rulers to the legal minimum. -The British themselves, passing through the New Territories<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -on their way to the Fanling golf course or the Chinese border, -viewed the region and its people with the fixed indifference -of a New York commuter rolling over the swampy -monotony of the Jersey meadows.</p> - -<p>This reciprocal insularity broke down at last under the -pressure of two events which have touched and twisted the -lives of almost everyone in contemporary Hong Kong: the -Japanese Occupation of World War II and the rise of Communist -China. To the people of the New Territories, the -Japanese interlude was an economic disaster; denuding their -forests, depleting their livestock and impoverishing their fishing -fleet. Both the Japanese and the Communists drove thousands -of refugees into the New Territories to compete with -resident farmers for scarce marginal land. The Communists -further disrupted things by closing the China market to New -Territories produce and by forcing colony fishermen to keep -twelve miles away from its coast and its islands.</p> - -<p>The four main Chinese groups in the New Territories, the -Cantonese and Hakka farmers, and the Hoklo and Tanka fishermen, -were no more severely shaken by all this than were -the British. When the Japanese and the Communists had done -their work, the British and the urban Chinese of Hong Kong -found themselves dependent as never before on the fish and -produce of the New Territories. The picturesque, faraway -people of the countryside had come into sudden, sharp focus -as instruments of the colony’s survival.</p> - -<p>No one seriously expects the farmers and fishermen of -Hong Kong to produce enough food to sustain more than -3,000,000 inhabitants, but the more they can bring to market, -the greater the colony’s chances for survival.</p> - -<p>The total area of farmland under cultivation has averaged -about 33,000 acres for many years, except for a sharp drop<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -during the Japanese occupation, but the size and nature of its -yield have changed radically in the last fifteen years. The -maximum farmland area cannot exceed much more than 40,000 -acres, and even then much of it would look more like a -rock garden than a farm. American and European farmers -would consider most of the colony land already under cultivation -as unworthy of their time and effort.</p> - -<p>In 1940, rice was the chief crop, occupying seven-tenths of -all cultivated land in the colony. Since the war, rice has steadily -lost acreage to vegetable-growing, and in spite of its -greater productivity per acre through improved irrigation -and a more judicious use of fertilizers, it has fallen far behind -vegetables in cash value. Vegetable crops today yield almost -three times as much money as rice; $7,614,000 for the 1960-61 -vegetable crop, compared with $2,870,000 for rice. Vegetable -production has more than quadrupled since 1947.</p> - -<p>When the Japanese were driven from the colony in 1945, -they had reduced the livestock population to 4,611 cattle, 659 -water buffalo, 8,740 pigs and 31,000 poultry. A count at the -end of 1960 showed 18,000 cattle, 2,000 water buffalo, 184,000 -pigs and 3,405,000 poultry. This tremendous increase -stemmed directly from the expansion of the domestic market, -but it was made possible by the colony government’s postwar -plunge into marketing cooperatives for farm and sea -products, the introduction of private and public loans for -farmers and fishermen at reasonable interest rates, and the -application of scientific methods to every phase of the farming -and fishing industries.</p> - -<p>Agricultural production of every kind totaled $40,506,000 -in 1960-61. In descending order of value, this included poultry -(chiefly chickens), vegetables, pigs, rice, various animal -products such as hides, hair and feathers, fresh milk, sweet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -potatoes and other field crops. Among other products of special -interest are fruit (litchi, limes, tangerines, olives, etc.), -pond fish (mullet and carp), export crops (water chestnuts, -ginger, vegetable seeds, etc.) and such flowers as gladiolus, -chrysanthemum, dahlia and carnation.</p> - -<p>That $40,506,000 farm-income figure has a momentarily -impressive ring until one sees how it is divided. The average -vegetable farm is about two-thirds of an acre, and the average -“paddy,” or shallowly flooded unit of rice-growing land, -usually runs to two acres, with an upward limit of five acres. -There are several larger farms of 100 acres or more, but these -are share-cropped by tenant farmers for exporters of special -crops such as water chestnuts or ginger. The size of almost -all other farms is dictated by the amount of hand labor one -farm-owning family can perform; the only extra-human labor -comes from the plow-pulling power of the dwarfish -Brown Cattle and water buffalo. On these postage-stamp -farms, tractors would be prohibitively expensive and as destructive -as an army tank. Even a hand-operated power cultivator -would be far too costly for a typical family farm.</p> - -<p>By Western standards, any farm of less than two acres -would barely qualify as a truck garden, but the Chinese of -the New Territories cultivate the land with unique intensiveness. -A fresh-water paddy produces at least two rice crops -and often an additional “catch crop” of vegetables each year; -six to eight crops are harvested annually on all-vegetable -farms.</p> - -<p>Farm income is as subdivided as the land. There are an estimated -30,000 farm families and a total of 250,000 persons -who rely on farming for their living. The per capita income -of the farming population therefore runs around $162 a year, -or $13.50 a month, less the forty to sixty percent of crop value<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> -they must share with the landowner, leaving a meager net income -of as little as $81 a year, or $6.75 a month. Things have -been worse; in 1955 the annual per capita net income of farm -people was about $30.</p> - -<p>What the farm worker has, in one of the lowest-paid and -most arduous jobs in the colony’s industries, is a place to live, -enough to eat and an almost irreducible minimum of money -for clothing and other expenses. In thousands of cases, his lean -resources are supplemented by remittances from his relatives -overseas, but he could not have survived in the postwar economy -without the basic reforms in marketing, credit and research -that began in 1946. One expensive event such as a wedding -($200) or a funeral ($100) could keep a tenant farmer -in debt for years to loan sharks who charged him interest of -eight to thirty percent a month. In numerous instances, it still -happens.</p> - -<p>For generations Hong Kong farmers had lived in permanent -bondage to the “laans,” or middlemen, who controlled -the marketing of farm and fishery products, paying the producers -as little as possible and cutting themselves a thick slice -of profit for the relatively simple process of taking the goods -to market. They advanced money to farmers and fishermen -at extraordinary usury rates, further tightening their strangle-hold. -The Japanese Occupation, by grinding the farm and -fishing population into desperate poverty, unintentionally -broke the grip of the laans.</p> - -<p>When the British Military Administration took control in -the fall of 1945, it acted decisively to save the primary industries. -Two men, Father Thomas F. Ryan, Jesuit missionary -and the colony’s first Acting Superintendent of Agriculture, -and Dr. G. A. C. Herklots, naturalist and author, were designated -for the task.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p> - -<p>Many years later, Father Ryan, who had long since returned -to teaching at the Jesuit Wah Yan College on Hong -Kong Island, said when asked about his 1945 assignment:</p> - -<p>“I really knew very little about agriculture, but Dr. Herklots -and I were asked to help with the vegetable and fish marketing. -It was obvious that the laans were beginning again to -take all the profits.”</p> - -<p>The Jesuit priest and the naturalist learned a lot about marketing -in a hurry. The vegetable and fish marketing organizations -they set up under government control ended the -dominance of the laans, but not without some anguished -howls from the displaced profiteers. For a standard ten percent -commission, the vegetable marketing organization transported -and sold all vegetables grown or imported into the -colony at the government wholesale market in Kowloon. A -Federation of Vegetable Marketing Cooperative Societies -grew out of the original organizations. It extended credit to -farmers and has progressed steadily toward ultimate control -of the market by the co-op societies. As the co-ops take -charge of organization work, three percent of the ten percent -commission is refunded to them. The Vegetable Marketing -Organization also distributes fertilizer in the form of matured -nightsoil, i.e., human excrement treated to reduce its germ -content.</p> - -<p>The Fish Marketing Organization, established along the -same general lines as the Vegetable Marketing Organization, -controls the transport and wholesale marketing of marine -fish, charging a six percent commission on sales. It created loan -funds to help fishermen rehabilitate and mechanize their -boats. Evolution of the Fish Marketing Organization toward -a wholly cooperative set-up has been impeded by the fact that -only fifteen percent of the fishermen can read or write, compared<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -with a colony-wide literacy rate of seventy-five percent. -Living and working aboard their boats, fisher folk could -not attend school. This ancient pattern has been altered in the -last few years because more wives and children of fishermen -are living ashore. About 4,000 children of fishermen attend -schools on land, and there are special classes for adult fishermen.</p> - -<p>Father Ryan and Dr. Herklots laid the foundation for the -first Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry, which -came into existence in 1950 after a series of preparatory steps -had been taken. Father Ryan initiated a survey of the colony’s -primary industries and personally directed the renovation and -replanting of the Botanic Garden and other public park areas, -as well as the first postwar reforestation of the scalped hillsides -in the reservoir catchment areas. In 1947, he relinquished -his colony post to become the Jesuit Superior in Hong Kong. -In recent years he has conducted a local radio program of -classical music as a sideline.</p> - -<p>Long-term assistance to farmers came from another private -source in 1951: Horace and Lawrence Kadoorie, two Jewish -brothers who shared positions of prime importance in the -Hong Kong business community. Sir Elly Kadoorie was a -former official of the colony government and one of its early -business leaders. His two sons were members of a family -which came to Hong Kong from the Middle East in 1880 and -built a large fortune. The brothers were partners in the business -house named for their father and directors of more than -thirty other companies. Both had earned reputations as -shrewd, tough businessmen; but Horace, the bachelor -brother, had acquired a special fame among ivory collectors -as the author of the seven-volume book, <i>The Art of Ivory -Sculpture in Cathay</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Kadoories, observing the general poverty of colony -farmers and the even worse situation of the refugees who -crowded into Hong Kong in the late 1940s, decided to do -something to help these displaced persons get on their feet. -Knowing the Chinese to be a predominantly agricultural people, -they chose a form of help that would make impoverished -farmers self-supporting; that of raising pigs donated by the -Kadoories. Pig-raising is a fairly simple venture that makes -good use of marginal land, and pork is always in demand at -local markets.</p> - -<p>Reaction to the idea was chilly; other businessmen considered -it unworkable and farmers regarded it skeptically, looking -for a catch in it. The Kadoorie brothers agreed to put it -to a test, choosing 14 families with no farming experience for -the experiment. The group included a handyman, a carpenter, -a beggar, a semi-invalid and a stonebreaker. The Kadoories -gave them cement, bamboo straws and a few hand tools and -invited them to build their own pigsties.</p> - -<p>“Every one of those families made good,” Horace Kadoorie -recalled in a 1961 interview. “Today they all have excellent -farms. Their success in proving that you can really help -people who are willing to help themselves was what convinced -us we were on the right track.”</p> - -<p>The brothers, working independently at first, and then in -close collaboration with the officials of the Department of -Agriculture, have given various forms of assistance to over -300,000 people in 1,092 villages.</p> - -<p>They functioned through two allied agencies, the Kadoorie -Agricultural Aid Association, which makes outright gifts, and -the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund, which makes -interest-free loans. The two Kadoories and colony agricultural<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -officials are jointly members of the boards of directors -of the two institutions. The Association has donated the -equivalent of $3 million-plus in agricultural gifts. The Fund, -established by the Kadoories with an initial gift of $44,000, -has been increased to $306,000 by the government. The J. E. -Joseph Fund, another farm-loan fund, established in 1954, is -also administered by the government; its initial capital of -$79,000 is loaned at three percent interest.</p> - -<p>In an economy like that of the United States, $3 million in -gifts would disappear like a pebble in a lake, but with that -amount the Kadoorie philanthropies have changed the face -of the New Territories. The list of improvements is awe-inspiring, -and it is no exaggeration to say one can hardly walk -a mile anywhere in the rural district without seeing evidence -of their eminently useful contributions.</p> - -<p>They contributed junks and sampans to isolated villages, -and then built 27 piers to accommodate them. Dirt paths were -the only routes between many villages and farmers either -walked or sloshed through the mud, sometimes using bicycles -and carrying five or six members of the family or possibly a -live pig lined up on the fenders and handlebars. The Kadoorie -Association has provided 150 miles of concrete paths, six motor -roads and 142 bridges to make the going easier.</p> - -<p>Often villages depended on mountain springs for their -drinking water, but these had an unfortunate habit of sinking -back into the ground before they had served the thirsty villagers. -The Association disciplined the vagrant waters with -thirty miles of concrete channels, 293 dams, 400 wells, 51 -sumps and 8 reservoirs. Rogue rivers and the invading sea had -eaten away valuable farmland, and the Kadoorie Association -produced restoratives with 29 seawalls, 30 retaining walls and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -a variety of culverts and floodgates. Odds and ends, helpful -in diverse ways, ranged from rain shelters to compost pits, -poultry sheds to outhouses.</p> - -<p>Pigs were popular because, as Horace explained, “It’s the -only animal you can see expanding daily.” Thousands were -given away, and advice on caring for them was supplied by -the agricultural stations.</p> - -<p>One group that was the especial beneficiary of pig gifts -were farm widows ranging from seventeen to ninety-six -years of age. Horace, as the roving scout of the Kadoorie Association, -had noticed that hundreds of women whose husbands -had been killed by the Japanese or had died natural -deaths had not only lost the family rice-winner, they lost the -“face” or community status they enjoyed with their husbands. -Custom frowned on their remarriage, so they could -do little but linger disconsolately on the fringes of village life. -The Kadoories talked it over and decided that a gift of pigs, -cows, ducks or chickens would give these widows something -to occupy themselves with and enable them to earn some -money. In a period of two years 10,000 widows received these -animals and enclosures for them. Feed they obtained through -the Kadoorie Agriculture Aid Loan Fund. Blind and elderly -women were able to care for flocks of chickens; younger -ones received pigs and cows. The usual pig gift was six purebred -Chinese sows from the Kadoorie Experimental and -Extension Farm at Pak Ngau Shek; all pigs were inoculated -against disease and the Agricultural Department specialists -showed the widows how to care for the animals. Many -women tripled their small incomes by breeding pigs and selling -their offspring. As the owners of livestock, they became -persons of consequence in their villages.</p> - -<p>With the aid of government experts, the brothers bought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span> -hundreds of foreign pedigreed pigs, and bred Berkshires, -Yorkshires and middle whites with the local animals to produce -a larger and hardier strain. Cows and water buffaloes, indispensable -as draught animals, were distributed by drawing lots -in the villages, and the drawings became lively public gatherings -with soft drinks and cakes served all around. Gifts or -loans financed the construction of numerous fish-breeding -ponds, with the seed fish supplied gratis.</p> - -<p>The 25,000 loans made through the Fund covered livestock, -seeds and fertilizer, building materials, insecticides and -spraying equipment, land development and other purposes. -Over 95 percent of the loan applications are approved, and -the repayment rate has remained very high.</p> - -<p>Creating new land for farming has been an important part -of Kadoorie efforts. Horace came upon a group of squatters -who had been moved from the city to make room for a new -road; he found them moping about forlornly on a rocky field -which was the site of a cemetery from which the bodies had -been removed. Horace suggested that they use the rocks to -build pigsties, promising them the needed cement and two pigs -for each sty. On his next visit he found many pigsties completed, -but was temporarily baffled when the settlers asked -him to buy for them a nearby hillside rock, fully 100 yards -wide and stretching from the bottom of the hill to the top. -He acquired the rock, and the settlers, working from the bottom -upwards, covered it with terraced growing lands.</p> - -<p>At Nim Shue Wan village, a hillside settlement along a -steep shore, the Kadoorie Association built a seawall, mixed -the sticky red earth of the hillside with beach sand, and produced -a good soil for vegetable-growing which now supports -100 families in the area. At Pak Ngau Shek, the Kadoorie -farm on the high slopes of Tai Mo Shan, highest (3,140 feet)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -mountain in the colony, the brothers began to experiment -with plants and animals, chiefly because the land had been -judged worthless for farmers. If they could make anything -thrive there, they believed, it might teach them some way to -utilize the colony’s heavy proportion of wasteland. They had -many failures, such as typhoons uprooting all their shallow-rooted -peach trees, but they discovered that even trees and -vegetables considered unsuitable for high lands did very well. -Some vegetables, growing more slowly on the mountainsides, -reached the market when lowland crops were less plentiful, -and therefore brought better prices. The farm operated at a -financial loss, but gave full value as an agricultural testing site.</p> - -<p>The Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association meets once -every two weeks, considers 50 to 100 applications for help, -and tries to assist about 15 new families every day. It has given -away 7,000 pigs in less than three months. Many situations -won’t wait for committee meetings; some farmers in dire -straits have walked up to Boulder Lodge, Horace’s home at -Castle Peak, to ask for help in the middle of the night. Horace, -who often works a 13-hour day and spends Sundays -roaming around the farm districts, is more flattered than annoyed -by these occasional late-hour callers.</p> - -<p>“Speed is of the essence in this work,” he said. “When a -typhoon heads this way, we assemble building materials for -repair work and all the quick-growing seeds we can buy; -then we’re ready to help the farm people get back into operation -and plant vegetables as soon as the flooding subsides.”</p> - -<p>Fire is often a total disaster to the rural poor, wrecking -their homes and frequently killing their livestock. When an -entire village was wiped out by fire in 1960, the Kadoories -threw a round-the-clock emergency staff into a four-day rescue -operation, providing new furniture, clothes, two months’<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> -food supply, extra cash, livestock, bicycles and rebuilding all -the houses.</p> - -<p>Hundreds of artificial limbs donated by Kadoorie Association -have enabled crippled people to earn their living as farmers -and fishermen. The Association doesn’t scatter its benefits -recklessly; all applicants are thoroughly investigated to discover -whether they will work to improve themselves when -they receive aid. When a man or woman receives a gift of livestock, -he may not sell it for one year without Kadoorie Association -consent; if disease or unavoidable accidents kill the -stock, the Association replaces them free.</p> - -<p>“Our idea has been to find out the wants of those in need,” -Horace said. “It is worth more than anything else.”</p> - -<p>The contributions of the Kadoorie brothers and the many -other religious and philanthropic bodies working in the colony -serve as a valuable supplement to the main task of directing -and improving the primary industries. The principal -responsibility lies with the Department of Agriculture and -Forestry, and with the Department of Cooperative Development -and Fisheries, which was separated from Agriculture -and Forestry in 1961.</p> - -<p>The Chinese farmers of the New Territories can grow a -garden on the side of a rock—as Horace Kadoorie found out -for himself—but they know little about scientific farming, -and until the 1950s, there was no one to teach them. Now the -Agriculture & Forestry Department conducts three-week -general agricultural courses, followed by one-week specialized -courses in paddy cultivation, pond-fish culture and other -phases of farming. There are vocational courses, lectures to -cooperatives, radio farming broadcasts, film shows, guided -visits to experimental stations and an annual Agricultural -Show at Yuen Long with prizes for the best farm products.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span></p> - -<p>At the Sheung Shui Market Garden Experimental Station, -only two miles from the Red China border, S. Y. Chan, an -assistant agricultural officer, directs a five-acre center for -testing every species of foreign and domestic vegetables and -flowers he can lay his hands on. Chinese white cabbage, -Taiwan radishes, sugar peas, chrysanthemums, 30 varieties of -English and American tomatoes, chives, and corn each have -their small test patch to show whether they can survive in -Hong Kong’s climate. Roses, for example, wilt and die in a -few seasons, but the station is seeking new strains with greater -durability. Unlike plants and flowers in most sections of the -United States, the majority of Hong Kong vegetables and -flowers grow best in winter, the local summers being too wet.</p> - -<p>At Ta Kwu Ling Dryland Experimental Station, the problem -is how to get some use out of the thousands of acres of -former farmland abandoned because of poor soil or insufficient -water. The station, started in 1956, made little progress -at first. Then it added compost of manures and chemical fertilizers -to the soil, and tried deep plowing to retain moisture -in the earth. Large white local radishes as big as yams did well -in this ground, and so did sweet potatoes. The department -experts found that windbreaks of sugar cane helped to offset -the drying effects of strong winds. Several types of fodder, -including six varieties of grasses, were tried out in sample -patches. Five of the station’s eleven acres are devoted to improvement -of local pig breeds by crossing them with exotic -strains.</p> - -<p>The Castle Peak Livestock Experimental Station, located -in an area of badly eroded hills, is the chief center for artificial -insemination of pigs. Semen from selected strains of Berkshire, -middle white, and large white and improved local boars -is injected into local sows, producing larger and hardier litters.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -Various breeds of chickens are crossed to develop poultry -which thrive under local conditions and are acceptable to -Chinese tastes. A complete laboratory treats and experiments -with every known disease of poultry, pigs and cattle. Pig semen -is carried by bicycle, truck and helicopter to outlying -sections of the New Territories to service local sows.</p> - -<p>Artificial insemination of pigs, based on its highly successful -use in Japan, has become increasingly important in Hong -Kong, with more than 1,000 instances of its use in 1961.</p> - -<p>In the northwestern lowlands near Yuen Long, the department -has developed a fast-growing source of food in the fish-raising -ponds. From the top of a small hill, Yu Yat-sum, -fisheries officer, is able to point to a speckled, silvery expanse -of such ponds, covering 700 acres in individual ponds from -one to 10 acres each. Each acre produces about a ton of fish -every year.</p> - -<p>Mr. Yu explains that a five-acre pond, equipped with sluice -gates and surrounded by dirt embankments, could be built -for $2,700. Usually they are owned by a village or a co-op -society. They are only five feet deep, but packed with 3,000 -to 3,600 fry an acre, each about the length of a paper clip. -The fish would all be crushed and battered if it were not for -their superior adaptation—big head and silver carp cruise near -the surface, grass carp favor the mid-levels, and grey mullet -and mud carp gravitate to the bottom. Fed on rice bran, dry -peanut cakes and soya bean meal, they fatten at a prodigious -rate and are ready for the market within a year, selling at 21 -to 30 cents a pound. For the pond owners, it’s a net return of -twenty percent per year. There are more than 1,000 acres of -these ponds in the New Territories, and they are increasing -at the rate of 60 acres a month.</p> - -<p>The Chinese have their own strict ideas of what fresh fish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> -means; to them, the only fresh fish from a pond is a live one, -so the carp and mullet travel to market in tubs, still alive. The -job of Mr. Yu and other departmental experts is to see that -the fish do not perish before their time because of diseases or -excessive salinity in the pond water.</p> - -<p>The Tai Lung Forestry and Crop Experimental Station -concentrates on the expansion of the colony’s forests, which -almost disappeared during World War II. Here the six-inch -seedlings of Chinese pine, eucalyptus, China fir and other species -are placed in polythene tubes and covered with soil by -patient Hakka women who do the work by hand. After a few -months in the shade and a brief maturing period in full sunlight, -the polythene tube is removed and the tree is planted -on a hillside in one of the reservoir catchment areas. Spaced -about six feet apart on all sides, they go in at the rate of -2,500 an acre. Tai Lung produces 1,500,000 of these plantings -each year. A month after they are placed on the hillsides, their -progress is checked by an inspector; if more than twenty percent -have died, the area is replanted. A second check is made -a year later.</p> - -<p>Four main forest areas stretching across the New Territories -from Tolo Harbor to Lantau Island now total more -than 11,500 acres. In ten years some of the lean China pines -have shot up to 30 feet high. The overworked forestry staff -has been so busy planting trees and keeping a close watch on -forest fires that it has had little time for the next stage of the -reforestation, which is thinning overcrowded areas. Other -complications confront them when a firebreak is cut through -the hillside forests; the cutover strip erodes quickly in the -summer rainstorms, damaging the tree plantations and sending -silt into the reservoirs.</p> - -<p>If forestry is the youngest of Hong Kong’s primary industries,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> -fishing is indisputably the oldest, and for many centuries, -the largest primary income producer. Until fairly recent -times, fishermen were inclined to demonstrate their versatility -and supplement their income by piracy. Fast, steel-hulled -naval ships with long-range guns have taken much of the lure -out of part-time piracy, especially for the crews of slow-moving -junks, and the fisher folk have become a law-abiding -group. Today they number around 86,000 and catch approximately -$10 million worth of fish every year. Not included in -their ranks are the keepers of fish ponds, who are regarded as -farmers, or those who live on boats but earn their living by -hauling cargo, running water-taxis or selling merchandise -from their boats.</p> - -<p>The fishing people, chiefly Tanka but including other Chinese -like the Hoklo and Hakka, are concentrated at Aberdeen -and Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island and seven settlements -in the New Territories. By environment and preference, -they are deeply conservative, disinclined to mix in the -affairs of landlubbers. Nevertheless, the irresistible winds of -change which have swept through the colony since World -War II have shaken them loose from their traditional moorings.</p> - -<p>Like the farmers, they were able to free themselves from -the iron grip of the laans when the Fish Marketing Organization -put the middlemen out of business. The Fish Marketing -Organization gave them a fair return on their catch, established -cheap credit to improve their boats and equipment, -provided boats and trucks to get their fish to the five wholesale -markets and founded schools for their children. CARE -and other relief organizations came to their aid. The Fisheries -Division offered classes in navigation, modern seamanship -and boat design, marine engineering and the use of up-to-date<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -fishing equipment, with classes being adapted to the fishermen’s -working schedules. A fisheries research unit from Hong -Kong University became a regular part of the departmental -organization. The 240-ton otter trawler <i>Cape St. Mary</i> -cruised the fishing grounds from the Gulf of Tong King, west -of Hainan Island, to Taiwan in the east, gathering data on -ocean currents, water temperatures and depths and the feeding -habits of fish. A fishing master was appointed and careful -studies were made of pearl- and edible-oyster culture.</p> - -<p>All these are routine procedures in present-day fishing -centers, but they were virtually unknown in Hong Kong until -1946. Since then, despite harassment and inshore fishing -restrictions enforced by Red China, the tonnage and market -value of the annual catch have almost tripled.</p> - -<p>Red China has maintained a certain disinterestedness in -its mistreatment of fishermen. During the last five years the -Communists demanded so great a share of the fish caught by -their own people that thousands of their fishing boats never -returned. Some sailed far out in the China Sea, then turned -back toward Hong Kong and became refugees; others slipped -through Chinese shore patrols at night and defected to the -British colony. Between 1957 and 1962, the new arrivals -swelled the colony fishing fleet from 6,000 to the present -10,550 units.</p> - -<p>The most radical change in the colony’s fleet, however, has -come from within. The Chinese junk, famous throughout -the world as the symbol of Hong Kong, has dropped its picturesque -sails; more than 4,000 of them now churn along under -Diesel power. The Chinese junk is as diverse in its size, -shape and function as the infinitely varied Chinese people. -There are sixteen different classes of junks in Hong Kong -alone, and none of them closely resembles a junk from any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -other part of China. They are single-, double- and triple-masted; -they are little craft 25 feet long or lumbering giants -of 100 foot length. To a colony fisheries expert, “junk” is only -a loose generic term; he immediately classifies it according to -the job it is designed for, as a long-liner (four classes by size), -seiner (two main types, depending on the net it uses), trawler -(four main types, depending on the kind of trawling it does), -gill-netters, fish-collecting junks and several miscellaneous -varieties.</p> - -<p>Since the British came to Hong Kong, the junks operating -in local waters have borrowed design features from European -ships. The big fishing junks of Hong Kong, with their -high stern, horizontal rails and the large, perforated rudder -pivoting in a deep, vertical groove on the stern, resemble no -other junks in the world. Like junks from all parts of China, -and even the boats of ancient Egypt, they have an oculus, or -painted image of the human eye, on their bow. In fishing -junks, the center of the eye is directed downward so that it -can keep a close watch on the fish; trading junks have the eye -aimed higher so that it can scan the distant horizon. The bow -eyes of the old-fashioned sailing junks no longer have much -to look forward to. The deep-sea trawlers, operating as far -as 250 miles out, are all mechanized. The sailing junks operate -closer to shore, but the cargo-carrying junks in Victoria harbor -are predominantly mechanized. To anyone who has -crossed the harbor recently it is obvious that the sails are disappearing -at an alarming rate.</p> - -<p>The fishermen who live and work on junks instead of viewing -them abstractly from a distance have not yet formed a -Committee for the Preservation of the Romantic Junk. After -approaching mechanization with reluctance and suspicion in -1948, they became convinced that the big sailing junk is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> -through. Motorized junks can reach the distant fishing -grounds much faster, they catch a lion’s share of the fish, and -they return to market far ahead of sail competition. Because -of their greater speed and stability, they can venture out in -the typhoon season when sail craft are obliged to stick closer -to shore. Within ten years, fishing authorities say, the sailing -junk will have become virtually extinct.</p> - -<p>It has been proposed that the Hong Kong Tourist Association -hire a couple of junks to sail up and down the harbor for -the sole delectation of tourists, but no official action has been -taken. Tourists can travel 40 miles west to Macao where the -harbor is still crowded with sailing junks. Here the sails persist -only because the Macao fishing industry lacks the low-interest -loans available to Hong Kong fishermen through the -Fish Marketing Organization and the fishing co-ops. Without -such credit, very few fishermen could afford Diesel engines -or other motor-driven equipment. In Hong Kong, even the -little 4-horsepower engines of sampans are bought on credit.</p> - -<p>Now that progress has reached the fishing fleet, it will not -be satisfied until it changes everything. Under the direction -of such knowledgeable men as Jack Cater, co-op and fisheries -commissioner, Lieutenant Commander K. Stather, fishing -master, and Wing-Hong Cheung, craft technician on -modern junk design, the whole junk-building industry is being -turned upside down.</p> - -<p>For centuries, the junk has been built without plans or -templates, with the designers proceeding entirely by habit and -skill. This is relatively easy in building a 15-foot sampan, but -when it is extended to 100-ton vessels of 90-foot length it becomes -both art and architecture. The size of the investment, -by local standards, is staggering: $40,000 for a large trawler<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> -and its mechanized equipment, and around $7,000 for a -mechanized 40-footer.</p> - -<p>There are nearly 100 junk-building yards in the colony, -but no more than ten of these are capable of building a junk -from blueprints. The fisheries department is conducting boat-design -classes in three major fishing centers, Aberdeen, Shau -Kei Wan and Cheung Chau, and training builders to read -plans. The classes are held at night to avoid conflict with -working hours, and the courses are for three months.</p> - -<p>The junk-building yards present a vivid picture of a civilization -in transition. At one yard, a workman is laboriously -breaming the hull of a sampan—killing marine borers by passing -bundles of burning hay beside and beneath it—and a -workman or two in an adjoining yard are covering the hull -of another boat with anti-fouling paint. The object of the two -operations is identical, but the anti-fouling paint protects the -wood about four times as long as breaming and takes no -longer to apply. On the port side of an 86-foot trawler, a Chinese -carpenter is using a half-inch electric power drill; on the -starboard, another man is drilling holes with a steel bit spun -by a leather thong with its ends fixed to a wooden bow.</p> - -<p>Lu Pan, the Celestial master builder who transmitted the -secrets of carpentry and shipbuilding to mankind, is honored -with a tiny shrine in an obscure corner of every yard. Joss -sticks are lighted before a statuette of this practical divinity, -and his birthday observance on the 13th day of the Sixth -Moon is a holiday in the shipyards. Lu Pan has not yet betrayed -any overt sign of annoyance at the invasion of his domain -by power tools and Diesel engines.</p> - -<p>The timber that is cut for these all-wooden ships is tough -and durable—China fir, teak, and various hardwoods chiefly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -from Borneo, like billian, kapor and yacal. The planks are -hewn at mills near the yards, and bent to fit the curvature of -the hull. The curving is accomplished by heating the center -of the plank with a small fire and weighting its ends with -heavy stones to set the curve. The 3-inch-thick planks are -secured to the upright framing members with 14-inch steel -spikes, and the main stringer, just below deck level, is fastened -with threaded bolts. Despite the general disarray of the open -yards and the lack of precise plans, the junk almost invariably -turns out to be a nicely dovetailed, exactly balanced boat, -good for twenty or thirty years of service in the rough -weather of the China Sea.</p> - -<p>The long-liner ranks as the giant of the junk fleet, having -an overall length between 80 and 100 feet. Junks of this class -fish from 20 to 60 miles south of the colony, cruising above a -vast expanse of underwater flats where depths seldom exceed -90 feet and the muddy bottom makes other kinds of fishing -unfeasible.</p> - -<p>A typical long-liner under construction at the Yee Hop -Shipyard in Shau Kei Wan has a 90-foot length and the elephantine -stern characteristic of its class. Its high poop carries -bunks for 16 men, with additional bunks located forward and -a total crew capacity of 57 men, sandwiched in with no more -than a yard of clearance between upper and lower bunks. -Eight sampans can be stowed along its deck and lowered over -the side when the fishing grounds are reached. Despite its traditional -outline, it has Diesel engines, twin-screw propellors -and a 20-ton fishhold lined with modern insulation material.</p> - -<p>Costing about $36,000 with full equipment, one long-liner, -for example, was ordered by Hai Lee Chan, a Shau Kei -Wan fisherman who already owned another like it, plus two -smaller junks. During the two and one-half months that 35<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -carpenters required to complete it, Mrs. Chan and her twelve-year-old -daughter remained on or around the junk to keep a -watchful eye on its construction. A long-liner of this kind -may put out as many as 100,000 hooks on lines attached to its -bow and stern or strung out by its covey of sampans. A single -trip to the fishing grounds may keep it at sea for a week or -more and bring a ten-ton catch of golden thread, shark and -lizard fish.</p> - -<p>Comparable in size but differing completely in design are -two deep-sea trawlers built at the Kwong Lee Cheung Shipyard -in Kowloon. These are sister ships, 86 feet long, and the -first ones of their size that faithfully followed the modern -specifications laid down by Mr. Cheung and the Fisheries -Department. They were the first big trawlers constructed according -to written plans and framed around modern templates -or patterns in Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>As they neared completion late in 1961, the twin wooden -trawlers of 100 tons each looked more like dismasted clipper -ships than junks. The old type of high poop had been cut -down and crew quarters moved forward. The fat, bulging -stern had been slimmed down to improve the streamline, and -the traditional rudder-slot was gone. The deck was level and -uncluttered, with far more working space than older junks -provided. The outline of the hull was slim and graceful, giving -more longitudinal stability than the tub-bottomed junk. -The free-swinging tiller and massive wooden rudder had been -replaced by a ship’s wheel and a much smaller rudder of steel -that turned on a metal shaft. Powered winches would be -welded to their decks. Mechanized and streamlined, the new -trawlers could deliver more speed than a motorized trawler -of conventional shape, and require less fuel to do it.</p> - -<p>When the two partners who had ordered the trawlers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -fishermen Lee Loy Shing and Cheng Chung Kay, smilingly -greeted visitors to the yard, pointing out the features of their -new ships with considerable pride, it was evident that they -regarded the old-style junk as an expensive antique. Mechanization -has already proved itself; although mechanized boats -number less than half the fishing fleet, they take 80 percent -of the catch. Many fishermen are beginning to believe that -modern ship design is as important to the future of Hong -Kong’s fishing fleet as mechanization.</p> - -<p>Steel-hulled trawlers of the Japanese “bull” type are already -being used by the fishing companies in the colony. One -dozen of them operate in the Gulf of Tong King, near Hainan -Island. However, they are much too costly for most fishing -families.</p> - -<p>Colony fishing methods are as varied as the boats used. -The deep-sea trawlers, generally working in pairs, drag a -huge bag-shaped net along the sea bottom, gathering in horsehead -and red snapper, or red goatfish and golden thread. -Purse-seiners, working in pairs and fairly close to shore, -stretch a big net between them at night and use a bright light -to lure such smaller fish as anchovies and carangoid into the -net. The Pa T’eng seiners set gill nets along the bottom for -yellow croaker, and drift nets for white pomfret and mackerel. -Other types include gill-netters, shrimp beam-trawlers, -and three smaller classes of long-liners. About twenty kinds -of fish form most of the catch, and among these are conger -pike, big eyes, grouper, young barracuda and red sea bream.</p> - -<p>The ship carpenters of Hong Kong are far above average -ability, so much so that the Chinese Communists have attempted, -without notable success, to induce them to build -junks in China. Demand for their skills has, however, raised -their wages about one-third in the last two years.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span></p> - -<p>The fishermen have had their rigid conservatism shattered -by the changes around them. In spite of their usual illiteracy, -they have learned the rules of navigation at fisheries department -schools. More advanced classes have qualified for licenses -as engineers, pilots, navigators and boat-builders. For -the first time they have lodged their families on shore, with -the wives becoming used to housekeeping and the children -attending schools.</p> - -<p>Many Westerners, seeing this upheaval in the fine, free life -of the fisherman, deplore the passing of the old ways. The -fishermen, always quicker at grabbing for prosperity than in -clinging to romantic illusions, are moving forward at top -speed without a thought to their suddenly disappearing past.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_SEVEN">CHAPTER SEVEN<br /> -<span class="smaller">Crime, Power and Corruption</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“We have absolutely no doubt from the evidence and -statistics we have studied that corruption exists on a scale -which justifies the strongest counter-measures.”</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">Hong -Kong Advisory Committee on Corruption</span>, January, 1962</p> - -</div> - -<p>The British crown colony of Hong Kong came into existence -under circumstances bearing less resemblance to the -majesty of British law and order than they did to a territorial -dispute between the Capone and O’Banion mobs during the -Chicago of the 1920s. Its founding fathers were dope peddlers -whose ability to bribe Chinese customs officials made the -traders rich and goaded the Chinese Emperor into a war that -cost him the loss of a worthless island called Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>The Rev. George Smith, an English missionary who visited -the colony during its first five years, approached the place -with the exalted conviction that his country had “been honoured -by God as the chosen instrument for diffusing the pure<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -light of Protestant Christianity throughout the world.” He -went ashore to discover a polyglot Gehenna with no market -for the Word.</p> - -<p>“The lowest dregs of native society flock to the British -settlement in the hope of gain or plunder,” he wrote. “There -are but faint prospects at present of any other than either a -migratory or a predatory race being attracted to Hong Kong, -who, when their hopes of gain or pilfering vanish, without -hesitation or difficulty remove elsewhere.”</p> - -<p>The Rev. Smith was no more favorably disposed toward -his fellow countrymen. He felt the British rulers were too -harsh with the Chinese, permitting the general population to -be exploited by a few Mandarins. As for the merchants and -traders, he regarded their behavior as setting a bad example -for the Chinese. Saving souls in Hong Kong, he decided, -demanded more miracles than he had at his disposal, and with -considerable relief, he transferred his missionary efforts to -the more congenial atmosphere of South China.</p> - -<p>Other missionaries accepted the long odds against grappling -successfully with the devil in Hong Kong, but the -struggle left many of them disheartened. When the merchants -and sailors were not engaged in the opium traffic, they frequently -busied themselves by purchasing Chinese mistresses -from the Tanka boat people. Many of the Eurasians of South -China were the issue of this type of transaction.</p> - -<p>Law enforcement in the colony was a farce. The few -Europeans who could be induced to join the underpaid police -force were the scourings of the Empire, remittance men or -wastrels who accepted the jobs because they did not dare go -home to England.</p> - -<p>Householders, disgusted with the ineptness of the police,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -hired private watchmen who went about at night beating -bamboo drums to advertise their presence. This noisy custom -was later forbidden, and burglary, highway robbery and harbor -piracy increased. Sir John F. Davis, the colony’s second -governor, tried to persuade property owners to improve police -protection by paying more taxes for it, but the merchants -demurred, setting a precedent which was applied to many -proposed improvements in years to come. The attitude -seemed to be: Progress is fine, provided one doesn’t have to -pay for it. Sir John attempted to keep track of known criminals -by obliging every colony resident to register, but was -forced to abandon the idea when the Chinese staged a three-month -general strike in protest.</p> - -<p>Piracy, smuggling, opium-smoking, prostitution, semislave -trading in contract laborers, gambling, and graft flourished -for many years, resisting the sporadic attacks of a succession -of governors. In 1858, for the first and last time, an exceptional -balance was achieved. Licenses for the sale of liquor, -the favorite Western vice, and revenue from opium, the leading -weakness of the Chinese, each brought 10,000 pounds of -income to the colony government.</p> - -<p>Under such powerful governors as Sir Richard Graves -Macdonnell (1866-72) and Sir Arthur E. Kennedy (1872-77), -the colony made significant advances in the control of piracy -and urban crime. The quality of police protection improved -and both men won the applause of local merchants by their -Draconic policy of branding, flogging and deporting law-breakers. -The Chinese Emperor and the liberal elements in -the British Parliament disapproved of the severity applied but -did not intervene to stop it.</p> - -<p>The Chinese government never ceased its opposition to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -smuggling of opium from Hong Kong, although many of its -venal officials shared in the profits of the traffic. For two decades, -from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, China attempted -to enforce a blockade against smuggled salt and opium, but -opium continued to represent almost half its total imports.</p> - -<p>A joint Sino-British commission agreed to place some limitation -on the trade in 1886, but the British zeal for enforcement -was diluted by the desire for continuing profits. Even -after controls were repeatedly tightened in the early 1900s, -the returns held steady; in 1906, the opium trade was valued -at 5 million pounds and yielded $2 million in colony revenue. -Unfavorable world opinion gradually narrowed the trade, -but the nonmedical sale and use of the drug was not entirely -banned until World War II.</p> - -<p>In the last several decades, the Hong Kong Police Department -has outgrown its disreputable origins and has become an -efficient law-enforcement organization. Nevertheless, the image -of the colony that persists in the imagination of many -Westerners who have never been there is a cesspool of iniquity -such as the one that horrified the Rev. Smith.</p> - -<p>Just how wicked and criminal is today’s Hong Kong?</p> - -<p>A layman’s comparison of the crime rates of the United -States and Hong Kong for the year 1960, as published by the -Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hong Kong Police -Department respectively, gives an objective picture of their -relative lawlessness.</p> - -<p>Both sets of figures are for predominantly urban areas, covering -ten of the most comparable categories of crime. The -figures give the actual number of crimes per one million population. -Because of inherent differences in the manner of classifying -and reporting crimes, a margin of error of ten percent -should be allowed in their interpretation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center">1960—CRIME RATES PER 1 MILLION POPULATION</p> - -<table summary="1960—CRIME RATES PER 1 MILLION POPULATION"> - <tr> - <th>CRIME CATEGORY</th> - <th>UNITED STATES</th> - <th>HONG KONG</th> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Murder</td> - <td class="tdr">55</td> - <td class="tdr">8</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Rape</td> - <td class="tdr">74</td> - <td class="tdr">50</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Serious Assault</td> - <td class="tdr">645</td> - <td class="tdr">178</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Burglary</td> - <td class="tdr">1,358</td> - <td class="tdr">157</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Larceny</td> - <td class="tdr">2,785</td> - <td class="tdr">2,562</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Forgery</td> - <td class="tdr">234</td> - <td class="tdr">60</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Prostitution</td> - <td class="tdr">319</td> - <td class="tdr">527</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Narcotics</td> - <td class="tdr">289</td> - <td class="tdr">4,677</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Drunkenness</td> - <td class="tdr">16,375</td> - <td class="tdr">257</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td>Robbery</td> - <td class="tdr">361</td> - <td class="tdr">30</td> - </tr> -</table> - -<p>Such statistics are always subject to many different interpretations, -which will not be made here. But they confirm one -impression shared by virtually everyone who has spent many -nights (either at home or on the streets) in both New York -City and Hong Kong: You’re a lot safer in Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>The most glaring disparity between the rates is, of course, -in the comparative number of arrests for drunkenness. The -American rate is more than 60 times higher than that of Hong -Kong, and it is a safe inference that a fair share of the colony -arrests for drunkenness are made among Europeans and -Americans, who comprise less than two percent of the population. -Hundreds of thousands of Chinese in Hong Kong -drink beer, wine or hard liquor, but a Chinese drunk in public -is a rarity.</p> - -<p>In major crimes of violence—murder, rape, serious assault -and robbery—America has a much higher crime rate. With -the stated allowance for error, the United States and Hong -Kong could be considered about equally inclined toward larceny—a -legal term which covers the more popular forms of -stealing. Stealing automobiles, however, has not really caught<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> -on in the colony; there is practically no place to hide a car -after stealing it. Bicycle theft is more common there.</p> - -<p>Prostitution is one of the two categories in which Hong -Kong has a higher rate than America. A highly intelligent -missionary who has dealt with the problem for many years -had this succinct comment:</p> - -<p>“The problem hinges on two factors; the British Army -Garrison and the fact that Hong Kong is a recreation port -for the United States Navy. Remove these and the problem -vanishes.”</p> - -<p>For a variety of realistic reasons, this missionary does not -expect the problem to vanish, though the police and the -clergy, working from different directions, are doing their best -to reduce its incidence. Both groups recognize poverty as one -major cause of prostitution that can be fought with education -and better jobs.</p> - -<p>The comparative rates of narcotics offenses in the United -States and Hong Kong indicate that such crime is sixteen -times more prevalent in the colony than in America. They -also confirm a fact recognized by every law-enforcement -unit in Hong Kong: Drugs are the No. 1 colony crime problem. -By government estimates, there are no less than 150,000, -and perhaps as many as 250,000 drug addicts in the colony. -In the entire United States there are between 45,000 and 60,000 -drug addicts.</p> - -<p>The gravity of the colony’s narcotics problem is best illustrated -by the type of addiction practiced there. Almost all -addicts use either opium or heroin, with heroin users three -times more numerous than opium addicts. The trend toward -heroin has grown more powerful every year since World -War II, because the tight postwar laws against opium drove -the drug sellers to a much more potent narcotic and one that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -could be smuggled more easily. Heroin is a second cousin to -opium, being derived from morphine, which, in turn, has been -extracted from opium.</p> - -<p>Heroin, commonly called “the living death,” is from 30 -to 80 times stronger than opium. An opium smoker may go -along for years, suffering no more physical damage than a -heavy drinker; a heroin addict, who may be hooked in as short -a time as two weeks, sinks into physical, mental and moral ruin -within a few months.</p> - -<p>A peculiar kind of economic injustice operates among drug -addicts, who are most often found among the poorest segments -of the colony’s Chinese population. Even in the years -when the British traded openly and without compunction in -opium, they almost never became addicted to it, and today a -British addict in Hong Kong is an extreme rarity. A number -of young Americans living or visiting in the colony have -picked up the habit, probably under the impression that they -are defying conventions. They, at least, can afford the price -of the rope with which they hang themselves. This is not so -for the Chinese addict, whose habit costs him an average of -$193 a year (HK $1,100), or much more than he can earn in -a similar period. Unless he has saved enough money to keep -him going until the drugs kill him, he turns to various kinds -of crime to support his habit.</p> - -<p>Opium-smoking is a cumbersome process requiring a bulky -pipe, pots of the drug, a lamp to heat it and scrapers to clean -the pipe. Smoking produces a strong odor which makes a -pipe session vulnerable to police detection and arrest. There -are no opium dens in Hong Kong; the usual term is opium -divan, implying an elegance seldom encountered in the addicts’ -squalid hangouts.</p> - -<p>Heroin, odorless and requiring no bulky apparatus, is taken<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -in various ways. “Chasing the dragon” is done by mixing heroin -granules and base powder in folded tinfoil, then heating -it over a flame and inhaling the fumes through a tube of -rolled paper or bamboo. When a matchbox cover is substituted -for the tube, the method is called “playing the mouth -organ.” A third technique involves the placing of heroin -granules in the tip of a cigarette, which is lit and held in an -upright position while the smoker draws on it; this is known -as “firing the ack-ack gun.” Needle injection, and the smoking -or swallowing of pills made by mixing heroin with other -ingredients are additional methods.</p> - -<p>The opium poppy may only be grown illegally in Hong -Kong, but the few farmers who attempt to raise it in isolated -valleys have produced hardly enough for their own use. -Practically all of it comes in by ships and planes in the form -of raw opium or morphine, which can be converted to heroin -within the colony. On ships, the drugs are hidden in the least -accessible parts of the vessel or concealed in cargo shipments; -they can also be dumped overside in a waterproof container -with a float and marker as the ship nears the harbor, to be -picked up by small, fast boats which land them in sparsely settled -areas. Variations of the same methods are used by incoming -planes, with a prearranged airdrop sometimes being employed.</p> - -<p>With thousands of ships and planes arriving and departing -every year, the chances of stopping all narcotics smuggling -are practically nil. A complete search of every arrival would -be physically impossible, and even in cases where the police -or the Preventive Service of the Commerce and Industry -Department have been tipped off to an incoming shipment, -it may take a full day to locate the hiding place. The drugs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> -may be packed inside a cable drum, buried in bales of waste, -concealed in double-bottomed baskets, cached inside the bodies -of dolls or surrounded by bundles of firewood; the hiding -places are as inexhaustible as the cleverness of the smugglers.</p> - -<p>Where do the narcotics come from? Harry J. Anslinger, -United States Commissioner of Narcotics from 1930 to 1962, -had been telling the world for at least a decade that Red China -was the chief source of supply. Anslinger said the Chinese -Communists were up to their necks in the traffic because it -brought them the foreign exchange they desperately needed -and simultaneously undermined the morale of the West by -spreading drug addiction among its people.</p> - -<p>Not one official in the British crown colony accepted Mr. -Anslinger’s thesis for a minute. Hong Kong Police Commissioner -Henry W. E. Heath, the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, -and the Preventive Service of the Commerce and Industry -Department unanimously declared that there was absolutely -no evidence that any large amount of the drugs smuggled into -the colony came from Red China. American customs officials -in Hong Kong were inclined to sustain the British view.</p> - -<p>Anslinger had named Yunnan Province in southwestern -China as the leading opium-growing area. Colony officials -will concede that some opium may be grown in Yunnan, but -they believe that a much greater share is cultivated in northwest -Laos, northern Thailand and the Shan States of eastern -Burma. These four areas are so close to one another that the -difference between the two hypotheses is more political than -geographic.</p> - -<p>Regardless of which field the poppy comes from, colony -officials have found that more than half the opium seized upon -entering Hong Kong has arrived on ships and planes that made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> -their last previous stop at Bangkok, Thailand. It is presumed -that few drugs arrived bearing the name and address of the -manufacturer or the stamp giving the country of origin.</p> - -<p>In 1960, the colony’s antinarcotics units set what they believe -to be a world record for drug seizures, grabbing 39 shipments -that included 3,626 pounds of opium, 153 pounds of -morphine, 337 pounds of morphine hydrochloride, 5 pounds -of heroin and 155 pounds of barbitone. On November 30, -1960, the Preventive Service captured 1,078 pounds of raw -opium hidden in bundles of hollowed-out teakwood on a -newly arrived ship. Less than two weeks later they discovered -another vessel trying the same trick and made a haul of 769 -pounds of raw opium, 16 pounds of prepared opium, 45½ -pounds of morphine and 293 pounds of morphine hydrochloride. -There were 50 seizures in 1961, putting a further serious -crimp in the smuggling racket.</p> - -<p>Feeling persecuted and hurt, many smugglers shifted their -base of operations to Singapore. Even so, it was not an unqualified -triumph for Hong Kong’s antinarcotics force; by -pinching off the drug supply they forced its market price sky-high, -and desperate addicts began stealing and robbing to pay -for their dope.</p> - -<p>Halting the manufacture of heroin within the colony is as -difficult as catching dope smugglers. A heroin “factory” requires -little space and can be set up in some obscure corner -of the New Territories or lodged in an expensive top-floor -apartment on Hong Kong Island; the profit margin is so great -that production costs are but a small obstacle. Enforcement -costs are almost as steep. In 1959, the Preventive Service trebled -its manpower. In February, 1961, maximum penalties for -drug manufacturing were raised from a fine of $8,750 and ten -years in prison to a $17,500 fine and life imprisonment.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> - -<p>Almost two-thirds of all prisoners in Hong Kong jails are -drug addicts, but the jailing of addicts, however necessary -to protect society, offers no cure for addiction. The colony -government has sought to meet this phase of the problem by -setting up a narcotics rehabilitation center at Tai Lam Chung -Prison and a voluntary treatment section in the government -hospital at Castle Peak.</p> - -<p>Dr. Alberto M. Rodrigues, a colony-born physician of -Portuguese ancestry and an unofficial member of the Hong -Kong Legislative Council, became chairman of a voluntary -committee formed in 1959 to help drug addicts. With government -approval, his committee took over Shek Kwu Island -near Lantau in 1960 to establish a center where about 500 addicts -could be accommodated if they volunteered for treatment. -The island was chosen because it was isolated, and with -proper security measures, could keep the addict entirely away -from drugs until medical and nursing care had put him back -on his feet. Gus Borgeest, the refugee rehabilitation pioneer -who established a welfare center on Sunshine Island, helped -in the early planning of Shek Kwu Chau, which began operations -during 1962.</p> - -<p>Sir Sik-nin Chau, who has served on both the Executive -and Legislative Councils, headed an antinarcotics publicity -campaign which was solidly backed by the British and Chinese -newspapers. The Kaifong associations joined in the drive -with lectures and leaflet-distribution among the Chinese community. -The public was urged to report any information -about narcotics sales or divans, but the response was slow and -timid; many ordinary citizens were obviously afraid of beatings -and reprisals by the Triad gangs engaged in drug-peddling. -Others hung back in obedience to a deep-seated -Chinese tradition of not sticking your neck out by reporting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> -on the other fellow’s dirty work. Some headway has been -made against this attitude, but the general feeling of the -drive’s publicity people is that their campaign must be sustained -for years to overcome it.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong’s drug problem is unlike that of New York -City, where drug addiction among teen-agers is cause for -grave concern. Few Chinese youngsters seem to be attracted -to the habit. It is the middle-aged, the unemployed, and most -of all, the desperately poor who chase the dragon for a brief -sensation of well-being, ease and warmth that is succeeded -by a crushing letdown, physical collapse and eventual death. -Abrupt withdrawal of the drugs is like an earthquake from -within, causing cramps, vomiting, excruciating bodily pain -and pathological restlessness. Only a gradual withdrawal under -close medical supervision will bring about a cure, and -even that carries no guarantee if the rehabilitated addict is -turned back to joblessness and squalor.</p> - -<p>Much of the drug traffic into Hong Kong is not intended -for local consumption, but for reexport to America and -Europe. The crossroads position of Hong Kong on international -air and shipping routes makes it particularly advantageous -to this trade, and internal enforcement is insufficient to -cope with it. To bolster their defenses against this traffic, colony -drug-suppression officials depend on close coordination -with police in Southeast Asia, with the World Health Organization -Committee on Drugs Liable to Produce Addiction, -and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the United -Nations Economic and Social Council. The colony police -force has opened its own sub-bureau of Interpol (International -Criminal Police Organization) to strengthen its offensive -against international drug peddlers.</p> - -<p>One oddity of the colony’s widespread drug addiction is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> -that it is seldom apparent to the average visitor; he may spend -weeks there without seeing a single identifiable drug victim. -Trained observers can often spot an addict by his dazed expression -or emaciated appearance, but even in these cases they -need further evidence to verify the appraisal. Dragon-chasers -don’t charge through the streets like rogue elephants—not in -the colony, at any rate—they stay hidden and comatose in -their squatter shacks or divans.</p> - -<p>Police find the Triad gangs perennially active in the sale -of narcotics, just as they are in pimpery, extortion and shakedown -rackets. Congested areas such as Yau Ma Tei and Sham -Shui Po have the highest crime rates and the largest Triad -membership. Only about five percent of the 500,000 Triad -members are engaged in major crimes, yet the threat of vengeance -from this militant minority is generally sufficient to -keep the other members silent and submissive. The mere implication -of Triad backing, in a threatening letter sent to a rich -Chinese, usually produces cash to pay off the letter writer, although -police have recently had more success in persuading -prospective victims of these menaces to contact them instead -of paying off. Kidnapings are rare, though at least one case -made the headlines in 1961.</p> - -<p>The makeup of the police department closely reflects both -the hierarchy and the numerical grouping of the colony’s -population. The line force of uniformed men and detectives -in all grades totaled 8,333 in 1961. Nine-tenths were Chinese -and less than 500 were British, with less than 200 Pakistanis -and a handful of Portuguese. The top 50 administrative posts -were almost solidly British, however. The force also includes -a civilian staff of 1400.</p> - -<p>For the purposes of the ordinary citizen, a colony cop is a -Chinese cop, for these are the only officers he sees regularly.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -Taken as a group, they are an alert-looking, smartly uniformed -body, predominantly young, slim and athletic. Day or -night, they appear to be very much on the job, and the worldwide -complaint that a cop is never there when you need him -seems peculiarly inapplicable to Hong Kong. The Chinese -officer quite obviously is proud of his job, but the swaggering -bully-boy pose is alien to his nature.</p> - -<p>A few Chinese officers, like police in all other cities, go bad. -When they are drummed out of the force, it is generally for -shaking down a hawker or a merchant. More serious cases involve -the protection of gambling, prostitution, after-hour -bars, or even collaboration with Triad gangsters who split -their protection money with the man on the beat. Once in a -great while a case like that of Assistant Superintendent John -Chao-ko Tsang crops up, with a high-ranking Chinese officer -involved in spying for a foreign government—Communist -China, in this instance. But such is the exception and does not -change one lesson the British rulers have learned in 120 years -of hiring almost every kind of recruit from a Scotsman to a -Sikh; that of them all, the rank-and-file Chinese cop is the -finest the colony has ever had.</p> - -<p>The command structure of the police department, which is -highly centralized under an all-British top administration, is -reflected in almost every branch of the colony government. -There are approximately 15,000 natives of the British Isles in -the colony, excluding members of the armed forces and their -families, and they occupy virtually all of the top government -posts.</p> - -<p>A number of writers have expressed the view that Hong -Kong is actually controlled by about twenty persons, and -while this could be criticized as extreme—and certainly impossible -to prove—it could just as well be said that it is controlled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -by not more than ten persons: The governor; the colonial -secretary; the financial secretary; the director of Public -Works; the managing director of Jardine, Matheson & Co. (the -most powerful and longest-established business house); the -general manager of the Hongkong & Shanghai Bank (the leading -financial institution); the two most influential Chinese -members of the Executive and Legislative Councils; and the -most prominent Portuguese and Indian member of the Executive -or Legislative Council. Perhaps the best way to test this -top-ten theory would be to try running something in opposition -to these ten, and no one has ventured that yet.</p> - -<p>There is no important elective office in Hong Kong, no -widely qualified electorate and no open agitation for universal -suffrage. Nor is there any sign of a forcibly suppressed yearning -for democratic rule on the part of the general population. -The Communists, of course, loudly profess their love of elective -government, but the British and a majority of the Chinese -construe this to mean the entering wedge for Red China to -annex the colony. This is an old-fashioned colonial autocracy, -completely dominated by a small minority at the top, but even -without a vote it appears to enjoy more confidence from its -subjects than do the Reds on the mainland of China.</p> - -<p>The greatest strength of the colony government is that in -spite of its pin-point degree of representation, it can rule in an -orderly and efficient manner without the excesses of tyranny -or dictatorship. For ultimately, it is not the governing few -but the law that rules in Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>The Hong Kong government is a subsidiary of the British -Crown. It gets its orders from the Colonial Office and they -are carried out by the governor and two advisory bodies, the -Executive and Legislative Councils. The governor is the head -of both councils. Five persons have seats in both councils by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> -virtue of their office—the commander of British forces in the -colony, the colonial secretary, the attorney general, the -secretary for Chinese affairs, and the financial secretary. In -addition, one colony official is nominated to the Executive -Council, and four other government officials are nominated -for the Legislative Council. The governor goes outside the -official family to nominate six unofficial members of the Executive -Council and eight unofficial members of the Legislative -Council. Altogether, there are 31 places in this policy-making -hierarchy. Since several of its members hold two jobs in this -selective directorate, there are at present a total of 23 men -participating in top-level government.</p> - -<p>The governor must consult with the Executive Council on -all important matters, but he decides what must be done. If -he takes action against the express advice of his Executive -Council, he owes a full explanation for doing so to the Colonial -Secretary. The governor makes the laws with the advice and -consent of the Legislative Council, and he must have its approval -for all public spending. British common law, adapted -where necessary to local conditions and Chinese customs, is -the legal code of Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>Thus the colony presents a unique governmental phenomenon. -Approximately ten to twenty English-speaking men -holding undisputed sway over 3,300,000 subjects, of whom -not one in ten understands the language of his rulers and hardly -fifty percent can claim Hong Kong as their birthplace.</p> - -<p>By all visible signs, the colony is one of the best-run governments -in the Far East. Its roads are paved and traffic moves in -an orderly way in spite of the highest vehicle concentration -per mile of road anywhere in the world. The same order prevails -in the incessant shuttling of harbor vessels. Public transportation -is swift, frequent and generally on schedule. Poverty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -and privation are everywhere, but starvation is virtually non-existent. -Business and trade thrive and unemployment is low. -Wages seem minuscule when compared with American standards, -yet are higher than in most of the countries of Asia. A -majority of its people are indifferent to the government, but -they are not afraid of it. When something has to be done, there -are people at the top with the resolution and the intelligence -to do it without trampling human rights.</p> - -<p>Is Hong Kong’s autocracy, therefore, a model for the -world? On the contrary, there is hardly another place where -its practices would be applicable. Hong Kong’s exasperating -uniqueness has defied even the efforts of the Colonial Office to -make it conform to British government practices.</p> - -<p>With all its efficiency, however, Hong Kong has the weaknesses -of its governmental structure and its political environment. -Because of its extreme centralization, its almost ingrown -character in relation to its constituents, it is often out of touch -with the people it governs. Enormous barriers of language and -culture block its view, and graft and corruption threaten it -from every angle. In Asia, graft is the deadliest enemy of every -form of government which pretends to deal justly with its -citizens, and Hong Kong is not invulnerable to its attack.</p> - -<p>From the earliest days of the colony, the Chinese people -who emigrated there were fugitives from restraint and oppression. -Many of them were outright fugitives from justice. -Whatever their virtues or vices, they had found existence under -the government of their homeland so intolerable that they -willingly submitted to the rule of an alien people they neither -trusted nor admired. From centuries of bitter experience in -China, they believed that no government was to be trusted. -The secret of survival was to avoid all open defiance of governments -and to go on living within the framework of one’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -family and clan as though the government did not exist. One -did not cheat the other members of his clan, because retribution -could be swift and terrible. Relations with civil rulers -were not an ethical compact; they were a battle of wits, a stubborn -struggle for self-preservation in which the cunning of -the individual was the only weapon against the greed and -power of the state.</p> - -<p>How much more applicable these lessons were when those -rulers were foreign devils who did not speak one’s language! -One did not rebel against the headstrong foreigners and their -military superiority; he obeyed them in externals, so far as it -was necessary to escape reprisals, and went on quietly building -his own internal mechanisms of graft like a busy termite -in an unsuspecting household. If the people of the household -mistook the termites for industrious but harmless little ants, -it was all the easier for him.</p> - -<p>The metaphor need not be done to death, for it is no longer -as apposite as it once was. But there is no question that graft -and corruption continue to eat away at the structure of the -colony government. In a hundred casual conversations with -a hundred different colony residents—English, Chinese, -American, Portuguese, governmental and nongovernmental—the -visitor will almost never hear that the ruling powers -have railroaded some poor devil off to jail without cause, -swindled him out of his property to benefit the state, or -hounded the populace into semistarvation with unbearable -taxation. If these evils exist, they are neither frequent enough -nor sufficiently conspicuous to engage people’s passions.</p> - -<p>But on the subject of graft—the innumerable, small nicks -taken from merchants, builders, and the ordinary citizen seeking -any type of official favor or permit—the floodgates of -complaint are wide open. Much of this is generalized, unproved,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> -even irresponsible, operating at about the same intellectual -level as a taxi-driver’s jeremiad. Nevertheless, there is -a core of solid complaint that cannot be ignored.</p> - -<p>Within the colony government, there is a large segment that -bridles at the least intimation of official graft. The motto of -this segment is: Don’t rock the boat. We know we’re not perfect, -they seem to be saying, but don’t go around kicking over -beehives, or the first thing we know, the Colonial Office will -be down on our heads with all kinds of inquiries, full-dress -investigations and a fearful flap. We’ll all be sacked, sent home -in disgrace, and it won’t change one thing for the better. So -let’s keep quiet, muddle along as best we can and try to eliminate -the grafters quietly, one at a time. We’re really not a -bad lot of chaps, you know.</p> - -<p>Fortunately, some of the colony’s chief officers do not subscribe -to the theory that corruption can be defeated by a public -pretense that it does not exist.</p> - -<p>Something like a civic shock-wave was recorded in Hong -Kong on January 11, 1962, when Chief Justice Michael Hogan -opened the Supreme Court Assizes by coming to grips with -the issue of corruption.</p> - -<p>“No one would claim we are entirely immune from this -evil,” Sir Michael said. He noted that the heavy penalties prescribed -for corruption offenses must be enforced without recourse -to “the surreptitious whisper in the corridor; the accusation -made behind his (the accused’s) back; or the anonymous -letter. If such methods should come to be accepted, then we -would have another evil just as bad, if not worse, than corruption.”</p> - -<p>The Chief Justice proceeded to put his finger on one of the -main obstacles to the exposure of corruption:</p> - -<p>“There is a reluctance to come forward and give information;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> -to come, if necessary, into court and face the possibility -of a cross-examination, attacking character, credit and the -power of recollection—in fact a reluctance to pay the price -that the rule of law demands.”</p> - -<p>He contrasted this attitude with the recent case of a Mr. -Tong, who captured and held on to a sneak-thief despite six -stab wounds, and asked:</p> - -<p>“Does this mean that physical courage is more plentiful -than moral courage in Hong Kong today?”</p> - -<p>He reached the heart of the matter with the observation -that a citizen will be very slow to come forward with a complaint -against an official if he knows that perhaps tomorrow or -the next day or the day after, he has got to come and ask that -official, or some colleague of that official, or somebody apparently -identified with him in interest, for a concession, or a -privilege, or some act of consideration.</p> - -<p>It is only when men have clearly defined rights, he continued, -that they enjoy the security to challenge the abuse of -power and the ability to choke off corruption. If an official -can grant or withhold permission “without the necessity of -giving public reasons for the decision,” the Chief Justice declared, -“you immediately create an opening for corruption -or the suspicion of it.”</p> - -<p>The Chief Justice’s address, particularly in its allusion to -“closed-door” decisions and a lack of moral sense in the community, -produced headlines and editorials in the local press -and acute twinges of discomfort among those who either benefited -by corruption or feared any public admission that it existed. -In itself, the address was neither an exposé nor an indictment, -but its delivery by the brilliant and articulate Chief -Justice in one of the most solemn ceremonies of the governmental -year rang a clear warning from the citadel: If the corrupters<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -were haled before the courts, they could expect no -easy-going tolerance for their misdeeds.</p> - -<p>During the previous July, Governor Black had moved to -correct one weakness peculiar to Hong Kong. Because of the -Chinese tradition that personal contact with the government -is to be avoided, many residents were reluctant to approach an -official for such routine information as where to apply for -an identity card or how to locate a lost pet. If they plucked -up the courage to ask a question, they assumed that some fee, -to be paid either above or below the table, would be exacted -for any answer given. The situation offered a happy hunting -ground for grafters, either those on the government payroll -who dealt with the general public or the self-appointed private -“fixers” who directed the applicant to a particular official -for a small fee. Sometimes the fixer and the official were in -cahoots and sheared the lamb at both ends of his journey.</p> - -<p>Why it took the colony 120 years to plug this rat hole is a -baffling question. It was done at last by creating a Public Enquiry -Service with an all-Chinese staff capable of speaking -virtually any local dialect and of supplying direct and accurate -answers to every kind of question about the government and -its functions. Coming under the general authority of the Secretariat -for Chinese Affairs, it is headed by Paul K. C. Tsui, a -native of Hong Kong and a colony administrative officer since -1948. Controller Tsui spent months roaming the colony, talking -to editors, listening to gossip in goldsmiths’ shops and to -the complaints people dictated to sidewalk letter-writers or -expressed to housing and tenancy offices.</p> - -<p>When he felt that he had gained some idea of the questions -and problems on people’s minds, Mr. Tsui sought the answers -to them from the appropriate departments. He then assembled -a small staff, compiled and cross-indexed a vast store of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span> -information in readily accessible form, and established an -office in the entrance hall of the Central Government Offices, -West Wing, on July 3, 1961. There his three information -officers, who had expected to have to handle 80 requests for -information a day, found them streaming in at the rate of -about 135 a day. Early in 1962, a similar office had to be opened -in Kowloon to meet the same demand. When the Chinese -people were satisfied that they could get specific, friendly -answers to their problems without having to pay a fee, they -were both amazed and grateful.</p> - -<p>Mr. Tsui, taking a tip from the operators of goldsmiths’ -shops, put his staff on hard chairs and the public on soft chairs, -permitting them to talk comfortably across a low counter in -a pleasant, informal atmosphere. At times it takes an agitated -inquirer fifteen minutes to blow off steam before he can get -around to stating what it is he really wants to know, but the -staff will patiently wait him out. A married woman about -thirty years of age appears to represent the favorite official -type of most questioners, although they like also to have an -older male official handy as a corroborating reference. Queries -in English are handled as efficiently as are those in Chinese.</p> - -<p>Once the news of this service reaches all colony residents—many -English and Chinese had still not heard of it in 1962—one -of the most prevalent forms of petty graft and ill-will -toward government will have been eliminated.</p> - -<p>Chief Justice Hogan’s attack on “closed-door” decisions -and official impropriety was followed a week later by the -sixth report of the Advisory Committee on Corruption, composed -of a five-man body appointed by Governor Black from -the membership of the Executive and Legislative Councils.</p> - -<p>The report found the highest susceptibility to corruption -among the departments dealing directly with the general<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -public—police, public works, urban services, commerce and -industry and refugee resettlement. Inspection services of all -kinds, it said, showed the greatest vulnerability to graft.</p> - -<p>So far the report only echoes a truism known to every municipal -administration; that when the government comes to -bear on some individual’s right to perform a particular function, -usually for money, a few gold coins in an inspector’s -pocket will often expedite a favorable decision.</p> - -<p>The Advisory Committee on Corruption has recommended -clearly defined, simple licensing procedures and the introduction -of bilingual (Chinese and English) application forms and -explanatory booklets. A corollary recommendation that all -new government employees receive a pamphlet detailing the -penalties for corruption has already been accepted.</p> - -<p>The Committee called for legislation that would require a -public servant to explain exactly how he came to be in possession -of any property that was not in keeping with his income, -and to face a penalty if his explanation did not hold. They also -sought a law giving the courts the power to seize any money -involved in a corruption charge, plus a recommendation for -stiffer punishments against corruption.</p> - -<p>The report urged that the names of officials convicted of -corruption be made public, and that figures showing the total -number of officials dismissed be published at certain intervals. -At present, there are numerous angry cries that when a -crooked British official is caught and sacked, he is spirited out -of the colony without a word about it; whereas a Chinese -official fired for a similar offense receives unrelenting publicity -and back-handed treatment that implies, “Well, what else can -you expect from these Orientals?”</p> - -<p>The Anti-Corruption Branch of the police department is -now the chief agency responsible for detecting corruption in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -all departments of government. The Committee has invited -direct reports of corruption from the public, some of which -have led to the prosecution and firing of several officials. During -the first eleven months of 1961, the police department received -an additional 422 complaints charging corruption. -Americans are usually surprised to find that the colony’s -police department is charged with detecting corruption in -other government departments. In America it is done the -other way around; other government departments seem to be -investigating the police force for signs of corruption.</p> - -<p>Generally unsubstantiated but endlessly repeated to visitors, -are the popular charges that the police are shaking down shopkeepers -and peddlers, or that building inspectors are blinded -by gold when a builder is detected extending a structure over -a sidewalk in violation of local codes and ordinances.</p> - -<p>The report, last of the series issued by the Committee, suggested -that it would be desirable to hold the givers of bribes -equally guilty with the civil servants who accepted them. -This is a sticky issue in any community, despite the unassailability -of its ethical position. If it were rigidly enforced, it -would infringe the freedom of speech of many prominent -persons who deplore dishonesty in government, because it -would put them in jail.</p> - -<p>The Advisory Committee has also warned civil servants to -deal only with the applicants in person, or with professional -representatives in order to exclude corrupt middlemen from -all transactions. This warning is especially appropriate in -Hong Kong, where a middleman with no discernible function -except his ability to collect a fee will attempt to worm himself -into every business deal.</p> - -<p>All of the Committee’s recommendations are made directly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -to the governor, who in turn discusses them with the Colonial -Office before taking action.</p> - -<p>Colony newspapers have printed long excerpts from all -the reports, and the <i>China Mail</i> declared that they simply said -what the newspaper had been publishing for two years.</p> - -<p>What Chief Justice Hogan and the Committee have jointly -accomplished is to raise an issue of critical importance in the -survival of the colony government. Whether it will be resolved -as decisively as it has been faced may require months -and years to answer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_EIGHT">CHAPTER EIGHT<br /> -<span class="smaller">Two Worlds in One House</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“Care must be taken not to confound the habits and institutions -of the Chinese with what prevails in other parts of -the world.”</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">British House of Lords</span> (circa 1880)</p> - -</div> - -<p>Hong Kong has furnished the Sino-British answer to a universal -question: What’s in it for me? Its progress from the -earliest days has been more powerfully influenced by the lure -of gold than by the Golden Rule, with its British and Chinese -residents having little in common except their human nature -and an equal dedication to the maximum profit in the minimum -time.</p> - -<p>“They don’t even speak the same language!” is a convenient -expression of the ultimate separation between peoples, but -while it is true that nine-tenths of Hong Kong’s Chinese do -not speak English, the linguistic gap is only one of the many -chasms that stand between them and their British rulers.</p> - -<p>The British traders and fighting men who muscled their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -way into possession of Hong Kong Island in 1841 were looked -upon with fear and loathing by the Chinese governing class, -who considered them gun-toting barbarian brawlers. To the -English, the Chinese seemed a docile subspecies of humanity. -It has taken most of the intervening 121 years to convince a -majority of both sides that the initial judgments may have been -wrong.</p> - -<p>The differences between nineteenth century Chinese and -European civilizations were wide. Europeans, when they -thought about religion at all, worshipped one God in a variety -of antagonistic churches; the Chinese worshipped hundreds of -gods, sometimes subscribing to several contradictory creeds -simultaneously, without apparent conflict. Europeans were -monogamous by law and custom; the Chinese, without odium, -could be as polygamous as their means would allow.</p> - -<p>None of these theological or moral disparities weighed -heavily on the English while they were securing a foothold -in China and building the opium trade. On the contrary, when -they noted the willingness with which Chinese customs officials -accepted their bribes, they felt they had established a -kind of moral bond with the East. These people, whatever -their eccentricities, were ready to do business in the accepted -Western way.</p> - -<p>When the British settled down to the business of governing -their new colony, they collided at every turn with the language -barrier. Except for a few conscientious missionaries -and a minuscule number of lay scholars, the British were -wholly ignorant of Cantonese, the prevailing Hong Kong -tongue, and they were loftily disinclined to learn it. The extremes -to which this arrogant insularity sometimes went were -demonstrated by Governor Samuel George Bonham (1848-1854), -who denied promotions to those subordinates who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> -learned Chinese; he felt that the language was injurious to the -mind, robbing it of common sense. In other respects, Governor -Bonham was not so benighted as his linguistic convictions -would indicate. Nor was he alone in his attitude toward the -Chinese people; Governor Hercules Robinson (1859-1865) -once wrote that it was his constant endeavor to “preserve the -European and American community from the injury and -inconvenience of intermixture” with the Chinese population.</p> - -<p>Since all government business was (and continues to be) -conducted in English, British officials frequently had to rely -on Portuguese interpreters who had moved to Hong Kong -from Macao. The Portuguese, facile linguists and unburdened -by delusions of racial superiority, filled the role admirably. -But in the colony courts, the simple task of swearing a witness -in presented obstacles even to the best interpreters. Having -never sworn an oath in the English fashion, the Chinese viewed -it as just one more instance of outlandish mumbo-jumbo. At -first the English tried cutting off a rooster’s head as a testament -of the witness’s intention to tell the truth; then an earthenware -bowl was broken to signify the same thing. A yellow paper -inscribed with oaths or the name of the witness was burned in -court as another form of swearing-in. Governor Bonham instituted -a direct oral affirmation in 1852, but the complications -that ensued must have intensified his conviction that the -Chinese language was an insult to logic. If a defendant were -asked, “Do you plead guilty?” the question was rendered in -colloquial Cantonese as “You yes or no not guilty?” If the -respondent answered “Yes, I am not guilty,” it could mean -either “Not Guilty” or “Guilty.” Somehow the oaths were -sworn, but not without a certain despair among the court attendants.</p> - -<p>Although the European community seldom concerned itself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -with Chinese customs, it managed to raise a considerable -storm over their “places of convenience” during the 1860s. -These creations of the colony’s Chinese merchants were a sort -of employee-retirement plan which consisted of taking one’s -elderly or ailing workers to a crude shelter located on the -north slope of Victoria Peak. There the faithful employee -was rewarded for his long service by being given a quantity -of drinking water and a coffin and left to die; if he were blessed -with friends, they might visit him at this place, offer him an -occasional scrap of food or a fresh ration of drinking water, -and finally bury him. Often he died alone and without proper -burial. This was too much, even for European opium traders, -and Governor Richard Macdonnell stilled their protests by -offering a free site for a Chinese hospital at Possession Point. -This replacement of the terrible “dying-houses” was financed -by the wealthier Chinese for their destitute countrymen. It -became the first of the Tung Wah Chinese hospitals, now -greatly expanded and modernized. The inevitable outcry that -provision of the simplest medical care for the destitute would -cause these facilities to be jammed by hordes of undeserving -poor was raised—as it still is today—and proved false.</p> - -<p>Sanitary conditions among the Chinese were horrible when -the British arrived and remained so for the rest of the nineteenth -century. The colony government made many attempts -to improve them, but it was regularly stymied by the tenement -dwellers who opposed any form of health inspection as -an invasion of privacy, and by landlords who resented any -proposal which threatened their profit margins. During the -bubonic plague epidemics of the 1890s, the government provided -a special plague burial-ground and offered the families -of the dead quantities of lime to render the bodies of the victims -noninfectious. The Chinese responded by abandoning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> -their dead in the streets or throwing them in shallow graves; -the donated lime was sold to building contractors.</p> - -<p>The surviving tenements of the Western District of Hong -Kong Island are still a shock to visiting Westerners. Still, their -dark, dirty and overcrowded condition is a distinct improvement -upon the disease-ridden pestholes of the last century. -Sanitary inspectors, no longer detested and attacked by the -population, can go anywhere and they carry full police powers -for enforcing corrective action. The Chinese, never any -fonder of dirt than the English, have been converted to the -belief that the once-hated British methods can help them to -achieve cleanliness.</p> - -<p>Because of their tenuous contact with the Chinese residents -of the colony, the British rulers tended to deal with them -through intermediaries. This function was at first performed -by the Mandarins, or members of the Chinese official class, -who were as willing to gouge their countrymen for the British -as they had been to do it for the Emperor; provided, of course, -that they were able to deduct their usual cut. Governor Arthur -Kennedy (1872-1877), who was the first to invite the -Chinese to receptions at Government House, relied on the -committee of the Man Mo Temple to control Chinese affairs.</p> - -<p>Man Mo Temple, an ancient building still standing on -Hollywood Road in the congested Western District, was a -mixture of Buddhist and Taoist elements. Its leaders were -Kennedy’s very potent allies, all working secretly to control -Chinese affairs, acting as commercial arbitrators, negotiating -the sale of official titles, and welcoming visiting Mandarins. -Man Mo Temple, now administered by the Tung Wah Hospital -committee, remained a respectable institution, but a number -of other temples sprang up to challenge its influence.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> - -<p>In numerous cases the so-called temples were nothing more -than a sanctimonious swindle. Privately promoted as a business -speculation, they solicited funds from the public with -fraudulent claims of divine or political influence. Abuses of this -sort became so flagrant that the colony government, after -long delay, enacted the Chinese Temples Ordinance in 1928, -which provided for registration of the temples and an accounting -of their funds to the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs. Certain -long-established temples were exempt from various provisions -of the Ordinance, but the founding of temples as a -private business venture was forbidden. Surplus funds of the -existing temples—the amount remaining after all maintenance -and operating costs had been met—were transferred -to a general Chinese charities fund.</p> - -<p>The Chinese Mui Tsai custom, that of selling young girls -as servants, troubled British and Chinese relations in Hong -Kong for half a century. From ancient times, Chinese families -had purchased little girls from impoverished parents and put -them to work as household drudges. The colony officials -raised their first strong objections to the practice in 1878, condemning -it as thinly disguised slavery. Speaking of slavery, -the Chinese retorted, what about the licensed brothels where -80 percent of the inmates had been sold into prostitution?</p> - -<p>A committee appointed by Governor John Pope Hennessy -(1877-1882) found that hundreds of the Mui Tsai, when they -had outgrown their household enslavement, were being resold -as prostitutes for shipment to Singapore, California and -Australia. A species of Caucasian scum who lived in the colony -were active partners in the trade. Governor Hennessy and -Chief Justice John Smale forwarded the committee’s reports -to the British House of Lords with urgent recommendations -for tight corrective laws. The Lords, suddenly revealing an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -unsuspected concern for the integrity of Chinese customs, -killed most of the proposed reforms.</p> - -<p>Establishment of the Po Leung Kuk, or Society for the -Protection of Virtue, helped to limit the kidnaping of women -and girls, but the institution of Mui Tsai was to persist well -into the twentieth century. The English eventually outlawed -licensed brothels after decades of criticism from many -countries.</p> - -<p>Covert prostitution continues at a brisk pace in Hong Kong -today, with sailors favoring the Wanchai district and the bars -of the Tsim Sha Tsui section of Kowloon. The Chinese are -more inclined to patronize the western areas of Hong Kong -Island. The dance hall and cabaret girls of Wanchai, whose -ranks include some spectacularly beautiful women, charge -their eager patrons about four dollars an hour for the privilege -of dancing with them, sharing a plate of melon seeds and -drinking tea. The cabarets are murky dens, furnished in Chinese -warehouse modern, with a third-rate jazz band dragging -the tempo along in the semidarkness. There is no guarantee -of intimacies—emphatically not on the premises—and the -prospective suitor is obliged to continue shelling out his money -for repeated visits until the girl decides whether he has the -kind of bankroll she could care for. If he is too repulsive to -her, not even that will do.</p> - -<p>A cabaret girl can earn $300 a month or more, or about five -times as much as a schoolteacher earns. Few of these girls -speak English, but this ability has never been regarded as a -prerequisite. Apart from the moral considerations of the job, -its competitive aspects are becoming more intense all the time. -Bar girls, who have little respect for the traditional preliminaries, -may bestow their favors on five customers while the -cabaret charmers are fencing with one.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span></p> - -<p>The singsong girls, formerly held in great esteem as entertainers -and prostitutes, have almost disappeared from the -colony. Many of them were Mui Tsai who had been trained -to sing seemingly interminable Cantonese songs in a falsetto -voice for their tea-shop patrons, accompanying themselves on -a kind of horizontal stringed instrument which they tapped -with padded hammers. In the later evening, they moved about -from one businessmen’s club to another in the West Point section -of the island. Not all were prostitutes, and there is still -at least one tea shop along Queen’s Road Central where entertainment -is confined to music. Westerners who hear their music -often find themselves thinking of older days.</p> - -<p>Considering the fact that Hong Kong is a world seaport, -the rate of venereal infection is surprisingly low. To a greater -extent than in most Western cities, poverty is a basic cause of -prostitution, but here too sheer laziness, greed and stupidity -play their part in the provision of recruits. As usual, the greatest -profits from the trade go to its protectors—Triad gangsters -and corrupt policemen.</p> - -<p>The entire subject of the status and treatment of women -has provided a continual source of animosity and disagreement -throughout the colony’s history. The rich Chinese Taipans, -with their numerous wives and mistresses lodged in separate -establishments, have remained the envy of many a Western -man who could not emulate them without violating the laws -of the colony and placing himself beyond the pale of polite -Western society.</p> - -<p>Since the founding of the Chinese Republic in 1911, well-educated -Chinese women have not looked happily on polygamy. -Their convictions were solidified and shared by millions -of other Chinese wives when Red China tightened the marriage -laws, making monogamy not only legal but practically<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> -mandatory. These improvements in the status of Chinese -women have not gone unnoticed in Hong Kong, where a -British, Christian, monogamous community finds itself in the -embarrassing position of tolerating plural marriage among its -Chinese subjects long after the institution has been outlawed -in China.</p> - -<p>There is nothing in this thorny problem which lends itself -to edicts and sweeping judgments. It is charged with the most -delicate emotional considerations, involving not only the legality -of existing marriages, the legitimacy of offspring and -the fundamental rights of women, but also the division of -property and the inheritance of estates. Colony officials are -aware that the work of solving it must be approached with -the greatest subtlety.</p> - -<p>To begin with, there are six kinds of marriages to be considered, -all with different premises. Two are classified as Chinese -Modern Marriages; those contracted in Hong Kong under -Nationalist China laws, and those contracted in China or -any other place outside the colony under the same Nationalist -laws. Marriages contracted under Chinese custom as it existed -and was recognized in 1843 are Chinese Customary Marriages. -Marriages under the colony’s laws, Christian or otherwise, -are called Registry Marriages. There are also Reputed Marriages, -which is the colony designation for common-law marriages, -and, finally, a group called Foreign Marriages, which -includes all those contracted outside the colony under foreign -laws, particularly those performed and registered in Red -China under its monogamous marriage law. Thus, the usually -simple question, “Are you married?” when fully answered in -Hong Kong, may take a considerable amount of the inquirer’s -time.</p> - -<p>Chinese Customary Marriages, still popular in the colony,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -are generally recognized as valid, but there is no single definition -which covers them. There are any number of ancient -prescriptions for them which contradict one another, but -they are alike in that they follow the accepted rites and ceremonies -of the families of the bride and groom. Chinese women -with a modern consciousness of their rights have no affection -for such unions, since they permit a husband to divorce his -wife for any reason and give her no right to leave him if she -really feels inclined to do so. Furthermore, and this is an -equally sore point, it permits the husband to take concubines, -though the notion that a wife might adopt a similar polygamy -is quite inconceivable.</p> - -<p>Chinese Modern Marriages in the colony far outnumber all -other types—more than 200,000, by an official estimate—although -Registry Marriages have recently gained in number. -All that is required to make them valid is an open ceremony -witnessed by two persons. The Nationalist laws applicable to -such unions give the man no legal right to acquire a concubine, -despite the fact that some husbands in the colony find it -convenient to pretend they do. The “extra” girls are naturally -flattered to be told they are concubines (i.e., secondary wives -with full domestic rights), rather than mistresses with no legal -or social standing.</p> - -<p>In everyday relationships with the courts and the government, -Chinese Modern Marriages are recognized as respectable -unions. None the less, they have no legal validity when -contracted in Hong Kong, for they are neither entered at the -Marriage Registry nor are they celebrated according to “the -personal law and religion of the parties,” as colony laws require.</p> - -<p>Reputed Marriages are, in many respects, exactly like common-law -marriages in the United States: two people live together,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -sometimes have children and are regarded by themselves -and their friends as married, unless they should grow -weary of each other and part. In Hong Kong, however, a -concubine is sometimes added, making the institution look -something like a house of cards with an annex. Foreign Marriages, -or unions contracted abroad and according to the laws -of the country where the couple formerly lived, present few -legal obstacles. If they were married in Red China, and the -marriage was registered there, the union is monogamous; -when the couple move to Hong Kong, their marriage has the -same standing as that of an American or European couple living -in the colony.</p> - -<p>The complications arising from this matrimonial disparity -have been the subject of intensive study since World War II. -In earlier days, the marital customs of the Chinese community -were of little interest to the British. One did not associate -with the Chinese unless it was required for the purposes of -political window-dressing. But the glacial snobbery of old -colonialism suffered a disrespectful mauling during World -War II from which it has never quite recovered. At that time -the Chinese penetrated all but the tightest circles of Hong -Kong society, and hundreds of British and Chinese intermarried -without loss of “face” in either group. This last was the -boldest departure, for while it was true that outcasts of both -races had intermarried since the founding of the colony, a -socially acceptable member of either race who attempted it -was snubbed by both English and Chinese.</p> - -<p>British-Chinese intermarriages are monogamous, and in -spite of the inevitable interference of aunts, uncles and cousins, -have generally worked out better than either race would have -expected them to two decades ago. Of themselves, these mixed -marriages are not a social issue in the colony, but they have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -indirectly breached the barrier between the two racial communities. -Marriage laws of all sorts have become the concern -of the entire colony population.</p> - -<p>The 1948 Committee on Chinese Law and Custom defined -many of the marital contradictions which persist to this day. -Then, as now, one of the most vexing questions was the legal -status of the “secondary wife” or concubine sanctioned by -Chinese Customary Marriages. The English meaning of “concubine,” -connoting a mistress or secret paramour, was not -applicable to the Chinese concubine; she joined her husband’s -household, with or without the principal wife’s consent, and -it was his obligation to support her. Her children were legitimate, -but her husband could divorce her more readily than he -could his principal wife.</p> - -<p>But what were the rights of real and pseudo-concubines? -Could they and their children be discarded without support? -To what extent might they challenge the rights of the real -wife? The 1948 Committee produced no definitive answers to -these questions, nor did it urge any precipitate action to -change the status of concubines. It did recommend that after -a certain date, the taking of new concubines be declared illegal.</p> - -<p>Sir Man Kam Lo, a Chinese member of the Hong Kong -Executive Council, subsequently wrote a dissent to the 1948 -report, saying that he believed the concubine should be allowed -to remain in cases where the principal wife was ill or -unable to bear children. As he noted, the birth of a male heir -is of the greatest importance to the succession of a Chinese -family. Very few families, he felt, would regard an adopted -son as a suitable heir.</p> - -<p>Arthur Ridehalgh, former Attorney General, and John C. -McDouall, Secretary for Chinese Affairs, made a detailed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -study of Chinese marriages in the colony in 1960 and submitted -a variety of recommendations intended to clear up -some of the ambiguities and contradictions.</p> - -<p>It was their proposal that the government set a definite date -for outlawing Chinese Modern Marriages and to validate all -marriages of this type which had been previously contracted as -monogamous unions, provided that neither spouse was lawfully -married to anyone else. The so-called concubines of -husbands who had been parties to a Chinese Modern Marriage -would receive no further legal recognition, and in fact -they had never been entitled to any.</p> - -<p>Regarding Chinese Customary Marriages, the study favored -the recording of these marriages to establish their validity, -and the banning of all future marriages in which either partner -is under sixteen years of age. As to Reputed Marriages, the -study advocated remarriage of the couples under colony law -with the right to back-date the marriage to the time they had -begun to live together.</p> - -<p>The Ridehalgh-McDouall report also favored several -changes in the divorce laws. One change would permit a principal -wife in a Chinese Customary Marriage to get a divorce -with maintenance until her death or remarriage if the husband, -after a date to be set by law, acquired a concubine without -the principal wife’s consent or knowledge. Another recommendation, -after a date set by law, would bar divorce in a -Chinese Customary Marriage without the free consent of both -parties.</p> - -<p>The study warned against any all-out banning of concubines -in Chinese Customary Marriages, but supported gradual -restriction of the right to take concubines. As for mistresses -in other types of marriages who posed as legal concubines, the -study urged the government to expose the practice as a popular<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -fallacy with no lawful basis. It also gave its backing to laws -which granted a legal concubine full rights to seek a divorce -and obtain maintenance for her children, and legislation which -empowered a principal wife to sue a husband for divorce and -support of herself and children.</p> - -<p>Other recommendations proposed added protection of the -rights of wives in Chinese Modern Marriages against infringement -by pseudo-concubines, and legal provision to assure the -support of illegitimate children.</p> - -<p>All these findings are still being weighed by the colony -government and quick action on them is unlikely. To a large -degree, the proposed changes in marriage laws represent a -new offensive in the long war for women’s rights, and it might -be noted that the women of this century have compiled an -impressive list of victories in this regard. With enough nagging -and prodding, they should be able to carry the day in -Hong Kong too.</p> - -<p>In the discussion of such pervasive issues as the difference -between Chinese and British marriage customs, it is convenient -to view the Chinese as a single group of people constituting -98.2 percent of the colony’s population. Since 95 percent of -the population speak Cantonese, it would seem to follow that -Hong Kong is a homogeneous community, except for a light -top-dressing of “foreign devils.” But this superficial impression -is as wide of the mark as the saying “All Chinese look -alike.”</p> - -<p>There are scholars who object to the word Chinese as the -description of one people, arguing quite persuasively that there -are so many racial strains in China that no single label adequately -describes them. The point is drawn a bit fine for the -majority of Western observers, yet anyone who spends a few<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -weeks in Hong Kong will begin to appreciate the racial diversity -of the Chinese people.</p> - -<p>By the unverified judgment of the eye, the colony’s Chinese -people are two or three inches shorter than the American -of average height, and noticeably taller than the average Japanese -or Filipino. But that is perhaps the limit of any valid -comparison between Americans and Chinese as far as appearance -goes.</p> - -<p>The Chinese one sees on the street range from jockey-sized -runts to towering giants; from tiny women weighing perhaps -90 pounds to queenly six-footers; from the palest of white -skins to a deep walnut brown. Many have features which seem -more Slavic or Polish than anything classifiable as Chinese. -There are almond eyes and pop eyes; slit eyes and bug-eyes. -Noses tend to be a little less prominent and less sharply defined -than European noses, but exceptions occur. The bloated -red nose of the dedicated drinker never shows itself, except -on a Caucasian face. Dark hair is almost universal and bald -heads less common than in an American crowd. Pudgy types -occur with some regularity, but tremendously fat people are -rarely seen.</p> - -<p>About half the people who live in the urban areas were -born in the colony and most of their ancestors came from -Kwangtung, the Chinese Province immediately north of the -Hong Kong border. Kwangtung was also the birthplace of -the majority of the recent refugees from Red China. Eight-tenths -of the city-dwellers speak the dialect of Cantonese used -in Canton City, where the British traders were based before -Hong Kong became a colony. This dialect and others closely -related to it are the <i>lingua franca</i> of the colony’s urban Chinese, -but there are 96 Cantonese dialects in existence, many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -of them unintelligible to users of the Canton City dialect. -The babble of urban tongues includes Hoklo, Sze Yap and -Hakka, all from different parts of Kwangtung, Shanghainese -(chiefly heard at North Point and Hung Hom in the colony), -Chiuchow (in the Western District), Fukienese (at North -Point) and Kuoyu, or Mandarin (near Hong Kong University -and at Rennie’s Mill Camp).</p> - -<p>In the New Territories, where even a Westerner can detect -differences of dress and custom, the Cantonese hold most -of the flat, fertile farmland and speak a dialect which puzzles -city Cantonese. Ancestors of the Cantonese farmers have lived -in the New Territories for nine centuries. The Hakka people, -whose women may be identified immediately by their broad-brimmed -straw hats with a hanging fringe of thin black -cloth, settled the same area at about the time of the earliest -Cantonese, but were pushed into the less desirable farmland -and generally dominated by the Cantonese. They fought each -other intermittently for centuries, but the feud has died down -and they now share several villages peacefully, frequently -intermarry, and restrict their warfare to husband-wife -squabbles. The Hakkas of the eastern New Territories operate -their own single-masted, high-hull boats for hauling -farm produce and ferrying passengers.</p> - -<p>The Hoklos, a smaller group with a knack for handling -light, fast boats, once lived entirely on boats and worked as -shrimp fishermen. They moved ashore many years ago and -now have their chief settlements on Cheung Chau and Peng -Chau, a few miles west of Hong Kong Island.</p> - -<p>By the testimony of historians, the Tanka people, who dominate -the colony’s fishing industry, are the oldest surviving -group in Hong Kong. Antedating the Chinese, they lived in -the area when the Cantonese came along to push them off the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> -land and generally treat them like despised inferiors. They -lived entirely on boats, and when the British traders arrived, -the Tanka had no compunctions about dealing with them in -defiance of the Chinese Emperor’s orders. Over 90 percent -of them speak Cantonese, with a small number speaking Hoklo -and other dialects. Hardy and conservative, they avoid city -ways, live on their junks and sampans and follow their own -distinctive festivals and religious ceremonies. Since World -War II they have begun to send their children to schools -ashore and to become more directly involved in the economic -life of the colony.</p> - -<p>World War II provided a turning point in the fortunes of -those boat people who operated cargo lighters in the harbor. -Heartily disliking the Japanese, they used false-bottomed -boats to secrete food stolen from their cargoes and then distributed -it among the half-starved population ashore. They -were the only residents permitted to eat in the large hotel -restaurants like those at the luxurious Peninsula in Kowloon. -Most of them, wholly unfamiliar with chairs, ate by squatting -on the chair-seats as they had squatted on deck while eating at -sea. Nowadays, they are more sophisticated, and in spite of -their non-Chinese origin, as intensely Chinese as any group -in the colony.</p> - -<p>Because of the floodtide of tourists which has swept into -Hong Kong in the last few years, it has become a conversational -bromide to say that the influx will soon destroy its colorful -Chinese community. To accept such a doctrine is to overestimate -the impact of tourism and underrate the resistance of -the Chinese.</p> - -<p>The Hong Kong tourist is a highly localized phenomenon. -Except for a fast motor tour through the main roads of the -New Territories and a short whirl around Hong Kong Island,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -he rarely wanders more than a mile from the island and Kowloon -terminals of the Star Ferry. He shops, gawks, eats at a -few restaurants which are more tourist-oriented than Oriental, -and is gone, leaving nothing but the click of the shopkeepers’ -abacuses to mark his passage.</p> - -<p>It may seem incongruous to characterize nearly one-fourth -of the human race as clannish, but it is undeniable that the -Chinese, no matter where they have lived, have retained their -home ties, customs and culture. They are rock-ribbed individualists -rather than nationalists, but when they live abroad, -whether in Hong Kong or the Chinatowns of San Francisco -and New York, they remain distinctly and unalterably Chinese. -In Singapore and Manila they are resented for their commercial -shrewdness and their stubborn insistence on remaining -Chinese. If their next-door neighbors can’t change them, -what reason is there to believe that the tourists of Hong Kong -can do so?</p> - -<p>There are certain comic aspects to the relations of the British -and Chinese in Hong Kong. Living side-by-side for 121 years, -they have told each other—sometimes directly, more often by -implication—“You can’t change me!” To a large extent, they -have both held out, like a silent couple eating at opposite ends -of a long dinner table. Lately the table has been contracting, -but the prospects of a cozy twosome are still somewhat distant.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, the Chinese go on living by their own calendar, -celebrating festivals and family events according to their traditions, -and following their ancient religions. The rural people -cling to their belief in fung shui (literally, wind and water), -a form of geomancy which guides them in locating their houses -and burial places on the particular site most pleasing to the -living and the dead. On the other hand, the old superstitious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> -fear of Western medicine has been overcome; in the 1961 -Hong Kong cholera outbreak, 80 percent of the population -flocked to government centers for inoculations.</p> - -<p>Neither the British, the Nationalist Republic, nor the Chinese -Communists—all of whom favor the 12-month Western -calendar—have been able to wean the colony’s Chinese people -from their ancient lunar calendar. The old calendar was -supposedly devised in 2254 <span class="smcapuc">B.C.</span> by astrologers working under -the orders of Emperor Yao, who wanted it to serve as a -crop-planting guide for his predominantly agricultural subjects. -It is the gauge by which all festivals are set and varies in -length from 354 to 385 days. The years proceed in cycles of -twelve, each being named for a particular animal such as the -rat, rabbit, rooster and horse until the twelfth animal is -reached and the cycle repeats. Each year is subdivided into 24 -solar “joints and breaths,” which being based on close observation -of weather and the growing season, tick off the seasonal -changes with remarkable accuracy.</p> - -<p>Because of its variable length and its nonconformity to -Western ideas of what a calendar should look like, the Chinese -calendar causes endless confusion for foreigners. Most of them -cling firmly to the Gregorian calendar and keep a close eye on -the colony’s newspapers to learn when the next festival is due. -The religious significance of the festival means nothing to -them and it does not need to; the ceremonies and celebrations -attending the day are so animated and colorful that they can -be enjoyed for their spectacle alone.</p> - -<p>Chinese New Year, generally occurring between the middle -of January and the third week of February, is celebrated -on the first three days of the First Moon. It marks the beginning -of spring, and gives the Chinese population sufficient -time to recover from the shock of seeing the Westerners<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -booze it up on New Year’s Eve. Chinese employees receive a -bonus of an extra month’s pay, the shops close and firecrackers, -permitted by colony law for a two-day period, keep -up an unending cannonade. A tourist wandering into the uproar -feels like a dude in a frontier saloon; everybody seems to -be shooting at his feet.</p> - -<p>Red papers lettered with gold are stuck on boats and the -doors of shops and houses inviting the lucky spirits to lend a -hand. The fearful din of the firecrackers is a pointed hint to -malicious spirits, advising them to get out fast. All debts are -paid, finances permitting, and the past year’s feuds and -grudges are wiped out, so far as human nature will allow.</p> - -<p>The heart of the observance takes place in the home, with -all members of the family dining together on the last night of -the old year and the children receiving “lucky” money in red -envelopes to assure them of safe passage through the coming -year. After dinner, everyone adjourns to the courtyard where -branches of sesame, fir and cypress have been strewn; these -are stepped on and burned as a symbol of the departing year. -Firecrackers are set off to discourage the prowlings of the -Skin Tiger, a kind of reverse-action Robin Hood who steals -the cakes of the poor to give them to the rich; as the Skin -Tiger views it, the poor have lived off the wealthy all year, -so isn’t it time to square accounts?</p> - -<p>A lighted lamp is placed before the shrine of the Kitchen -God, who is expected back from his trip to divine headquarters. -Every door is sealed and locked until 5 <span class="smcapuc">A.M.</span> the next day, -when the entire household gets up to see the master of the -house reopen the doors, remove the seals and extend a welcome -to the New Year. Incense sticks are lighted, Heaven, -Earth and the family ancestors are honored and the Kitchen -God, now returned from his journey, is properly greeted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> -New Year’s Day is the occasion for a complete family reunion, -with outsiders being excluded. No meat is eaten, since -the use of a knife on this day would imply cutting off a friendship, -and no sweeping is done, for a broom might sweep away -good luck. Later, gifts are exchanged, with baskets of food -being rated as thoroughly acceptable. The season’s greetings—“Kung -Hei Fat Choy”—ring out everywhere.</p> - -<p>In Hong Kong, a local newspaper and the radio promote -a Fat Choy Drive to provide a New Year’s feast for even the -poorest families. When the family phase of the celebration is -over, there is a day for visiting friends, and with true Chinese -practicality, a final day to worship the God of Wealth, making -certain that he does everything divinely possible in the -year ahead to boost the family’s fortunes. In former days it -was customary to prolong the observance for fifteen days or -more, but the demands of modern business limit it to three or -four days in most instances.</p> - -<p>The birthday of Kuan Yin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, -is celebrated on the 19th day of the Second Moon, and she is -regarded with such affection that practically all of the Taoist -temples honor her as well. Legend describes her as the youngest -daughter of an ancient prince who attempted to force her -into marriage to perpetuate the family line. She objected, was -murdered by her father in some ambiguous fashion and descended -to Hell, where by sheer charm she transformed the -place into a paradise. Returned to earth, she found her father -dying of a skin disease and cut off parts of her own body to -preserve his unworthy hide. Women are especially devoted to -her, bearing birthday gifts of food, paper clothing, chickens -and roast pig to her image in the temples. Until the thirteenth -century, Kuan Yin was often represented as a male divinity, -probably with the connivance of early defenders of male prerogatives,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> -but she has become exclusively female since then, -for only as a woman could she possess an ear sympathetically -attuned to the troubles of mortal women.</p> - -<p>The Ching Ming Festival, occurring toward the end of the -Second Moon or at the beginning of the Third Moon (late -March or early April in our calendar), provides an occasion -to honor one’s ancestors. The worship of ancestors is the keystone -of Chinese religious beliefs, as well as the strongest link -binding them together as a single people. Its profound influence -on every phase of Chinese life is seldom fully appreciated -by foreigners, who regard it as morbid, backward-looking -and intellectually sterile. But even foreigners in Hong -Kong share some of the Ching Ming spirit by using the day to -tidy up the graves of their own departed and place flowers by -the headstones.</p> - -<p>The Chinese do no cooking and eat no hot food on the day -preceding Ching Ming, acting in deference to a long-gone -official who was accidentally burned to death by his dunder-headed -confreres. Women and children wear a sprig of willow -on the day itself to safeguard themselves against the posthumous -horror of returning to this life in the form of dogs. The -family visits its ancestral graves, makes any needed repairs -and sets out a feast for the dead. Paper replicas of money and -clothing are burned to let the deceased know that their interests -are being looked after, and a little diversionary fire is -lighted nearby to distract evil spirits and keep them from -butting into the main sacrifice. Having made its gesture of -feeding the dead, the family then falls to and eats the feast itself.</p> - -<p>Because land is scarce in the colony, graves are rented only -for a limited period. Six or seven years after a member of the -family has died, his survivors obtain an exhumation permit and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -visit the grave on Ching Ming to dig up his coffin. The bones -are removed from the coffin, carefully sorted and cleaned -with sandpaper, and packed into an earthenware urn with the -skull on top. The undertaker, accompanied by members of -the family, then removes the urn to a hillside site in the New -Territories, selecting a location with a favorable fung shui, -where the deceased presumably will be able to enjoy a pleasant -view.</p> - -<p>Chinese coffins are a massive, rough-hewn product, resembling -a four-leaf clover in outline; if they are still in sound -condition after their first tenant is evicted, they may be resold -at a discount for rehabilitation and put to use again.</p> - -<p>Many Occidentals would pale at the thought of sandpapering -and reassembling the last of Aunt Matilda, but the Chinese -entertain no such qualms. They take a calm and realistic view -of death, handling the bones of the dead with complete respect, -but without morbidity or gloom. Ching Ming is a time -of remembrance rather than lamentation.</p> - -<p>T’ien Hou, the Taoist Queen of Heaven, celebrates her -birthday on the 23d day of the Third Moon. For the boat -people, it is the most important festival of the year; T’ien Hou -is their chief patron, keeping her benign eye on such matters -as a good catch and fair weather. Her shrines are in the cabin -of every junk, and her 24 temples stand in every village that -overlooks the sea. In her earthly days, the story goes, she was -a fisherman’s daughter. Once she fell into a trance while her -parents were far out at sea. Dreaming that a storm was about -to drown them, she roused herself and pointed directly at -their boat. It was the only one in the fleet to return safely.</p> - -<p>Her ship-saving talents led directly to her deification, and -she has since acquired two invaluable assistants, Thousand-Mile -Eyes and Fair-Wind Ears. Her principal temple is at Joss<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> -House Bay on Tung Lung Island, about two miles east of -Hong Kong Island. On her birthday, an all-day ferry service -brings her worshippers from the main island, and the boat -people arrive in sea-trains of junks towed by a launch, flying -dozens of flags and Happy-Birthday banners. Every boat is -packed to the gunwales with men, women and children jostling -one another as they reach for sweet cakes, tea and soft -drinks. At Joss House Bay, the passengers swarm ashore as if -the boats were about to sink and climb a wide granite stairway -to the temple. Incense sticks are lighted, roasted animals -and red eggs are placed before the Goddess and a small contribution -is handed to the temple attendant.</p> - -<p>Bursting firecrackers, lion dances and processions enliven -the celebration until the men of the various fishing guilds -wind it up with a hot scramble for “the luck,” a bamboo projectile -with a number inside. It drops into the crowd like a -bride’s bouquet, but the free-for-all that follows is no place -for a bridesmaid. The winning team makes the year’s luck -and gets possession of an elaborate portable shrine to the -Queen of Heaven. Rich and poor, humble and great join without -class distinction in having a gossipy, boisterous holiday.</p> - -<p>The people of Cheung Chau feel obliged to say a kind word -for all the animals and fish who were executed to feed mankind -during the past year, and this debt is squared by the four-day -Bun Festival on their dumbbell-shaped island. Its date is -set by lot, and usually falls in the last few days of the Third -Moon or the first ten days of the Fourth Moon. No animals -are killed and no fish are caught during the festival. Troupes -of actors are imported to perform in an enormous temporary -theater, with its roof of coarse matting supported on a bamboo -framework tied together with rattan strips. Daily and -nightly presentations of Cantonese Opera are put on with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> -performers in elaborate costumes, shrilling their lines above -the tireless clamor of cymbals.</p> - -<p>The festival centerpiece consists of a triple-peaked bun -mountain, or conical framework covered with varicolored -buns from its base to its 60-foot summit. As soon as it is -completed, it is covered with a tarpaulin to protect the buns -until the climactic ceremony on the final day of the festival.</p> - -<p>The various guilds on the islands compete in a long procession -which passes under floral arches on the village streets. -The perennial feature of the procession is a series of tableaux -enacted by children on platforms borne on the shoulders of -several men. The subjects are mythological, and by the ingenious -use of a well-concealed steel framework, make a mere -toddler appear to be dancing nimbly on the tip of a fiddle held -by a child standing beneath the dancer. It’s all an amiable -fake, understood as such by the crowd, but executed with -such aplomb by the children that it never fails to delight the -spectators. Images of Gods and Goddesses are also carried -in the line of march, with lion dancers and clowns to add -further excitement. A mass for the recently departed fish and -animals is celebrated on the final night, and their hungry souls -are permitted to take a few ghostly nips at the bun mountain. -An officiating priest decides when they’ve had enough, takes -a careful look around to see that no latecomers from the -Great Beyond have been neglected, and signals the slavering -bystanders to pitch in. The young men of the island scramble -up the bunny slopes in a mad dash for the topmost bun, but -there are thousands of edibles at all levels, so no climber need -go hungry.</p> - -<p>The Dragon Boat Festival, coming on the fifth day of the -Fifth Moon (late May to late June), probably attracts more -attention from the foreign population than any other Chinese<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -celebration. It is hotly competitive, pitting large teams of -rowers against each other in all-day races at Aberdeen, Kennedy -Town, Tai Po and elsewhere. The individual heats are -short, close together and accompanied by loud cheers and the -booming of the pace-setting drums in every boat. A carved -dragon’s head ornaments the bow and the stern is a simulated -dragon’s tail; in between lies 80 to 100 feet of low, fairly -narrow hull, with the rowers flailing away in a fast circular -stroke. The crews, who train for three or four weeks before -the annual races, also keep the boats in shape, and one European -crew that includes a number of government employees -competes at Tai Po.</p> - -<p>It was a government employee who gave rise to the festival -in the fourth century, <span class="smcapuc">B.C.</span> He was the honest Chu Yuan, -an official who tried to persuade the Chinese Emperor to correct -the corruption of his court; when his pleas were ignored, -he drowned himself by leaping into the Nih Loh River. A -group of sympathetic villagers rowed out to the site and cast -silk-wrapped dumplings into the water, hoping to attract his -wandering spirit, or in another version of the legend, to lure -the fish away and protect his body from their attack. The -bow man of today’s Dragon Boats preserves the tradition by -casting rice cakes or dumplings wrapped with bamboo leaves -from his craft. The principles of cleanliness exemplified by -Chu Yuan are practiced a few days in advance of the races, -when every family cleans house and sets off firecrackers to -stampede lurking cockroaches into panicky flight. The races -themselves exercise a purifying influence, for most of the -rowers are thoroughly drenched by the splashing paddles.</p> - -<p>The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of -the Eighth Moon, belongs entirely to women, and is marked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -by them in the privacy of the home. The feminine principle -in nature is in the ascendant and the moon, which is considered -a female deity, is at the apogee. A table is set in the courtyard, -and the moon is offered gifts of tea, food, burning incense -and the seed of the water calthrop. The service takes place at -night, illuminated by lanterns and moonlight, and includes a -prayer to the honored satellite, who is also quizzed about the -matrimonial prospects of her devotees. Fruit and moon cakes -are essential to the feast that follows, and as always, firecrackers -are exploded. Wealthier households may set up a -midnight moon-viewing party, with a banquet and a group -of blind musicians singing an ode to the moon. These blind -musicians, numbering about 100 in all, have their own colony -at the west end of Hong Kong Island and earn about $12 for a -party booking. Recorders and lutes are their usual instruments, -giving their music a quaint Elizabethan flavor.</p> - -<p>Ancestral graves are visited for the second time each year -on the ninth day of the Ninth Moon; summer weeds and grass -are cleared away and sacrifices of money and clothing are -offered to keep the deceased wealthy and warm through the -coming winter. The date coincides with that of the Cheung -Yung Festival, when it is said to be lucky to climb to a high -place. Burial urns rest fairly high on the hillsides, so it is easy -to combine both celebrations and top them off with a picnic -in the open.</p> - -<p>On Cheung Yung, thousands of Chinese ride up Victoria -Peak on the tram, buying toys and other presents for the children -at improvised stalls along the way. Picnickers cover the -top of every hill in the colony. Kite-flyers observe the day by -the curious sport of kite-fighting, which involves manipulating -one kite so that it knocks another out of the sky or snaps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> -its string. The hill-climbing custom supposedly began when -a Chinese father of long ago saved his family from a plague -by taking them into the mountains.</p> - -<p>A veritable regiment of gods, ghosts and spirits—some -beneficent, some wicked—have their special observances during -the year. Buddhist and Taoist deities have a tendency to -overlap, just as followers of Taoism may be equally ardent -Buddhists. Once the two religions battled and persecuted each -other like the religions of the West, but they have long since -settled down to peaceful coexistence. There is no reliable -count of their membership in Hong Kong, though the Buddhists -claim around 500,000 adherents. An unspecified, but -probably small number of Chinese are Buddhists, Taoists and -Christians simultaneously, or at least they consider themselves -so.</p> - -<p>Confucianism also has its following in the colony, but its -places of worship are generally merged with Buddhist and -Taoist temples.</p> - -<p>Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries have been at -work in Hong Kong from its beginning as a colony, founding -schools and caring for the poor. Neither group made -much headway in attracting converts until the late 1940s, -perhaps because of the ironbound Chinese resistance to every -form of foreign influence. But the Communist regime on the -mainland has proved a stimulant to Christianity in Hong -Kong.</p> - -<p>The well-financed and highly effective work of Protestant -churches, particularly among refugees from Red China, has -won them many converts, and the number of Protestant -parishes has greatly increased in the last few years. Anglicans, -Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Lutherans and other denominations -have made substantial gains.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span></p> - -<p>The number of Roman Catholics, who are equally active -in educational and welfare fields, has grown from 43,000 in -1951 to 180,000 in 1962. They are currently making about -15,000 converts a year, and 12,000 of these are adults. Some -of their mission priests, who have found conversions much -more difficult to achieve in Japan, believe that the terror and -hopelessness of life under the Chinese Communists have turned -many Chinese refugees to Christianity. Enrollment in Catholic -schools of the colony is well over 100,000, and two-thirds -of their enrollment is non-Catholic. Like every other Christian -group in the colony, the Catholics have given help without -drawing denominational lines.</p> - -<p>The Portuguese, of whom there are about 2,000 in Hong -Kong, are the descendants of former Macao settlers who arrived -with the first wave of British traders, acting as their interpreters. -They were adaptable, quick with figures and gifted -linguists, establishing themselves as clerk-interpreters in business -and financial houses. A few invested wisely in land and -became millionaires. In more recent years, they have turned -to professional work, becoming lawyers, doctors and engineers. -Starting with J. P. Braga in 1929, the Portuguese community -has had several representatives on the Executive and -Legislative Councils. Its present outstanding leaders, in addition -to professional people, include exchange brokers, importers -and exporters and manufacturers’ agents.</p> - -<p>A second wave of Portuguese came to the colony from -Macao after World War II, hoping to discover the business -opportunities denied by the sleepy, static little overseas province -of Portugal. But they faced stiff competition from young -Chinese women who had entered office work and had received -superior English education in the colony schools. Few had -been to college and they lacked the drive demanded by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> -rough-and-tumble economy of Hong Kong; before long, -most of the new arrivals moved on to Canada, Brazil or -the United States.</p> - -<p>Indians, including Parsees, Bhohras, Khwojas, Sindhis and -Sikhs, came to Hong Kong in the early days as traders, soldiers -and policemen. Today they are primarily merchants -and traders, although there are still a few Indian and Pakistani -residents who preserve their uniformed role as policemen, -soldiers, or private guards for banks and financial houses. The -Indian community is about the same size as the Portuguese—between -2,000 and 3,000—and like it, has produced a few top-level -government officials, doctors and lawyers, and millionaire -merchants.</p> - -<p>Americans are still a very small minority, but they have -money and a keen appetite to make more. If they also have -ability, they fit smoothly into the competitive economy of -the colony. The importance of American aid, both private and -public, in caring for the colony’s refugees is deeply appreciated -by both the government and the Chinese population, and -the effect is only slightly marred when some Yankee tourist -tries to give the impression that it all came out of his personal -funds. Such tourists, it may be noted, are exceptional.</p> - -<p>Despite their historical background of anticolonial insurrection, -Americans have been well received in Hong Kong -during most of its existence. It was once said that a young -Hong Kong Englishman could not marry outside the charmed -circle of the British Isles, Canada or Australia unless he chose -an American girl; otherwise, he would lose his social position -and probably his job. This has not been true for some years -now, but it leaves a lingering question in the minds of some -Americans: Why did they include us rebels?</p> - -<p>Another question that occurs to almost every American<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> -who has seen the colony is: How do 15,000 British run this -place? (Actually, there are about 33,000 people from all parts -of the British Commonwealth living in Hong Kong, but the -ruling group comes from the British Isles and barely exceeds -15,000.) It is evident from the most perfunctory glance -around the streets that the British do run Hong Kong; autocratically, -efficiently, firmly, sometimes unimaginatively, -never with any pretense of popular rule, but almost always -with strict justice. There is contained corruption, but less of it -than anywhere else in the Far East. At times an unwonted -conviction of Britannic righteousness roils the overseas visitor. -This reaction is often encountered in one type of American -who insists he does not want to run the world, and means he -wants it run his way—by somebody else.</p> - -<p>Americans are quite surprised when they strike the unexpected -vein of iron that lies under the polished surface of -British manners. These British are tough people; disciplined, -well-educated, capable of decision and resolute action. Because -they possess these qualities to a degree unexcelled and -perhaps unmatched by any other country in the world, the -British in Hong Kong are a corporal’s guard commanding an -army.</p> - -<p>But one might pause here to consider the young American -woman who stood at the rail of an excursion boat in Hong -Kong harbor, looking wistfully up at Government House, -the seat of majesty.</p> - -<p>“If only they were a little more lovable!” she said.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_NINE">CHAPTER NINE<br /> -<span class="smaller">Rambling around the Colony</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“The journey of a thousand miles commences with a -single step.”</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">Chinese Proverb</span></p> - -</div> - -<p>At the upper terminus of the Peak Tram, two-thirds of the -way up Victoria Peak, a narrow promenade called Lugard -Road winds around the mountain until its name changes to -Harlech Road and then continues along the south face of the -mountain to return to the Peak Tram terminus. By strolling -along this route on a fine clear day, a visitor can see the whole -of Hong Kong stretching out in all directions.</p> - -<p>Often the view is cut off by thick jungle growth, stretching -over the road like the green arches of a natural cathedral. But -there are narrow gaps and occasional wide, treeless spaces -where the stroller can look up the rocky slopes to discover -the mansions of the Taipans, jutting through the tangled trees. -Rococo palaces of pink, yellow, and dazzling white stand -isolated from one another and the life of the community by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -the intertwining trees that hide their approach roads. Their -isolation is fortified by barbed-wire fences, warning signs and -snarling watchdogs. The only uninvited guest that breaches -these barriers is the heavy mist that envelops the Peak above -the fog line for six months of the year, covering furniture and -clothes with green mold unless drying closets and dehumidifiers -are kept in full operation.</p> - -<p>Once the British held exclusive title to the foggy heights; -in the days before auto roads were built to the top, they chartered -the Peak Tram to carry their party guests to its upper -end, where they were met by sedan chairs which took them -the rest of the way. Now Chinese millionaires share the majesty -and the mist of the Peak, and there are tall apartment -buildings for more exalted government employees and prosperous -civilians.</p> - -<p>To tourists and Taipans, the heights of Victoria Peak offer -a matchless view of the harbor. The distant deep-blue water -crinkles in the wind as the sun glints on its surface. Dozens -of ferryboats point their arrowhead wakes at Hong Kong -Island and Kowloon, or head outward for the coasts and -islands of the New Territories. An American aircraft carrier -rides at anchor off Wanchai with its escort vessels near at -hand.</p> - -<p>West of Kowloon Peninsula, a triple line of cargo ships turn -lazily around their anchor buoys; each one having enough -room to make a full circle without touching another ship. Six -rows of junks and sampans, each row lashed to the sides of a -freighter while they transfer its cargo, move in unison with -the freighter’s slow swing, looking like a gargantuan, improvised -raft. Unattached junks duck in and out, anywhere and -everywhere, clearly with the special blessings of T’ien Hou, -for they rarely collide.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span></p> - -<p>North of the harbor, beyond the wedge-shaped outline of -Kowloon, past the Kai Tak airstrip that cuts through Kowloon -Bay like the white streak of a torpedo, is Hong Kong’s -“Great Wall”—a line of hills that looms jagged and forbidding -across the southern fringe of the New Territories. These -are the “nine dragons” from which Kowloon got its name, -but they are difficult to single out, except for unmistakable -ones like Lion Rock and Kowloon Peak, because they are -so tightly packed together.</p> - -<p>Even Ti Ping, the Sung Emperor who was prodded into -naming them the Nine Dragons, complained that he could find -only eight, until an obliging courtier reminded him that the -dragon is the symbol of the Emperor, thus making him the -ninth peak. Ti Ping, quite young at the time, was placated by -this rationalization.</p> - -<p>Due west of Victoria Peak, small islands string out like -steppingstones until the eye stops at the ridge-backed mass of -Lantau, largest island in the colony and nearly twice the size -of Hong Kong Island. Some of the defeated followers of Ti -Ping are reported to have settled there after the death of their -Emperor, but until a few years ago it was a barren and remote -isle, inhabited only by a few thousand farmers and -fishermen and a few monasteries.</p> - -<p>Halfway down the western slope of Victoria Peak, a small -mound of earth thrusts itself against the mountainside. Dong -Kingman, the Chinese-American watercolorist who grew up -in the crowded tenements at the foot of the Peak, recalls that -he and his young friends used to watch that mound with considerable -apprehension. From where they stood, it looked -exactly like a turtle climbing the mountain. The Chinese -consider it to be a real turtle, and believe that when the turtle -reaches the summit of the Peak, Hong Kong will sink into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> -sea. Dong and his fellow-watchers made regular checks to see -that the turtle hadn’t stolen an overnight march on them.</p> - -<p>The most beautiful side of Hong Kong Island lies to the -south and east of Victoria Peak, with forested hillsides and a -green valley that slopes down to Pok Fu Lam, the colony’s -first reservoir. Lamma Island, a favorite digging ground for -colony archaeologists, looms large to the south.</p> - -<p>When visitors grow squint-eyed from the panoramic view, -they often wind up their excursion by stopping at the little -restaurant near the Peak Tram terminus to eat a sandwich -or some Chinese small cakes. Spirits revived, they linger on -the breezy terrace to watch the sun go down beyond Lantau.</p> - -<p>The Peak Tram is almost as famous as Victoria Peak, and -needs no endorsement except to note that its fares are very -low and that it hasn’t had an accident since 1888. In eight minutes, -the tram carries its passengers down to the edge of the -Central District, where they may catch a bus or a taxi.</p> - -<p>Government House and the Botanic Garden are just across -Garden Road from the lower end of the Peak Tram. Looking -like a Franciscan Mission of early California with its white -walls and square tower, Government House is the private -residence of the colony governor. The sightseer may look -around the outside, and with luck, see all hands snap to when -the governor’s black sedan enters or leaves the circular driveway, -displaying red crowns at front and rear instead of license -plates. The English manage their official exits and entrances -with great style, and everything moves precisely on time.</p> - -<p>The Botanic Garden is a land of split-level Eden planted -with thousands of subtropical plants and flowers. Its small -zoo and aviary are popular with children, and the bird collection -is a bright splash of brilliant colors. Small signs in English -and Chinese identify the plants and animals. A good deal of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> -family snapshot-taking goes on around the fountain at the -lower end of the garden. It might be a scene in New York’s -Central Park, except that Chinese children are better behaved.</p> - -<p>Albert Path, a serpentine walk shaded by tropical shrubbery, -winds down from the Botanic Garden past Government -House to Ice House Street and the rear of the First National -City Bank. Ice House Street continues downward a -couple of blocks to the West Wing of the Central Government -offices at Queen’s Road Central.</p> - -<p>On Battery Path, directly in front of the West Wing, a -lampshade stand operates on what is obviously government -property. It’s all quite official; the owner has a permit from -the Department of Public Works. Sin Hoi, late father of the -present owner, Sin Hung, had sold lampshades on the site for -thirteen years before the West Wing was built in 1954. Lady -Maurine Grantham, wife of the former governor, was a -frequent shopper at the stand, and when she saw it threatened -with displacement by the government offices, she put in a -word for Sin Hoi. His son now runs it under the grand name -of The Magnific Company, selling lampshades and small -china animals.</p> - -<p>One block north on Ice House Street and a block east on -Des Voeux Road is Statue Square, where parked cars outnumber -the statues 200 to 1. This area is more than the center -of the colony’s financial institutions; it is an ideal cross-section -of colony architecture. The honeycomb-and-gingerbread -design of the Hong Kong Club is typical of what most of the -colony’s buildings looked like in 1890, as is the Prince’s Building -on the opposite side of the square.</p> - -<p>Post-World War II buildings like Union House, two blocks -west along the waterfront, represent a kind of “no nonsense -modern”—big, plain and blocky. The tower of the Bank of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> -China, just east of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, rises -massively above its old established neighbor. The Red Chinese -operate it now and many of its upper offices are vacant; the -bank itself is a quiet institution with fewer guards than most -local banks have. The Chartered Bank, on the other side of -the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank, is the newest, tallest and -most curious of the three moneyed giants, with a fortresslike -tower and a green façade that resembles a vast electronic -switchboard.</p> - -<p>The Hongkong and Shanghai building, older than either -of the banks beside it, surpasses them in architectural distinction, -with its bold vertical lines and its solid central tower -surrounded by lower wrap-around structures and crowned -by a ziggurat roof that tapers upward like a truncated pyramid. -It looks like a building that nothing could push over, -which seems the right emphasis for a bank.</p> - -<p>Directly south of the Hong Kong Club lie three and a half -acres of the most valuable land in the colony, all of it laid out -in cricket fields except for a small corner occupied by the -building of the Hong Kong Cricket Club. If the land were for -sale, bidding would start at about $175 a square foot; but the -British would as soon sell the playing fields of Eton. Cricket -is an integral part of life under the Union Jack. Most Americans -find it too strenuous, even as a spectator sport; they often -become exhausted by the effort of trying to figure it out.</p> - -<p>If a visitor drops by the Cricket Club on any Saturday -morning between October and April, he can scarcely find the -cricketers for the red-and-white-capped youngsters bounding -about in various sectors of the field, playing a dozen different -games without apparent confusion. All the players are from -four to twelve years old; mostly boys, with a few girls here -and there. It is the weekly workout of the Tingle Athletic Association,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> -one of the colony’s honored institutions. Billy -Tingle, an ex-boxer and lifetime physical culture instructor, -has taught 50,000 children to kick, throw, catch, swim and -master the rudiments of cricket, soccer, rugby and basketball. -Billy is a short, compactly built man about sixty, who speaks -softly but accepts no back talk; discipline is as much a part of -the job as athletic skill, he believes.</p> - -<p>Parents are permitted to look on from the grandstand while -Billy and his nine assistants put 350 children through a three-hour -workout. These are “upper-class” boys and girls, but -Billy also conducts classes among the shack dwellers in -Wanchai. The colony’s schools, with 700,000 pupils, often -resort to three daily shifts to accommodate them. Very few -schools can afford any physical training program.</p> - -<p>At the seaward end of Statue Square, the government has -remedied a deficiency of many years by erecting a City Hall, -a five-unit complex with a 12-story tower, concert hall, theater, -banquet hall, library, museum, art gallery and municipal -offices. Architecturally, it is modern, rectangular and unadorned, -in sharp contrast to the curlicues of the Hong Kong -Club next door. Part of the hall was opened in 1962, with the -rest planned for completion in 1963. Sir Malcolm Sargent and -the London Philharmonic Orchestra launched the concert hall -with suitable fanfare, presumably ending the long, lean era in -which visiting artists had to go from one private hall to another, -hoping that music lovers would find them.</p> - -<p>The Star Ferry terminal, right beside City Hall at the -waterfront, is the tie that binds Kowloon and Hong Kong -Island together. Every day, 100,000 commuters cross the harbor -on these spotless new boats at a first-class fare of 3½ cents -or second-class at less than 2 cents. The ferry stops running at -1:30 <span class="smcapuc">A.M.</span> on most nights, and for the late prowler it’s a “walla-walla”<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> -and a 50-cent trip on this rolling, pitching, cross-harbor -motor launch. Walla-walla is the Cantonese equivalent -of “yak-yak,” and memorializes the endless bickering over -fares that the launch owners indulged in before a flat rate was -set by the government. Sir Lancelot, the Calypso King who -plays many Hong Kong engagements, was trapped on one of -these wallowing tubs and composed a “Walla Walla Calypso,” -celebrating “the rockin’ and the rollin’ and the quakin’ and the -shakin’” they inflict on night owls.</p> - -<p>Walla-wallas and sightseeing boats operate from the -Queen’s Pier in Hong Kong and the Public Pier in Kowloon, -both less than a block east of the Star Ferry terminals. There -is more of the flavor of the old days at Blake Pier, a few hundred -feet west of the Star Ferry terminal on the Hong Kong -side. Private yachts and mailboats discharge there, and there’s -always a bustle of arrivals and departures. But the colony’s -reclamation scheme will before long swallow up Blake Pier -and its works. The General Post Office, a moldering antique -opposite Blake Pier, is also to be replaced soon; until it goes, -it is a handy place to mail packages or to buy Hong Kong -government publications.</p> - -<p>Wyndham Street, which runs south off Queen’s Road Central, -is the last resting place of another antique, the -sedan chair, which was the favored conveyance when roads -were too steep or too rough for rickshaws. Of the four registered -sedan chairs left in the colony, two are generally parked -there, waiting patiently for a fare. A few of the older Chinese -residents still use them, but Europeans have grown chair-shy, -possibly worried about what kind of picture they present -while riding between two poor fellows panting along in the -traces. And well they might be.</p> - -<p>A line of rickshaws also parks along Wyndham Street, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> -their business is better than that of the sedan chairs. Tourists -and many Chinese continue to hire them; tourists enjoy -the picturesque novelty and the Chinese find them practical -for funeral processions or for hauling packages too large to -carry on a bus or tram without causing a riot. Police report -866 registered rickshaws, with the number declining each -year. Many people shun them as degrading and inhumane; -others are unwilling to risk their lives by weaving through -motor traffic in such a flimsy craft. Rickshaw drivers, subjected -to alternate sweating and cooling, are particularly vulnerable -to tuberculosis.</p> - -<p>The alleys and side streets of the Central District are a -source of wonder and surprise to tourists. Pedder Lane, -branching off Pedder Street directly opposite the Gloucester -Hotel, is lined with open-air cobblers. Hundreds of shoes, -mended and unmended, are racked behind the repair stands, -and the cobblers are as busy as Kris Kringle’s toy-builders -on December 23d. Shoeshine Alley, a short section of Theater -Lane which runs from the west end of Pedder Lane to Des -Voeux Road Central, has ten to a dozen shoeshine boys stationed -along the pavement. Customers stand in the alley with -rickshaws and motorbikes brushing their coattails while they -get shoeshines.</p> - -<p>Shoeshine Alley is no silent workshop; a steady stream of -walla-walla flies back and forth among the boys, and if a passing -pedestrian pauses or glances in their direction, several -boys pounce on him, demanding his patronage. The moment -he selects one lad for the job, the others shower the winner -with Cantonese insults and heckle him while he works. The -victim pays no attention; it’s an accepted professional hazard. -Besides, the boy is too busy studying the customer, trying to -decide whether he’s an American. Americans are easy marks;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> -always willing to pay three times the going rate. With an -American, the canny lad can simply say “thanks” and pocket -twice as much change as he’s entitled to. Fifty cents Hong -Kong or 8½ cents American is a generous rate, but few -Yankee tourists seem conscious of the local scale.</p> - -<p>For the tourist whose curiosity extends beyond the Central -District, one of the major departure points is the Hongkong -and Yaumati Vehicular Ferry Pier, four blocks west of Pedder -Street, at Connaught Road and in front of the Fire Brigade -Building. Several different passengers ferry lines and the -Kowloon truck-and-auto ferry use the pier. The paved area -at the pier entrance is the main depot for bus routes to all parts -of Hong Kong Island.</p> - -<p>Until the new Hang Seng Bank building was erected, the -Li Po Chun Chambers was the tallest building on the western -fringe of the Central District. The Foreign Correspondents’ -Club of Hong Kong occupies the penthouse of the building, -named for its owner, seventy-five-year-old Li Po Chun, -eighth son of Li Sing, late multimillionaire merchant who was -a founder of the Tung Wah Hospital. Li Sing, one of the most -colorful of Hong Kong’s early Taipans, once donated $100,000 -for a flood-control project at San Wui, his native village -in Kwangtung Province. About a century ago, when a foreign -ship carrying thousands of Chinese to California struck -a rock near Hong Kong, he chartered a steamer, stocked it -with food and sent it to the rescue, saving everyone aboard -the stranded vessel.</p> - -<p>The Central Market, a bare concrete building located a -block south of the Vehicular Ferry Pier, offers every kind -of meat, vegetable, fish or fowl eaten by the people of Hong -Kong. Everything is fresh, because Chinese customers reject -any sort of tired produce. It exudes a wide range of smells,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> -with fish out-smelling all the rest. An inexperienced shopper -must move cautiously or he may be sideswiped by a hog carcass -as it bounces along on a man’s shoulders en route from a -delivery truck to one of the meat stands.</p> - -<p>Visitors who grow tired of walking may increase their -range by riding the Hong Kong Tramway. Its green, double-decked -streetcars cover the full length of the island waterfront. -First-class passengers sit on the upper deck, where the -fare is 3½ cents. Starting from the Central District, the car -marked “Kennedy Town” goes the farthest west, and the -Shau Kei Wan car runs to the eastern extremity of the line.</p> - -<p>The trolley tourist may hop off the car at any corner that -interests him. In the evening, the street market beside the -Macao Ferry Pier on the western waterfront presents a pavement-level -carnival. Merchandise is spread out on the asphalt -paving—combs, flashlights, toys, food and clothing—with -gasoline lanterns lighting the scene. Several spaces are reserved -for pitchmen who, though they speak in Cantonese, are obviously -delivering a spiel about products guaranteed to double -the customer’s life-span, make him an eternal delight to -women and quadruple his earning power—all at prices so low -it would be folly not to snap them up.</p> - -<p>The tram shuts down around midnight, but there is hardly -an hour of day or night when street stands are not open. -Families run most of them, with each member taking his turn -at waiting on trade. Children are on the streets all night—sometimes -because they have no place else to go. The 1961 -census turned up thousands of families who rented a bedspace -for eight hours a day, sharing it with two other families entitled -to the same eight-hour shift. When one family is asleep -in the cubicle, the other two are either working or wandering -the streets. Visitors must walk carefully in the Western District<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> -at night, not for fear of attack, but to avoid sidewalk -sleepers.</p> - -<p>During racing days of the October to May season at Happy -Valley Jockey Club, every tram is packed. Not far from the -jockey club on the tram line is Victoria Park, finest of the -colony’s public recreation grounds. A statue of Queen Victoria -overlooks the park, honoring the royal matron who -treated the acquisition of Hong Kong as a family joke. The -Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter raises a forest of masts and -spars at the seaward edge of the park.</p> - -<p>Happy Valley, studded with schools, sports arenas, -cemeteries and hospitals, comes down to the waterfront at -Wanchai. The tightly packed tenements of Wanchai have -refugee shacks on their rooftops and rows of sailors’ bars -and cabarets at street level. When night comes on, subsidized -intimacy is available on every street corner, but the eleven -movie theaters in the area are less expensive.</p> - -<p>North Point, the next waterfront community east of -Wanchai, is the “Little Shanghai” that boomed after 1949, -when refugee industrialists from Shanghai established factories -there. It has a prospering night life zone along King’s -Road, and introduced “key clubs” to the colony. These were -semiprivate bar-and-girl flats to which the member gained -admission by paying $50 to $100 for a key. The clubs spread -to the Central District and Kowloon before police raids began -to hit them. A number survive, drawing their clientele -from open-handed tourists and tired but hopeful businessmen. -In contrast to these nocturnal playpens, some of the best -new housing projects line the North Point waterfront.</p> - -<p>To the east of North Point, the towering cranes of the -Tai Koo Dockyards jut up along the shore. Shau Kei Wan,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> -at the end of the tram line, is a fishing and junk-building -center.</p> - -<p>Tram lines don’t serve the towns and resorts on the south -side of the island; to reach these, the tourist must take buses, -taxis or guided tours.</p> - -<p>The south shore town of Aberdeen is important to the -colony as a fishing and marketing center, but visitors will remember -it for its floating sampan population and its floating -seafood restaurants, the Sea Palace and the Tai Pak Fong. The -latter, decorated with unsparing flamboyance, are dazzlingly -outlined in lights after dark. Fish dinners are netted from large -tanks at the rear of the restaurants. The service is as much a -part of show business as it is of the food trade. Both branches -are represented on the dinner check.</p> - -<p>There are two ways for the visitor to reach the floating -restaurants. The first is to take a taxi across the island to -Aberdeen, then hail a girl-powered sampan for a short trip -across the harbor. Another thoroughly luxurious way is to -board the 110-foot luxury cruiser <i>Wan Fu</i> any evening at -Queen’s Pier or the Kowloon Public Pier, making the entire -trip by sea around the west end of the island. The <i>Wan Fu</i>, a -modern, Diesel-powered ship, is a fully rigged brigantine built -along the lines of the early opium-trade escort vessels, with -18 simulated gun-ports on its sides. It makes the evening cruise -to Aberdeen, stops for dinner at the Sea Palace, and returns -to town about midnight. Cost of the meal and trip totals -$10. Its skipper, Mike Morris, is a former Marine Police Inspector.</p> - -<p>Aberdeen is on the regular itinerary of the daytime round-the-island -automobile tours which take four hours. A car -meets the traveler at the top of the Peak Tram, winds down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> -the mountainsides to Happy Valley and includes a stop at -Tiger Balm Gardens, the fantastic creation of Aw Boon Haw. -The late Mr. Aw made his fortune by selling Tiger Balm—an -“infallible” cure for every form of psychosomatic ill. He -has furnished his gardens free-style, throwing in everything -from folklore to scenes from the Buddhist Hell. There is -even a 165-foot pagoda, which has repaid its cost a dozen -times by its use on Hong Kong travel posters. The whole -place is living proof of the swathe a Chinese millionaire can -cut when he feels like splurging. Texans seem tame by comparison.</p> - -<p>Mr. Aw’s tastes were no more extravagant than those of -Mr. Eu, who built two medieval castles on Hong Kong island—Eucliffe -and Euston. Eucliffe is at Repulse Bay, a summer -resort and the next stop on the island motor tour. The legend -of Mr. Eu has several versions, but they generally agree that -he was a Chinese who, several decades ago, settled in Malaya -with his mother. When the two struck hard times, Mr. Eu -felt that his fellow-Chinese were indifferent to the family’s -difficulties, and he vowed never to help other Chinese or to -return to China—an extraordinary act for any Chinese. He -indentured himself as a miner, saved enough to buy his freedom, -and married a woman who owned a small grocery store. -The couple pooled their earnings to buy an abandoned tin -mine where he had formerly worked. Either he knew something -or played a hunch, because the mine yielded rich quantities -of ore that made him a millionaire.</p> - -<p>But his mother never reconciled herself to his anti-Chinese -vow and hired a fung shui expert who reported that the real -trouble stemmed from the Eu family tomb, which faced -south, away from China, influencing her son to turn his back -on his homeland. The tomb was realigned to face north, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> -Mr. Eu relaxed his anti-Chinese prejudices sufficiently to return -to Hong Kong—if not to China.</p> - -<p>He began erecting two enormous stone castles, acting on a -Chinese belief that he would live as long as its building continued. -Mr. Eu has passed on, but his castles survive. When -completed, Eucliffe was crammed with European suits of -armor and several upstairs rooms were hung with oil paintings -of nudes. Euston, at 755 Bonham Road, on the northern -slope of Victoria Peak, is a seven-storied anachronism. Its -twin towers and mullioned windows give no evidence of Chinese -design, but they may represent the Chinese reply to functional -architecture.</p> - -<p>Repulse Bay, with a curving beach and the luxurious Repulse -Bay Hotel, is the colony’s best-known summer resort. -Like the upper Peak area, or Shek-O and Stanley in the southeast -part of the island, it has many wealthy residents and large -homes.</p> - -<p>The auto tour passes Deep Water Bay Golf Club—one of -several golf courses in Hong Kong—and the Dairy Farm, a -major source of the colony’s fresh milk. Queen Mary Hospital -lies along the route near the west end of the island; an -outstanding institution that emphasizes the scarcity of first-class -hospitals in the colony. There are less than 10,000 hospital -beds for 3,300,000 people, and the majority of the hospitals -are overcrowded, understaffed, antiquated and well -below first-class standards of care. The colony government -is in the midst of a campaign to raise the capacity and standards -of its hospitals, however. More than 1,000 beds are to be added -by the end of 1963, but Hong Kong will remain well below -English and American norms of hospital care.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, Hong Kong has made substantial medical -progress during the last decade. Tuberculosis causes about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> -eight times more deaths than all other infectious diseases, but -the T.B. death rate has been reduced from 158.8 per 100,000 -population in 1952 to 60.1 deaths per 100,000 in 1961.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong University and the Chinese business section of -the Western District are the last sightseeing attractions of the -motor tour before it returns to the center of town. A motor -trip around the island costs $7, plus the price of meals for the -tourist and his driver-guide.</p> - -<p>The Western District is seldom included on tourist maps of -Hong Kong Island; the assumption seems to be that if a traveler -ventures beyond the Central District, he will instantly -be swallowed up by the earth. This assumption is twaddle. -Jan Jan’s Map of Hong Kong, sold at bus and ferry terminals, -gives an excellent layout of the Western District, but even -without its help, a sightseer may visit a number of places in -the Western District without getting lost.</p> - -<p>Pottinger Street, in the section running south off Queen’s -Road Central, has a lively array of ribbon, button and zipper -stands. Cochrane Street, parallel to Pottinger and one block -west of it, has a few stores selling silk “dragons” (actually, -lions’ heads). Such dragons, made to order, may cost as much -as several hundred dollars each, and at least three weeks are -required to fashion a large one.</p> - -<p>These dragons, priced according to their overall length -and elaborateness of detail, weave through the streets on Chinese -holidays operated by a line of men marching under the -flexible silk-covered framework.</p> - -<p>Wing On Street, a dark narrow alley between Queen’s -Road Central and Des Voeux Road, is hemmed in on both -sides by dozens of stands selling cotton and wool yard-goods. -Everything is open to the street, and there is no charge for -inspecting the bewildering assortment of cloth and color.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span></p> - -<p>Goldsmiths’ shops are strung along Queen’s Road Central -in the vicinity of the Kwong On Bank at Gilman’s Bazaar. -They stock every kind of gold jewelry—a particular favorite -of Chinese women. But what the women enjoy most is sitting -at the counters and gossiping with the clerks and shop owners. -Such conversations often go on for as much as an hour, yet -the dealer does not fly into a rage if the prospect fails to buy; -it is even possible that the talk hardly touches on buying. Most -women buy eventually; meanwhile, a pleasant exchange of -gossip is enjoyed by both parties.</p> - -<p>Wing Sing Street, running north off Queen’s Road, is -a cavernous alley resembling a silent-movie setting for a dark -tale of Oriental intrigue. Actually, its most frightening characteristic -is its nickname: “Rotten Egg Street.” Piles of crates -line its wholesale and retail egg stands, yet there is nothing to -indicate that the eggs have lingered beyond their normal retirement -age. The nickname is simply a local joke applied to -all egg-selling streets.</p> - -<p>A dozen or so glass-enclosed shops, each no larger than a -pair of telephone booths, are located on Man Wa Lane, between -Des Voeux Road and Wing Lok Street. All are engaged -in cutting dies for business cards, seals and stamps, -and the passer-by is welcome to watch their craftsmen at -work.</p> - -<p>Ladder Street, a flight of steps leading off Queen’s Road -Central, takes the inquisitive shopper to Upper Lascar Row, -popularly called Cat Street. Cat Street’s dingy shops sell -everything from jade carvings to used bottles, from rare -china to chipped and broken junk, valuable antiques to outright -fakes. The customer has nothing but his own wits to -protect him. Americans would be unduly optimistic to expect -a Comprehensive Certificate of Origin from merchants<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> -who don’t know and seldom care whether their goods are -“hot” or legitimate. But Europeans who know Chinese antiques -thoroughly have come to Cat Street, bargained -shrewdly, and resold their purchases at home with sufficient -profit to pay for their Hong Kong vacations.</p> - -<p>Man Mo Temple, at 128-130 Hollywood Road, stands a -short way back from the street. Buddha enjoys the most -prominent altar in its gloomy interior, but the temple mixes -Buddhist and Taoist elements, with Kwan Tai and Man -Cheong as two of its honored deities. Legions of minor divinities -line the walls, including several seated in tall, glass-enclosed -boxes. In former days, such boxes were equipped -with long handles so that the faithful could carry them -through the streets in times of disaster to soothe the angry -spirits.</p> - -<p>Visitors are free to enter the temple if they behave as they -would in any other house of worship. Straight and spiral incense -sticks burn before the numerous shrines, and the many -statues looming in dark corners suggest a spiritual serenity.</p> - -<p>A more urgent reminder of other worlds may be had at -the Tak Sau coffin shop, 252 Hollywood Road. Massive pine -coffins, ordered in advance of the prospective occupant’s -death and tailored to his physical dimensions, are stacked -about in plain sight. An ordinary model, costing from $50 to -$150, can be turned out by a pair of carpenters in about 20 -hours. The larger boxes once required 16 men to carry them, -but modern trucks have now assumed the burden. A millionaire’s -coffin, lined with silk and elaborately carved, may cost -$3,000 or more. To demonstrate their continuing concern for -the departed, surviving relatives visit a nearby shop which -sells notes written on the “Bank of Hell.” No one likes -to deliver these notes personally, and so they are burned to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -assure the deceased that his credit rating will be maintained -in the spirit world.</p> - -<p>Most of the Western District may be covered on foot, but -taxis are necessary for trips to more distant points, such -as Stanley or Shek-O, particularly at night. Drivers often -have only a sketchy knowledge of English, but the passenger -can usually make his destination clear by pointing to it on a -road map, or by printing the address on a sheet of notepaper; -if the driver cannot read it, he will find a colleague to translate -it for him. Taxis are about 25 cents for the first mile and -18 cents for each succeeding mile on Hong Kong Island. Kowloon -taxis are slightly lower. Holders of valid drivers’ licenses -from their home country, or international drivers’ licenses, -may hire cars for $11.50 a day or $70 a week, plus gasoline -costs. In the English fashion, all cars have right-hand drive.</p> - -<p>Sightseers operating on a tight budget may cover almost -every part of the island on its 18 bus routes. Most of these -start from the Vehicular Ferry Pier and their routes are fully -outlined on the reverse side of Jan Jan’s Map. Trams give -smoother rides and more frequent service along the island’s -densely populated waterfront, but the only low-cost means -of visiting outlying places, such as Shek-O, Stanley and -Sandy Bay—all worth seeing—is by bus. This transportation -is not for the timorous or those with queasy stomachs; Hong -Kong bus-jockeys are competent, but they slam and jolt -their passengers about as they whirl through a never-ending -succession of upgrades, downgrades and hairpin turns.</p> - -<p>Foreign passengers unfamiliar with Hong Kong public -transportation may be startled at times to hear their fellow-riders -yelling at one another. What sounds to a greenhorn like -a violent exchange of insults is nothing more than cheerful -gossip. The Cantonese are naturally gabby and exuberant,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> -and only the Gwai-lo (foreign devil) seems subdued and inscrutable.</p> - -<p>Transportation to Kowloon, directly across the harbor -from Hong Kong Island, is by Star Ferry for most tourists, -although there are many other trans-harbor ferries. The -Star Ferry terminal in Kowloon is the focal point of practically -every kind of transportation on the peninsula. Most -Kowloon bus lines turn around directly in front of the ferry -terminal. The Kowloon-Canton Railway, which runs -through Kowloon and the New Territories to the Red Chinese -border, is situated next to the bus terminal. Taxis and -rickshaws start from the same area—a big, multiple loop that -keeps vehicles moving with a minimum of congestion or delay. -The Kowloon side of the colony has no streetcars, but its -double-deck buses are almost as bulky as trams.</p> - -<p>The greatest concentration of tourist shops and hotels is -in the Tsim Sha Tsui section at the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula -and within a five-minute walk of the Star Ferry terminal. -Nine-tenths of the Kowloon hotels and luxury shops -are strung along Nathan Road, the central thoroughfare, and -its intersecting streets. At its best, Tsim Sha Tsui is a tourists’ -Happy Hunting Ground; at its worst, it is an outrageously -over-priced deadfall.</p> - -<p>The refugee resettlement estates spread across the upper -end of the Kowloon Peninsula, several miles north of Tsim -Sha Tsui. Visitors who want to see what has been done to -help the colony’s refugees—and to appreciate how much -must still be undertaken—should visit the resettlement estates -and the remaining squatter shacks with either a guide or an experienced -Hong Kong welfare worker. The terrain is too irregular -and the estates too extensive to be covered on foot.</p> - -<p>Visitors with an archaeological turn of mind may want to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> -have a look at the Li Cheng Uk tomb in Sham Shui Po, about -a mile north of the Kowloon-New Territories boundary. -Workmen excavating for the Li Cheng Uk Resettlement -Estate discovered the tomb in August, 1955. Its T-shaped -chambers and barrel-vault roof containing pottery and -bronze objects from the Later Han Dynasty (<span class="smcapuc">A.D.</span> 25-220) -and Six Dynasties (<span class="smcapuc">A.D.</span> 220-589) indicate that the Chinese -may have settled in Hong Kong and neighboring Kwangtung -Province many centuries earlier than had been supposed. The -colony government preserved the tomb by encasing it in an -outer shell of concrete, built a small garden and museum -around it, and opened it to the public in 1957.</p> - -<p>A guided motor tour, probably the best way of seeing the -New Territories, carries the visitor through the manufacturing -center at Tsuen Wan, then west past the beaches -and eroded hillsides to Castle Peak. The tour proceeds -through some of the colony’s best farmland to the marketing -and shopping center at Yuen Long.</p> - -<p>Brown cattle and water buffalo are the only aids to human -labor on these farms, and every square foot of land is fertilized, -weeded, irrigated and tilled with unsparing diligence. -Walled cities, such as Kam Tin, appear along the way. -Once they were fortresses to protect the farming families -against marauding bands; today they are packed with poor -people living in cubicles.</p> - -<p>If border conditions are stable, the driver may continue to -Lak Ma Chau, a hillside overlooking Red China’s farming -communes on the far side of the Sham Chun River. The return -route is through the fishing settlement at Tai Po, with -a view of Tolo Harbor, one of the finest in Hong Kong. In -the Shatin Valley, with its intricate pattern of terraced rice -fields, the sightseer may catch a glimpse of Amah Rock, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> -natural formation resembling a woman with an infant on her -back.</p> - -<p>Chinese legend depicts the rock as the survival of a woman -whose husband left to fight in China many centuries ago. For -days and months she climbed the hill and looked out to sea, -awaiting her husband’s return. Their child was born before -she at last caught sight of her husband’s ship, and she was so -overcome by excitement and joy that she died on the spot. -After her death, her neighbors were astonished to see a heap -of rocks take on the appearance of a woman carrying a child -on her back.</p> - -<p>As the car passes through the reservoir area above Kowloon, -a wild rhesus monkey of the surrounding forests may -be seen begging for a roadside handout. Game of any kind -is not abundant in the colony, but there are a few ferret-badgers, -civet cats, otter, barking deer, rodents and an exceedingly -rare leopard. There are 38 kinds of snakes, including -the banded krait, king cobra and pit viper, although -deaths from snake bites very seldom occur. Over 300 species -of birds have been identified. Hundreds of kinds of tropical -butterflies, including the Atlas Moth, with a maximum wing-spread -of nine inches, present the brightest specks on the countryside, -sometimes covering a forest grove like an extra set of -leaves.</p> - -<p>Since Hong Kong embraces 237 islands besides the Kowloon -Peninsula and the mainland portions of the New Territories, -a tourist must take to the boats if he is to see more -than a fraction of its varied topography. Boat service to the -larger inhabited islands is frequent and cheap.</p> - -<p>Every Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock an excursion boat -leaves the Vehicular Ferry Pier for a three-hour circuit of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -Hong Kong Island. It cruises east along the waterfront, -through Lei Yue Mun pass at the eastern harbor entrance, -then turns south off the island’s east coast. The rugged coast -and fine homes of Shek-O are at the right, with the outlying -islands of Tung Lung and Waglan at the left. The course -swings past the south shore resort coast, around the west end -of the island and back to the starting point. This trip, at 50 -cents for adults and a quarter for children, is the seagoing -bargain of Hong Kong.</p> - -<p>A more leisurely round-island voyage, taking 4½ hours, -leaves the Kowloon and Queens piers every morning, and includes -a close-up of the Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter on the -west side of Kowloon Peninsula. Going west around the -island, it sails as far as Repulse Bay, turns back toward Deep -Water Bay and stops at Aberdeen for lunch before returning -around the west end of the island to its starting point. A -variation of the trip permits the excursionist to leave the boat -at Aberdeen and complete the tour with a motor trip via -Stanley, Tai Tam Reservoir, Shau Kei Wan, Tiger Balm Gardens, -Wanchai, and Victoria Peak. Lunch and soft drinks -are included, but this is not a low-price attraction.</p> - -<p>A two-hour afternoon water tour offers tourists a view -of the harbor, including the island waterfront, Kai Tak airstrip -and the harbor islands. If one prefers travel in a craft -rather loosely resembling a junk, he may cover most of the -same harbor points visited by the regular launch.</p> - -<p>The brigantine <i>Wan Fu</i>, in addition to its evening cruise to -Aberdeen, puts on a plush inter-island tour lasting five hours, -with cocktails, canapés and a catered buffet luncheon served -aboard. The <i>Wan Fu</i> sails through Yau Ma Tei Typhoon -Shelter, westward past Stonecutters Island, Lantau, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> -little island of Peng Chau before tying up at Cheung Chau -for an informal walking tour around this fishermen’s settlement, -scene of the annual Bun Festival.</p> - -<p>Cheung Chau is one of the pleasantest islands in the colony, -with neat vegetable gardens planted in its interior hollows, a -long stretch of sandy beach and a cluster of English summer -homes on its low hills. The village shopping area is a busy -place, with narrow, crowded streets, an old temple and a sidewalk -shrine to a tree-god. Cost of the <i>Wan Fu</i> cruise is in -line with its luxurious accommodations.</p> - -<p>Ferry services to Cheung Chau, Peng Chau, Tsing Yi Island -and Lantau are operated by the Hongkong and Yaumati -Ferry Co. Excursion boats may also be hired at fixed rates -for reaching any of these islands. Once the visitor gets to the -islands, he will have to depend mostly on his feet to get -around. As a matter of course, he should determine in advance -when the next boat is scheduled to return to Hong Kong Island; -otherwise, he may spend the night in some rural retreat -with no tourist hotels.</p> - -<p>Peng Chau, with a population of about 4,000 persons, has -several small industries typical of an earlier day in Hong -Kong, such as tanning and lime burning. It was an important -match manufacturing center before Macao competition overshadowed -it. It also harbors small farming and fishing settlements.</p> - -<p>Hei Ling Chau, a nearby island, houses the colony’s leprosarium, -run by the local auxiliary of the Mission to Lepers. -It has 540 patients, including refugees from Red China who -were turned out of a leprosarium near Canton when the Communists -closed it down. A visit to the island may be arranged -through the Mission in Hong Kong and is worthwhile on two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> -counts; it will clear up many common misconceptions about -the disease and show the visitor how far medicine has progressed -in treating a disease that was once considered fatal. -When a Chinese became a known sufferer from the disease, -he was, until a few years ago, driven from the community and -his family were subjected to abuse by their former friends.</p> - -<p>Hei Ling Chau conveys no sense of hopelessness today. Its -well-kept stone cottages, workshops, hospital and chapel -are arranged around a thriving vegetable garden cultivated -by the patients. The unsatisfactory chaulmoogra oil treatment -has been replaced by streptomycin, sulfones and other new -drugs. Surgery has helped to restore the function of hands -crippled by the disease. It is not true that the fingers of lepers -drop off; the bones shrink if the disease is not checked.</p> - -<p>Most cases on the island are infectious, but chances that a -visitor will catch the disease are almost nil. Its chief victims -are the undernourished poor. Although leprosy is not hereditary, -children may contract it from parents. About 30 young -victims of leprosy presently attend a primary school on Hei -Ling Chau while being treated. Their chances of recovery are -excellent. Early, mild infections can often be cleared up -within a year; advanced cases may take many years to cure.</p> - -<p>Under staff instruction, many patients have become competent -tailors, embroiderers, carpenters, cabinet makers or -basket weavers. Very few are bedridden, unless they have an -additional disease such as tuberculosis. About a third of the -patients are women. Everything concerned with the operation -of Hei Ling Chau reflects intelligence and devotion in helping -lepers to find their way back to useful living.</p> - -<p>Tsing Yi Island, off Tsuen Wan, has a few minor industries -such as lime burning and brick making, and its steep hillsides<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> -grow an especially sweet variety of pineapple. There is also a -community of fishermen and a small village with stores where -one may purchase food and soft drinks. Chickens and chow -dogs, unmenaced by autos, roam its streets. When cold -weather comes, some of the chows will vanish. Many Chinese -regard chow meat as a delicacy that will keep the consumer -warm in winter, increase his strength and fortify his virility. -Killing chows for food is illegal, but every winter the police -arrest dozens of dog killers, and the courts hand them high -fines and jail sentences.</p> - -<p>Lantau Island has only one stretch of paved road in its 55-square-mile -extent, but it is a favorite spot for hikers and -religious pilgrims. There is a good bathing beach at Silvermine -Bay, where the ferry stops, and the paved road, traveled -by a new bus line, connects it with the dam-building site at -Shek Pik.</p> - -<p>Some years ago the island was so isolated that its people -built stone towers as redoubts against the forays of pirates. -By government permission, residents were allowed to keep -arms to defend themselves against raiders. Several of the old -towers still stand.</p> - -<p>The Buddhist monastery of Po Lin Chi, on a mountain -plateau two miles north of Shek Pik, is inhabited by a small -community of monks and nuns living from the produce of its -fruit trees and gardens and the contributions of pilgrims who -struggle up a mountain path to visit the retreat. Visitors are -welcome and may stay overnight at a guest house on the -grounds. Meals are prepared on wood fires in an ancient, -smoke-stained kitchen. Surrounded by its orchards and with -two or three massive tombs on the surrounding hills, Po Lin -Chi is a quiet echo of James Hilton’s <i>Shangri-La</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span></p> - -<p>There are other monasteries on Lantau, with the Trappist -Monastery at Tai Shui Hang, in the northeast part of the -island, perhaps the best-known. In the last decade its community -of 22 priests, lay brothers and novices has planted and -redeveloped its large farm acreage.</p> - -<p>Tai O town, on the west coast of Lantau, is its largest settlement, -with nearly 8,000 inhabitants. Tai O has a community -of Tanka fishing people living in wooden huts raised on stakes -over a muddy inlet. A regular ferry service brings hiking -parties from Hong Kong Island to toil up the hillsides to Po -Lin Chi. They stay overnight at its guest house and descend -on the opposite side of the mountains to catch the ferry at -Silver Mine Bay for the trip home.</p> - -<p>For a completely different kind of scenery, the inquisitive -traveler may visit Tap Mun Chau, an island at the eastern -edge of the New Territories. The Kowloon-Canton Railway -takes him to Tai Po Station on Tolo Harbor, where he may -catch the Tap Mun Chau ferry. The boat nudges up to the -foot of Ma On Shan, a craggy, 2,300-foot peak, unloads a -cargo of pigs and a few Hakka farmers, and pushes east -through Tolo Channel, bordered by round hills. Three Fathoms -Cove is the boat’s second stop. It is just south of Plover -Cove, the deep inlet from Tolo Channel which colony engineers -propose to seal off, pump out its salt-water contents, -and replace with a fresh-water reservoir.</p> - -<p>Most of the stops along this six-hour run are made offshore, -disembarking passengers reaching land in small sampans. -The boat turns south at the seaward end of Tolo Channel -and travels the length of Long Harbor between high, barren -hills. Looking at these hills, the passenger may understand -how easily Chinese pirates of the last century could slip out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> -of this hidden harbor, pounce on passing ships and make their -escape behind the sheltering mountains.</p> - -<p>Villages are strung along the water’s edge at intervals, but -their shallow harbors and small docks cannot handle the -ferry boat. The usual sampan, sometimes adroitly propelled -by a pair of half-grown boys, rows out to meet the larger -boat. There is a dock-side stop at Tap Mun town, where the -harbor is crowded with fishing junks, but the layover is too -short to permit a walk ashore.</p> - -<p>Darkness comes on slowly while the boat heads back, non-stop, -to Tai Po, but there are bright patches of light along the -water—fishermen using gasoline lanterns to lure their catch -into a net spread between two boats. The stars look down -from a cloudless sky, and through a gap in the bulky hills, the -lights of Hong Kong Island glow in the distance. By early -evening, the traveler has gotten his train and is back in Kowloon.</p> - -<p>There is so much to see in this colony that no one can compress -it into a single visit. Many tourists have returned a dozen -times, knowing that each trip would bring some new revelation -of unsuspected beauty, some fresh insight into the character -of Hong Kong’s people.</p> - -<p>No book, map nor brochure can tell a colony visitor exactly -what to expect. He walks down a street and comes upon -the unexpected every day. It may be a Chinese funeral procession -with a marching band playing “Bye Bye Blackbird.” -Or a professional letter-writer, taking dictation with a -stylus at his sidewalk table. Or the clatter of Mah Jongg -players as they slam the pieces on the table.</p> - -<p>It may be a visit to Temple Street in Kowloon, with its odd -restaurants and all-night bustle of activity. Or the Kee Heung<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> -Tea House at 597 Shanghai Street, Kowloon, where customers -bring their caged birds and discuss them while they sip.</p> - -<p>Even the hardiest tourist will be exhausted long before he -has exhausted the sights and sounds of Hong Kong.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="CHAPTER_TEN">CHAPTER TEN<br /> -<span class="smaller">Shopping before Dinner</span></h2> - -<div class="blockquote"> - -<p class="noindent">“The culinary art is certainly above all others in Hong -Kong.”</p> - -<p class="hanging">—<span class="smcap">Harold Ingrams</span>, <i>Hong Kong</i>, 1952</p> - -</div> - -<p>Something happens to the spending habits of all tourists -when they reach Hong Kong. Wallets fly open, purse-strings -snap and money gushes forth in a golden shower.</p> - -<p>It is a matter of record that in Hong Kong more tourists -spend more money in a shorter time than in any other port -of the Far East or the Pacific west of the American mainland. -They shell out $120 a day during an average visit of five days, -and almost 70 percent of the $600 five-day total is spent on -things the tourist intends to take home. (The figures come, -not from Hong Kong, but from an exhaustive study of Pacific -and Far Eastern tourism made for the United States Department -of Commerce.)</p> - -<p>This $120-a-day spending average is applicable to all the -colony’s civilian visitors except Overseas Chinese. In 1961,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> -the total of such visitors was 210,000, and it was made up of -72,000 Americans, 67,000 British and 71,000 visitors of other -nationalities. The number of tourists has more than doubled -in the last four years. The Department of Commerce study -estimates that the total may climb to 490,000 in 1968, and that -tourists could be expected to spend $270 million in the crown -colony during the same year. If all this comes to pass, it will -carry the merchants of Hong Kong into the full sunlight of -a golden age.</p> - -<p>But how about the tourist? What does he get for his money -that causes him to run hog-wild in Hong Kong shops? The -answers are as varied as the shrewdness or the gullibility of -the individual tourist.</p> - -<p>Let’s consider the gullible ones; they are so numerous and -vulnerable. The plump lady stuffing herself into a form-fitting -Cheongsam. The overnight Beau Brummel, swallowed -alive by the 24-hour “custom-tailored” suit he bought without -taking the time for proper fittings. The customer who accepts -the first price quoted by a Chinese merchant. The photography -bug who buys a standard West German camera at -the most exclusive department store in the heart of the high-rent -district, when he could get the same thing for 20 percent -less at a number of small, reliable photo-supply shops. The optimist -who thinks he can persuade a British clerk to knock -down a fixed price. The lamb who lets a sidewalk “shopping -guide” lead him to a fleecing. The poor soul who buys a Swiss -watch, a Japanese camera, or any other name product without -comparing prices of several Hong Kong shops or knowing -the minimum sale price of the same article in his own -country. The woman who buys a particular line of famous -pearls from anyone except the authorized dealer.</p> - -<p>Above all, the American who buys a piece of rare jade<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> -without a Comprehensive Certificate of Origin, and consequently -has it confiscated by Customs when he reenters the -United States. For that matter, any American who buys a -“presumptive item”—an article which the U.S. government -suspects was made in Red China or North Korea—without a -Comprehensive Certificate of Origin.</p> - -<p>This business of the Comprehensive Certificate of Origin -is a recurrent pain in the neck to American shoppers and -Hong Kong merchants alike. Nevertheless, as an item of -United States foreign policy, it must be deferred to by American -tourists in Hong Kong. Many reputable shop-owners will -not apply to the colony’s Commerce and Industry Department -for the right to issue Comprehensive Certificates of Origin, -because it involves so much paperwork, red tape, and -delay that the shops would just as soon skip the American -market and concentrate on the British and others who can -buy without these pesky certificates.</p> - -<p>The list of items considered to be presumptive is by no -means clear-cut, and the items on it may change from time -to time, further clouding the issue. Some of the articles considered -presumptive are: brassware, brocade, ceramics, cotton -goods, embroidery, figurines, wood furniture, greeting -cards, handicrafts, ivory ware, jade, semiprecious jewelry, -lacquerware, porcelain ware, woolen rugs, silks and wallpaper.</p> - -<p>The nonpresumptive articles, or those that can be freely -imported into the U.S., include: binoculars, cameras, cashmere -items, enamelware, furs (but not all furs), precious -stones, leather goods, mosaics, mother-of-pearl, plastic articles, -rattan ware, sporting goods, umbrellas, watches, wool -clothing and yachts.</p> - -<p>These lists are merely indicative; up-to-date and official<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> -information can be obtained in Hong Kong by calling the -Foreign Assets Control division of the U.S. Consulate General. -If in any doubt about the status of a purchase, pay no -attention to the merchant who declares that a Comprehensive -Certificate of Origin is unnecessary; if his advice is erroneous, -he will not post the buyer’s bail.</p> - -<p>A Comprehensive Certificate of Origin costs five Hong -Kong dollars, or 87.5 cents, and will cover many articles -bought at the same store, provided that their value does not -exceed HK $1,500, or US $262. It is applied for when the -purchase is made. The store sends it to the colony government -for official clearance, and when this comes through, usually -in about a week, the articles are shipped to the U.S. address -designated.</p> - -<p>The amount of duty-free goods an American tourist could -buy abroad was cut from $500 to $100 in 1961, but merchants -of the crown colony say it has not seriously affected their -business. At Hong Kong prices, Americans apparently feel -they can pay duties and still have a bargain. They are still permitted -to buy duty-free any number of items intended as gifts -valued at less than $10 each, provided they do not mail more -than one gift a day to the same person.</p> - -<p>Colony shops with the right to issue Comprehensive Certificates -of Origin always post a sign in their windows to advertise -the fact; it helps to attract American customers. But -there are a few tricksters who will attempt to palm off a -fraudulent or nonapplicable certificate. The only certificate of -value to an American purchaser, it should be stressed, is the -Comprehensive Certificate of Origin.</p> - -<p>There are two main shopping areas in the colony: the Central -District of Hong Kong Island, and the Tsim Sha Tsui section -at the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula. Both areas can easily<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> -be covered on foot, and the shopper’s budget is guaranteed to -wear out much sooner than his shoe leather. King’s Road, the -main avenue through North Point in the northeastern part of -Hong Kong island, is also a good shopping area for tourists. -The Chinese and knowledgeable Caucasian residents, however, -shop over a much wider area on both sides of the harbor.</p> - -<p>Central District shopping for tourists runs west along -Queen’s Road Central, Des Voeux Road Central, Chater -Road and Connaught Road Central from Statue Square, opposite -the Star Ferry terminal, to the Vehicular Ferry Pier at -Jubilee Street. The best British department stores are toward -the eastern end of this small zone, such as Whiteaway Laidlaw -& Co. on Connaught Road near the General Post Office, and -Lane, Crawford’s on Des Voeux Road. Both have Kowloon -branches as well, and their prices range from fairly high to forbidding. -They are comparable to top-quality department -stores in New York or San Francisco, and their marked price -is unalterable. No dickering. Even so, they undersell many -stores overseas because Hong Kong is with very few exceptions -a duty-free port.</p> - -<p>The American shopper will need to keep the Comprehensive -Certificate of Origin problem in mind constantly as he -branches out to other stores, but there’s no harm in looking. -The larger Chinese stores in the area include Chinese Arts & -Crafts and China Emporium, both on Queen’s Road, and the -Shui Hing Co., The Sincere Co. and Wing On, Ltd., all on -Des Voeux Road. The Man Yee Building on Des Voeux Road -has two floors of shops with radios, typewriters, curios, -watches and tape recorders, plus many other articles; they are -well worth checking, either to buy or for comparing prices. -The Japanese have opened a large department store, Daimaru, -at Causeway Bay, just west of the North Point section.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Gloucester Building at Des Voeux Road and Pedder -Street has an extensive shopping arcade with many quality -shops. Alexandra House, just across Des Voeux, also has its -quota of fine shops, and there are other first-rate stores -throughout this area. The streets intersecting with Queen’s -Road and Des Voeux Road should not be overlooked either. -Only a dozen blocks or so are involved, but the shops are so -numerous and their goods so varied that it will take even an industrious -shopper a full day to see them and compare prices. -Wise tourists looking for values usually spend a day surveying -the shops and their merchandise before they are ready to spend -a cent. It is a sound procedure, for hundreds of hasty shoppers -have prematurely congratulated themselves on a wonderful -buy, only to see the same article in another shop the next day -for 15 to 25 percent less than they have paid.</p> - -<p>What are the good buys in Hong Kong? They particularly -include custom-made clothes for men and women, because the -workmanship is cheap and the quality high—this applies to -coats, suits, dresses and shoes. For women, silk and woolen -garments are good buys, especially when they require extensive -hand work on beading and embroidery. If planning to -wash the garment, make sure that the outer material and the -inner lining are pre-shrunk and color-fast.</p> - -<p>The Cheongsam, with its side-slit skirt and carefully fitted -collar, is worth individual attention here. The Cheongsam is a -closely fitted, shape-clinging dress that shows to best advantage -on a slim, small-boned Chinese girl. Put the average Western -woman in one and she looks beefy, which certainly isn’t -the effect she is striving for. If she’s overweight, the sight of -her in a Cheongsam is enough to make Chinese children hide -behind their mother’s slit-skirt where their howls and giggles -won’t be too evident.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span></p> - -<p>Men can get excellent bargains in custom-tailored suits of -English woolens, Japanese woolens, Dacron, mixed silk and -wool, or cashmere and wool. Pure cashmere looks and feels -luxurious in the shop, but it is extremely expensive and doesn’t -wear as well as a cashmere-and-wool combination. If the tailor -puts in cheap lining, the collar and lapels will look like an elephant’s -hide after a few cleanings. If he skimps on the thread, -and some do, the suit may pull apart under strenuous circumstances. -The worldwide story about the $20 Hong Kong suit -that can be perfectly fitted in 24-hours may have been circulated -by some show-business comedian trying to impress his -friends; it is not, and never was, true.</p> - -<p>Assuming that a good Hong Kong tailor is located—and -there are scores of them—a man will be able to get the finest -kind of custom-made suit for a little less than he would pay for -a ready-made suit of the same materials in the United States. -That would be around $75 for a pure cashmere sport jacket, -$40 for a cashmere-and-wool jacket, $70 for a tuxedo of English -worsteds, and $40 to $60 for a suit, with the higher-priced -one of English woolen and the cheaper of a lightweight wool. -A custom-tailored shirt of Sea Island cotton will cost about -$6—considerably less than an American ready-made shirt of -the same material.</p> - -<p>The chances are that an established Hong Kong tailor will -start by asking a higher price for all of these articles. By patient -haggling and comparison-shopping, he may be wheedled -down by 5 to 20 percent. And don’t be afraid that hard bargaining -will drive him out of business; he always allows a -comfortable profit margin for himself. Ignore his claims based -on the famous people he has made suits for; they may have -been given the ultimate in special care at a price far below the -going rate for serving to advertise the shop.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span></p> - -<p>One thing a tailor cannot do is to turn out a well-fitted -suit without three or four fittings. This will require no less -than five days, and two weeks would yield even better results. -In busy periods, before the Christmas and Chinese New Year -holidays, a tailor might need three weeks. One can buy a better-looking -ready-made suit in the United States than almost -any Hong Kong tailor can turn out in 24 hours; he’s good, but -he’s not a miracle worker.</p> - -<p>Women shopping for top-grade American and British -ready-made clothing should have a look at Mackintosh’s in -Alexandra House, Paquerette (in the Gloucester Arcade), -Lane, Crawford’s, and Whiteaway Laidlaw & Co. A wide -range of high-style tailored clothing for women is offered by -Charlotte Horstmann of Duddell Street and Town and Country -of Queen’s Road, both on the Hong Kong side, and at -three Kowloon shops in the arcade of the Hotel Peninsula: -Dynasty Salon, Betty Clemo, and Star of Siam.</p> - -<p>Men’s tailoring shops are most numerous on the Kowloon -side, and many of them also make women’s clothing. A sample -survey might include Y. William Yu and Frank L. Chan of -Kimberley Road, Ying Tai & Co., and Harilela’s of Nathan -Road, James S. Lee & Co. of Nathan Road (and Gloucester -Road, Hong Kong), and Tailor Young & Co. of Humphreys -Avenue. In the blocks from Mody Road to Kimberley Road, -all branching east from Nathan Road, tailors seem to occupy -about every third storefront. Take nothing for granted at any -of them, and be watchful to see that the cloth ordered is supplied.</p> - -<p>Hong Kong has outstanding bargains in hand-made shoes, -handbags, jewelry, watches, cameras, radios and furniture. -It is desirable to know prices and to shop around extensively, -comparing values. The Man Yee Building, previously mentioned,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> -the Gloucester Arcade, and the arcades of the Ambassador -and Miramar Hotels in Kowloon should give an idea of -what’s available, though they may be undersold by some side-street -shop.</p> - -<p>Kowloon has dozens of small shops, often combined with -back-room “factories,” where one can buy Chinese handicrafts -or watch them being turned out by superlative craftsmen. -These products are duplicates of those that China has -produced for centuries, and may require a Comprehensive Certificate -of Origin to get them through U.S. Customs.</p> - -<p>Hankow Road, just west of the Hotel Peninsula, has the -greatest number of wood-carving shops. They all stock sets -of wooden horses in several sizes; also Buddhas, Gods and -Goddesses in profusion, wild animals, fish and birds. The asking -price is outrageous, but can be whittled down as much as -50 percent by patient haggling. A well-made carved horse -about four inches high can be bought for 75 cents. It would -cost six times as much in New York.</p> - -<p>No other article more convincingly demonstrates the skill -of the Chinese craftsman than carved ivory. There are ivory -factories along Nathan Road and its side streets that produce -beautifully carved chess sets, intricately fashioned concentric -balls of ivory, and miniature temples, flower boats and pagodas.</p> - -<p>Fine cabinetmakers turn out highly polished teak and rosewood -chests trimmed with brass and lined with silk. Each one -is a masterpiece of workmanship, but there’s one catch—if the -wood has not been carefully kiln-dried, the chest may split -when it is shipped home. This is a point on which a customer -will want to quiz the dealer, then decide whether his answers -are satisfactory. Carved and lacquered screens can be an artistic -delight, but don’t forget to include the shipping costs when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> -figuring their price. Carved and full-rigged Chinese junks are -sold in a wide range of sizes.</p> - -<p>The shopper can forget about the give-no-quarter type of -bargaining when he enters one of the stores operated by -Hong Kong welfare organizations for the benefit of physically -handicapped refugees. These are strictly nonprofit operations, -with all but basic overhead costs being turned over to -the needy people who make the handicrafts. The quality of -their products is high and their prices are reasonable. Two of -these shops are the Welfare Handicrafts on Salisbury Road, -opposite the Kowloon Post Office, and The Rice Bowl, on -Minden Row. To find The Rice Bowl, turn east off Nathan -Road at Mody Road; Minden Row is the first street south off -Mody. Both stores have Comprehensive Certificates of Origin.</p> - -<p>The Tsim Sha Shui section of Kowloon is developing so -rapidly that it will probably have a dozen shopping arcades -by the end of 1963. The Central District of Hong Kong Island -is also planning new arcades.</p> - -<p>Tourists may wind up a day’s shopping by attending one of -the 72 movie theaters in the colony. Of these, 16 show English-language -films and 13 are first-run houses. Foreign films reach -Hong Kong as soon as they appear in the world market. In -Kowloon, Nathan Road is the main movie avenue; in Hong -Kong, they are spotted along the principal streets from Kennedy -Town to Shau Kei Wan. All seats are reserved, and selected -from a seating-chart at the box office; daily show-times -are carried in the local press. Chinese films have a big following, -but many colony Chinese prefer American movies with -plenty of action and spectacle. English films strike them as -stodgy and slow, European art films bore them, and sexy importations -from Italy and France offend their sensibilities.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> -English-language films usually carry Chinese subtitles which -look like embroidery to Western viewers.</p> - -<p>If it’s night clubs the tourist is looking for, there’s nothing to -get wildly excited about. Floor shows run to jugglers, acrobats -and pony chorus lines, with an occasional comedian as a -star attraction. Vaudeville isn’t dead; it simply shuffled off to -Hong Kong. Prices are steeper than the entertainment warrants. -Most of the musicians are Filipinos; individually able, -but their band arrangements follow the blast-off traditions of -American stage bands in the 1930s.</p> - -<p>For a predinner cocktail with a magnificent view, two of -the best locations are the lounge on top of the Imperial Hotel, -Nathan Road, and the 11th floor Marigold Lounge of the Park -Hotel at Cameron and Chatham Roads, both in Kowloon. -Just as the finest daytime view is from the upper slopes of -Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island, the most satisfying after-dark -panorama is from Kowloon. From either of these lounges -you can see the banks of lighted apartment houses along the -Hong Kong hillside, tied together by festoons of streetlamps -as the roads zig-zag up the slopes, shining blue at the lower -levels, then turning to vapor-piercing amber as they climb -above the fog line. The Imperial has the closest view of the -multi-colored neon signs glowing along the Hong Kong side -of the harbor in English and Chinese characters. The Park -Hotel overlooks the whole sweep of Kowloon Bay and the -wavy, mountainous horizon of the island, with the brilliantly -lighted boats of a dozen ferry lines criss-crossing the harbor -in every direction. A line of lights passes directly under the -window—a Kowloon-Canton train returning from a trip to -the Red China border. If one could compress all of his memories -of Hong Kong into a single glance, this would be it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span></p> - -<p>Kowloon holds two-thirds of the colony’s fifty hotels, and -many of these are quite new. Hong Kong Island will add two -major hotels in 1963, the 1,000-room American and the 600-room -Queen’s, but Kowloon will retain its leadership in -room capacity for many years. Altogether, about a dozen -hotels will be added by the end of 1964 if business holds up.</p> - -<p>The tremendous surge in hotel growth means that after -years of lagging behind, Hong Kong has finally roused itself -to meet the needs of tourists, in room capacity, at least. The -expansion has been so frantic that a number of the newer hotels -have shaved every possible corner in construction, skimping -on the number of elevators and unduly shrinking the size -of rooms to squeeze every cent out of their cubic-foot capacity. -Hotel help is scarce, and as each new hotel opens, it raids -the staffs of existing hotels; this raises wages slightly, but saves -the raider the time and expense of training his own people. It -also lowers the quality of service and leaves the older hotels -to scramble for replacements.</p> - -<p>With these limitations in mind, it is remarkable that hotel -service is as good as it is, and much of the credit must go to -the staff people themselves. They are hard-working, cheerful -and obliging to a degree seldom seen in large cities. Because -of inadequate training and the inevitable language difficulties, -they are sometimes caught off-base, but when they -know what a guest wants, they will do everything possible to -get it. Americans and British whose democratic principles do -not always prevent them from getting pretty high-handed -about the way they are served will just have to be a little less -fussy.</p> - -<p>The Peninsula Hotel and its jointly managed addition, the -Peninsula Court, occupy the same place in the colony that the -Plaza does in New York—smart, eminently respectable and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> -expensive. The Park, the Imperial and the Ambassador are -among the best of the large, new hotels in Kowloon. -The Gloucester has the greatest status of the Central District -hotels, and the Repulse Bay, on the south shore of Hong -Kong Island, rates as the island’s most luxurious resort hotel. -There are about a dozen other first-rate hotels and approximately -30 additional ones that range from satisfactory to -catch-as-catch-can. All those recommended by the Hong -Kong Tourist Association are acceptable, but their quality -varies with their rates, though not always in proportion.</p> - -<p>Two outlying hotels worth noting are the Carlton and the -Shatin Heights, both in the New Territories but not far from -Kowloon. The Luk Kwok in Wanchai, once the locale for -Richard Mason’s <i>The World of Suzie Wong</i>, prospered so -handsomely from the publicity that it is now a quiet, middle-class -hotel.</p> - -<p>Confirmed hotel reservations, arranged well in advance of -your arrival, are advisable for all tourists who are not thoroughly -familiar with Hong Kong. Certainly it would be unwise -to arrive without them and be forced to rely on sheer -luck or the noisy touts who besiege incoming passengers at -Kai Tak. The touts are kept behind a fence nowadays, but if -the unsuspecting visitor lets them steer him to a hotel, their -kick-back will be added to the bill. Experienced visitors sometimes -check into a modestly priced hotel for the night and -spend the next day bargaining for the lowest rates at one of -the better places which, when business is slow, regularly knock -30 percent off the stated charges. For newcomers, this is seldom -done.</p> - -<p>Some European and American visitors cannot be persuaded -to try Chinese food. Either they think it will make them ill, -which it certainly will not, or they believe they’ll look silly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> -fumbling with chopsticks. It must be conceded that inexperienced -users of chopsticks usually look rather foolish, but practically -every Chinese restaurant will provide a knife and fork -if asked for them.</p> - -<p>No difficulty should arise from a determination to stick to -one’s usual diet. Every first-class hotel serves an international -cuisine. Prices are tailored to the room rents; high at the Peninsula, -cheap at the Y.M.C.A. next door to it. In general, the -meals are as good as those at American hotels and they cost -considerably less. Steaks are tougher than Choice U.S. beef, -and occasionally one resembles a small portion of a welcome -mat. Apart from the hotels, there are about a dozen good -European restaurants.</p> - -<p>In Mandarin Chinese, there is a saying that “food is -the heaven of the ordinary people,” and the Chinese in Hong -Kong, like their countrymen all over the world, do their remarkable -best to impart a foretaste of heaven to their cooking. -Their food reaches the table in edible form, and does not -have to be slashed and hacked before the guest is ready to eat -it. Chopsticks are all that is needed to lift the food to the -mouth. (Foreigners take weeks to get over the shock of seeing -a three-year-old Chinese child manipulating chopsticks; it -seems so infernally clever.)</p> - -<p>Chinese restaurants of the colony serve four different kinds -of cuisine: Cantonese (from southern China); Shanghainese -(from east-central China); Pekinese (from northern China) -and Szechuan (central China).</p> - -<p>Cantonese is the type most familiar to Americans, since most -of the Chinese restaurants in the U.S. are owned by Southern -Chinese. Chop suey and chow mein are not Chinese at all, except -that they were invented by Chinese cooks in the United -States to please their American customers. None the less, Cantonese<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> -restaurants serve them in Hong Kong, as well as egg -rolls, egg foo yung, and sweet-and-sour pork, if only to keep -the visiting foreigners happy.</p> - -<p>Authentic Cantonese dishes are strong on seafoods. Steamed -fish seasoned with ginger, mushrooms, spring onion, salted -black soya beans, garlic, salad oil, sherry, soy sauce, and sugar -is a particular favorite. Shark’s fin soup which includes not -only the fins but crab meat, sliced chicken, chicken broth, -cornstarch, and peanut oil is a floating potpourri.</p> - -<p>Other Cantonese delicacies are gut lee hai kim, shelled fat -crabs dipped in butter, fried in deep oil and served with a tart -wine-and-vinegar sauce; goo low yuk, the Cantonese name -for sweet-and-sour pork; and ho yau ngau yuk, slices of beef -tenderloin quick-fried with an oyster sauce and garnished -with greens. Cantonese cooks are sparing in their use of salt and -grease.</p> - -<p>A lunchtime specialty of Cantonese restaurants is dim sun -(tiny bits of food), which includes twenty different kinds of -sweet and salty dishes; among them, steamed biscuits with -various meat fillings, rice cakes, sweet buns and chicken rolls.</p> - -<p>A few of the better Cantonese restaurants are: Tai Tung, -234 Des Voeux Road; Golden City, 122-126 Queen’s Road -Central; Miramar and Ambassador (both in hotels), Nathan -Road; and the Sky, 8 Queen’s Road Central. They’re accustomed -to tourists, and will help with the ordering, if need be. -Tai Tung is typical of the large Cantonese restaurants, catering -to family parties and group dinners. Kam Ling, at 484 -Queen’s Road West in the West Point section of the island, -is another Cantonese giant.</p> - -<p>Dinner at one of the multi-story Chinese restaurants may -cause a shock to the nerves from a series of violent and unexpected -explosions. The blasts, which sound like closely<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> -bunched machine-gun fire, seem to be coming from right outside -the window. No cause for alarm—it’s just a string of -firecrackers celebrating a wedding or some other joyous family -event. A solid string of firecrackers is suspended from a -crane at the top of the building, then lighted at the bottom; -as the bursting crackers eat their way up the string, a man with -a guide rope slowly lowers the string to keep the explosions -at street level, thus preventing the paper from blowing all -over the surrounding streets. A portable, circular wire screen -is also placed around the explosion zone to confine the mess, -and a policeman stands by to see that the fireworks are being -handled according to law. All large restaurants have a swing-out -firecracker crane, and when they book a family party for -a special celebration, a police permit is obtained for the noise-making. -The rattle of explosions often lasts ten minutes or -more, costing the host from $100 to $300, depending on the -length and elaborateness of the string.</p> - -<p>Shanghainese cooking, which became more popular in Hong -Kong after the arrival of Shanghai refugees in the late 1940s, -is sweeter and more salty than Cantonese food, and uses a lot -more oil. Its characteristic dishes include: la dze jee ding, fresh -chicken diced and fried with peppers and flavored with soy -sauce; chao ha yen, small shelled shrimp garnished with green -herbs or bean sprouts; and sze tze tao, pork sautéed with -Chinese white cabbage and often served in a casserole.</p> - -<p>Beggar’s chicken is highly regarded by colony residents, -both Chinese and English, and can be ordered at Tien Hong -Lau on Woosung Street, Kowloon; or other Shanghai places -such as Winter Garden, Nathan Road; or Four Five Six, 340 -King’s Road, North Point. Bamboo shoots, boiled crab and -fried eel, in season, are also Shanghai treats.</p> - -<p>Szechuan food is hot and spicy, with such representative<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> -dishes as: suan la tang, sour peppery soup; dried beef with peppers; -and Szechuan duck, deep-fried to cook both the skin and -the flesh brown, spiced with pungent black pepper and served -with the meat so tender that it may be picked off the bones -with chopsticks. The Ivy, at 11 D’Aguilar Street, in the Central -District, is a familiar Szechuan establishment. There are -others in the Diamond Hill section of New Kowloon, north -of Kai Tak Airport, but one would probably need the guidance -of a long-time colony resident to find them.</p> - -<p>The Pekinese cuisine is best known for Peking duck, -served as a suitable entrée for a meal that begins with assorted -cold meats and proceeds through chicken and walnuts to the -celebrated bird. The duck is basted with salad oil and roasted -until brown, then the skin is dipped in soya paste with scallions -and wrapped in thin pancakes to be eaten as a kind of sandwich; -the meat is dipped and eaten in a similar manner and the -bones of the duck are made into a soup with cabbage and -mushrooms. Toffee apples and caramelized bananas (sugared -and deep-fried, then immersed in cold water) top off the feast.</p> - -<p>Two of the popular Pekinese restaurants are the Peking, 1 -Great George Street, Causeway Bay; and the Princess Garden, -Kimberley Road, Kowloon.</p> - -<p>Hard to classify but too good to miss is the Mongolian -steamboat, a cooking utensil used for Northern and Cantonese -dishes. Hot coals are placed in the bottom of the vessel from -which the heat rises through a chimney at the center. Water or -soup stock boils in a little open-top tank that encircles the -chimney. In the Cantonese style, tiny baskets of sea food, meat -and vegetables are hung into the boiling water until they are -done, then the contents are fished out with chopsticks. In the -Northern Chinese variation, a soup stock is put in the -reservoir with very thin slices of meat and sea food being<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> -dipped in until they are cooked, which takes only a few seconds. -Both styles use various sauces and condiments to flavor -the food after it is cooked and drawn out with chopsticks. -The steamboat sits in the center of the table, puffing energetically, -and every diner has a fine time dipping and fishing -for his food.</p> - -<p>The Peking Restaurant at Causeway Bay and the Wong -Heung Min, at 191-193 Gloucester Road along the Wanchai -waterfront, are two steamboat anchorages of note.</p> - -<p>The various styles of Chinese cooking do not differ so radically -that the same restaurant cannot prepare food in two or -more regional ways. Many restaurants do so and quite capably. -Americans sometimes choke at the thought of bird’s nest soup, -which is made from the saliva that swallows use to build their -nests. The saliva is separated from the straw and feathers by -boiling and evaporation, and the dried saliva extract is added -to a stock of chicken broth, combined with sliced ham and -minced chicken. The end-product, served in most Chinese -restaurants, is a prince among fine soups.</p> - -<p>If one wants to prowl around a bit, he can locate a restaurant -or two that serves snake meat or civet cat. The Chinese -have a theory that they can make anything taste good with -the right amount of cooking and a judicious use of sauces, -spices and condiments. What is more, they usually prove to be -correct. But a taste for snake meat is like the appreciation of -Cantonese opera; it takes years of conditioning.</p> - -<p>For those who enjoy sukiyaki and other Japanese dishes, -they are available at the Tokyo Restaurant, on the 17th floor -of the Imperial Hotel, and in the dining room of the Daimaru -department store at Causeway Bay. The Bombay Restaurant -at 19 Prat Avenue, Kowloon, has a good selection of Indian -dishes. For Russian specialties, especially fine cakes and pastries,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> -Rikki’s restaurant at Cameron and Carnarvon Roads, -Kowloon, is a plain but acceptable spot.</p> - -<p>Assuming that one has had at least a one-week stay in Hong -Kong, and has applied himself to eating, shopping and sightseeing -to the limit of his energies, there is every reason to believe -that he will go home happy, stimulated, exhausted, and -broke.</p> - -<p>It is the common lot of Hong Kong’s 210,000 annual visitors.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span></p> - -<h2 id="Index">Index</h2> - -<ul> - -<li class="ifrst">Aberdeen, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aberdeen reservoirs, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Acheson, Dean, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Advisory Comm. on Corruption, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Afro-Asian Conference, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agriculture, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry Dept., <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Agriculture & Forestry Dept., <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Air France, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Air-India International, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Albert Path, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Amah Rock, <a href="#Page_279">279-80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ambassador Hotel, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">American Marine, Ltd., <a href="#Page_138">138-40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">American military visitors, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Americans, <a href="#Page_256">256-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Animals, <a href="#Page_177">177-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anslinger, Harry J., <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anson’s Bay, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Anti-Corruption Branch, <a href="#Page_223">223-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ap Chau, <a href="#Page_71">71-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Applegate, Richard, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Apprentice system, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Armed forces, China and Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Army in “Double-Ten” Riots, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Arrow</i>, The, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Artificial insemination of pigs, <a href="#Page_188">188-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Atomic water distillation, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Attlee, Clement, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Austin Road, Kowloon, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Au Tak, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Aw Boon Haw, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Bank of China, <a href="#Page_263">263-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bank of Hell, <a href="#Page_276">276-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bargains, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Barnett, K. M. A., <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Barton, Hugh, <a href="#Page_148">148-9</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beriberi, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Beverage industry, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bias Bay, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Black, Gov. Robert Brown, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blackie, W. J., <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blake Pier, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blind musicians, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Blown, Capt. Phillip, <a href="#Page_95">95-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Boca Tigris, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bonham, Gov. S. G., <a href="#Page_228">228-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Border, length of, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Borgeest, Gus, <a href="#Page_58">58-9</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60-5</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Borgeest, Mona, <a href="#Page_58">58-9</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Borgeest, Naomi, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Borghese, Villa, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Boss, Martha, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Botanic Garden, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bowring, Sir John, <a href="#Page_28">28-30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Boxer Rebellion, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs Assn., <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Boy Scouts, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brazil, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Brinkley, David, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span>British-Chinese intermarriage, <a href="#Page_237">237-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">British common law, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">British East India Co., <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> - -<li class="indx">British House of Lords, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">British Overseas Airways, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">British rulers, their character, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Buddhists, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Building construction, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Bun Festival, <a href="#Page_250">250-1</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Byrnes, James F., <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Canada, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Canned goods, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Canton, China, <a href="#Page_16">16-18</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27-9</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cantonese, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cantonese cuisine, <a href="#Page_302">302-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Canton River, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cape Bastion, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Cape St. Mary</i>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> - -<li class="indx">CARE, <a href="#Page_71">71-2</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Carlton, Cedric, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Carlton Hotel, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Castle Peak, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Castle Peak Exper. Station, <a href="#Page_188">188-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cater, Jack, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cathay, Ltd., <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cathay Pacific Airways, <a href="#Page_95">95-8</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Catholic Relief Services, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cattle raising, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Causeway Bay, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Celestial</i>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Celestial Empire, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Central District, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Central Market, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Central Relief Records Office, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Certificate of Origin, Comprehensive, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291-3</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chadwick, Osbert, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chai Wan, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chan, S. Y., <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chartered Bank, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chemicals industry, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cheng Chung Kay, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cheongsam, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cheung Chau, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Cheung Hing</i> incident, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cheung Sheung, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cheung Yung Festival, <a href="#Page_253">253-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chiang Kai-shek, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">China, Republic of, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>China Mail</i>, the, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chinese calendar, <a href="#Page_244">244-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chinese clannishness, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chinese dialects, <a href="#Page_241">241-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chinese, diversity of, <a href="#Page_240">240-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chinese food, <a href="#Page_301">301-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chinese New Year, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chinese Temples Ordinance, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ching Ming Festival, <a href="#Page_248">248-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cholera, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chuenpee, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chunam, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Church, Beatrice M., <a href="#Page_146">146-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Church, Capt. Charles, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Churchill, Winston S., <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Church World Service, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Chu Yuan, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li> - -<li class="indx">City Hall, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Clear Water Peninsula, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cochrane St., <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Collective bargaining, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Colonial Office, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Colonial Secretary, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Comm. on Chinese Law and Custom, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Communist agitation, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Communist “relief mission” riot, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Concord</i> incident, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Concubines, <a href="#Page_236">236-40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Confucianism, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Connaught Road, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Contract labor, <a href="#Page_30">30-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Coop. Dvlpmt. and Fisheries Dept., <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cosmetics industry, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cottage industries, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Cotton spinning, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span>Cotton weaving, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Covenanters,” Mission Church of Norway, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Crime rates, U.S. and Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_204">204-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Curfew in Double Ten riots, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Dairy company, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dairy Farm, Ice & Cold Storage Co., <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Dampier</i>, H. M. S., <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Deep Bay, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Deep Water Bay, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Department stores, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Des Voeux Road, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dixon, Donald, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dixon-Applegate incident, <a href="#Page_93">93-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Donovan, Gen., <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Double Ten riots, <a href="#Page_99">99-107</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dragon Boat Festival, <a href="#Page_251">251-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drug addiction, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Drug addicts, treatment of, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dulles, John Foster, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dying-houses, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Dynasty Salon, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">East Asian Film Festival, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Electorate, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Electrical apparatus industry, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Electric batteries and flashlights, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Electro-plating, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Elliott, Capt. Charles, <a href="#Page_20">20-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Employment, <a href="#Page_120">120-1</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123-4</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Enamelware, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Engineering construction, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Epidemics, <a href="#Page_23">23-4</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eu, Mr., <a href="#Page_272">272-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Eucliffe and Euston castles, <a href="#Page_272">272-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Executive Council, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Exports, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Faith Hope Nursery, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fanling, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fan Pui, <a href="#Page_167">167-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Far East Refugee Program, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Farm acreage, <a href="#Page_176">176-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Farm income, <a href="#Page_178">178-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Federation of Veg. Marketing Coop. Societies, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Feng, I., Enamelling Co., <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Films about Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Filtration, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fire Brigade Building, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Firecrackers, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fires, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76-7</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">First Natl. City Bank of N.Y., <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fish and Veg. Marketing Orgs., <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fishermen’s schools, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fishing, Communist restrictions, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fishing industry, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Floating restaurants, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Florence Nightingale Award, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Flour mills, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Flower-growing, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fluoridation, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Food manufacturing, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Foreign Assets Control Division, U.S. Consulate General, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Foreign Correspondents’ Club, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fou Wah Mills, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fowler’s Flying School, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx">France, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Freezinhot Bottle Co., <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> - -<li class="indx">French, Graham, <a href="#Page_71">71-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Frontier Division, Police, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fruit, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fukien, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Fung Shui, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Furniture industry, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Garment manufacturers, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gates, Dr. Elbert E., Jr., <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gates, Mrs. June (Elbert E., Jr.), <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">General Post Office, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Geneva Textile Agreement, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Germany, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gifts, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span>Ginger, preserved, <a href="#Page_117">117-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gloucester Hotel, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Godfrey, Arthur, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gold rush, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Goldsmiths’ shops, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Government, character and efficiency, <a href="#Page_216">216-7</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">Chinese view of, <a href="#Page_217">217-8</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">weaknesses of, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Government construction, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159-60</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Government House, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Governor, powers of, <a href="#Page_215">215-6</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Graft and corruption, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218-24</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grandview Film Co., <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grantham, Gov. Alexander, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grantham, Lady Maurine, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Great Leap Forward,” the, <a href="#Page_86">86-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Great Wall,” <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Green Island Cement Co., <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Grouting, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Gunboats, Communist, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Hai Lee Chan, <a href="#Page_196">196-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hakka, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190-1</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Handicrafts, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hang Hau, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Hangsang</i> incident, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hang Seng Bank, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hankow Road, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Happy Valley, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Happy Valley Jockey Club, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Harbor, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Harcourt, Rear Adm. C. H. J., <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Haven of Hope Sanatorium, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Heath, Police Commr. H. W. E., <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hebe Haven, <a href="#Page_171">171-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hei Ling Chau, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hennessy, Gov. John P., <a href="#Page_34">34-6</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Henningsen, Anker B., <a href="#Page_136">136-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Henningsen, A. P., <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Henwood, Rosalind, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Herklots, Dr. G. A. C., <a href="#Page_179">179-80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Heroin, <a href="#Page_206">206-8</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hire cars, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hogan, Chief Justice Michael, <a href="#Page_219">219-22</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hoklo, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Holden, William, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Annual Report (1956), <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hongkong and Kowloon Wharf & Godown Co., <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hongkong & Shanghai Banking Corp., <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151-2</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock Co., <a href="#Page_116">116-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Co., <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Club, <a href="#Page_263">263-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Commerce and Industry Dept., <a href="#Page_122">122-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Council of Social Service, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Cricket Club, <a href="#Page_264">264</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Fed. of Trade Unions, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">“Hong Kong Fever,” <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Housing Authority, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Housing Society, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Island, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21-4</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167-8</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Junior Chamber of Commerce, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Rope Mfg. Co., <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Royal Engineers, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Technical College, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong <i>Tiger Standard</i>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Tourist Assn., <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Tramway, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong University, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hong Kong Welfare Society, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hospitals, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hotels, <a href="#Page_300">300-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Howatson, Fr. P. J., <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Hung Siu Tsuen, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span><i>Hyacinth</i>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Immigration, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78-81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Imperial Airways, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Imperial Hotel, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Imperial Preference, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Imports, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">India, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Indian cuisine, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Indians, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Industrial expansion, postwar, <a href="#Page_123">123-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Industries, early, <a href="#Page_114">114-16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Industry, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">liabilities of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">natural assets, <a href="#Page_115">115-16</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Inflation, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ingrams, Harold, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> - -<li class="indx">International cuisine, <a href="#Page_302">302</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Interpol, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irish governors, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Irrigation, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ivory carvings, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Japan, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Japan Air Lines, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Japanese cuisine, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Japanese industry, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Japanese trade, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jardine, Matheson & Co., <a href="#Page_148">148-50</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jardine Dyeing & Finishing Co., <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jatar, Capt. D. K., <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Johnson, Linden E., <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Joseph Fund, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Joss House Bay, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Jubilee Reservoir, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Junk Bay, <a href="#Page_52">52-3</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Junk Bay Medical Council, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Junks, <a href="#Page_139">139-40</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192-8</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Kader Industrial Co., <a href="#Page_124">124-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kadoorie, Lawrence and Horace, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kadoorie Agric. Aid Assn., <a href="#Page_182">182-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kadoorie Agric. Aid Loan Fund, <a href="#Page_182">182-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kaifongs, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kai Ho Kai, Sir, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kai Tak Airport, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132-3</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159-61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kam Tin, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kee Heung Tea House, <a href="#Page_286">286-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Keeshen, Commr., <a href="#Page_21">21-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kelly, Elma, <a href="#Page_146">146-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kennedy, Gov. Arthur, <a href="#Page_33">33-4</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kennedy, President John F., <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kennedy Town, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Kert</i>, the, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kingman, Dong, <a href="#Page_261">261-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Korean war, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113-14</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kowloon Bay, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kowloon-Canton Railway, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kowloon Peninsula, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kowloon Tong, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kowloon Walled City, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Krasner, Capt. Benjamin, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kuan Yin, <a href="#Page_247">247-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kwan, Adm., <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kwangtung Province, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kwong Lee Cheung Shipyard, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kwong On Bank, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kwun Tong, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Kwun Tong Road, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Laans, <a href="#Page_179">179-80</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Labor unions, <a href="#Page_134">134-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ladder Street, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ladrone Islands, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lak Ma Chau, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lamma Island, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lamont, Capt. John, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lancelot, Sir, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Land, <a href="#Page_155">155-6</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Land Border Police, <a href="#Page_81">81-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Language barrier, <a href="#Page_228">228-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lantau Island, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lappa Island, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lap Sap Mei, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lapworth, William, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Law enforcement, <a href="#Page_202">202-4</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span>Lease of New Territories, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Leather industry, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lee Loy Shing, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Legislative Council, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lei Yue Mun pass, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lema Island, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Li Cheng Uk, <a href="#Page_101">101-3</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Li Chy, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lin Dai, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ling Ting Island, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lin Tse-Hsu, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lion Rock Tunnel, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Li Po Chun, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Li Po Chun Chambers, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Li Sing, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li> - -<li class="indx">London <i>Times</i>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Long Harbor, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lower Shing Mun Dam, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lo Wu, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lugard-Harlech Road, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Luk Kwok Hotel, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lu K’u, Gov. of Canton, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lu Pan, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lutheran World Federation, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lutheran World Service, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Lu Wang-tse, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Macao, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Macao Ferry incident, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Macao Ferry Pier, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Macdonnell, Sir Richard G., <a href="#Page_32">32-3</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> - -<li class="indx">McDouall, John C., <a href="#Page_238">238-40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Machinery industry, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">MacIntosh, Police Commr. Duncan, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mandarin Textiles, Ltd., <a href="#Page_140">140-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Man Kam Lo, Sir, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Man Mo Temple, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Manson, Sir Patrick, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Man Wa Lane, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ma On Shan, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mao Tse-tung, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marden, John L., <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marine Police, <a href="#Page_78">78-80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marriage Registry, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Marriages, the six kinds, <a href="#Page_235">235-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Maryknoll Fathers, <a href="#Page_66">66-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Match-making industry, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mechanized fishing boats, <a href="#Page_192">192-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Men’s tailoring, <a href="#Page_295">295-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Metal products, <a href="#Page_123">123-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mid-Autumn Festival, <a href="#Page_252">252-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mines and quarries, <a href="#Page_156">156-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mirs Bay, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mission to Lepers, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mongkok, <a href="#Page_103">103-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mongolian steamboat, <a href="#Page_305">305-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Morris, Capt. Mike, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Motion picture industry, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Movie theaters, <a href="#Page_298">298-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Mui Tsai, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232-4</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Nail and screw industry, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nanking, Treaty of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Napier, Lord, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nathan Road, <a href="#Page_130">130-1</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> - -<li class="indx">National Cash Register Co., <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nationalist China, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nationalist Chinese, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Natural resources, <a href="#Page_23">23-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Nemesis</i>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Net Domestic Product, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Newcombe, Madge, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> - -<li class="indx">New Territories, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165-6</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170-1</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175-6</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260-1</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Newton, John, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Newton, Robert J., <a href="#Page_138">138-40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Newton, Whitney, <a href="#Page_138">138-40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Night clubs, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Nim Shue Wan, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Noodles, <a href="#Page_66">66-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">North Korea, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> - -<li class="indx">North Point, “Little Shanghai,” <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Oaths, swearing of, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Opium, <a href="#Page_17">17-8</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201-12</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span>Ottawa Agreements of 1932, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Paar, Jack, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pakistan, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pak Ngau Shek, <a href="#Page_184">184-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Palmerston, Lord, <a href="#Page_20">20-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pan American World Airways, <a href="#Page_132">132-3</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Paquerette, Ltd., <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Park Hotel, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pa T’eng seiners, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Peak Tram, <a href="#Page_259">259-60</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pedder Lane and Street, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pekinese cuisine, <a href="#Page_305">305</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Peking, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Peking, Convention of, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Peng Chau, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Peninsula Hotel, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Piracy, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27-8</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32-3</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pirates, airborne, <a href="#Page_27">27-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plague, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37-8</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plastic flowers, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plastic wares, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Pleasantville</i> incident, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Plover Cove, <a href="#Page_171">171-2</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pneumonia, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pok Fu Lam, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Po Leung Kuk, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Police, nationality of, <a href="#Page_213">213-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Po Lin Monastery, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pond fish, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189-90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Population, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Population, density of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Portuguese, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Po Toi Island, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Pottinger Street, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx">President Hotel, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Preventive Service, <a href="#Page_208">208-10</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Prince’s Building, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Princess Alexandra of Kent, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Printing industry, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Prostitution, <a href="#Page_205">205-6</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Protestants, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Public Enquiry Service, <a href="#Page_221">221-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Public Pier, Kowloon, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Public Works Dept., <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Purse-seining, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Quarry Bay, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Queen Mary Hospital, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Queen’s Pier, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Queen’s Road, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Radio and television shows about Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_132">132-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Radio Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ramon Magsaysay Award, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rawling, S. B., <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Reclamation, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158-9</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162-3</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Recorded workshops, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Red China, <a href="#Page_44">44-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Refugees, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41-2</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73-6</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78-83</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Registered factories, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Relief expenditures, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rennie’s Mill Camp, <a href="#Page_52">52-3</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Repulse Bay, <a href="#Page_272">272-3</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Repulse Bay Hotel, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Reservations, hotel, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Resettlement cottages, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Resettlement estates, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rice, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rice Bowl, the, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rickshaws, <a href="#Page_266">266-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ridehalgh, Arthur, <a href="#Page_238">238-40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rio de Janeiro, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Robinson, Gov. Hercules, <a href="#Page_29">29-31</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rodrigues, Dr. A. M., <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roman Catholics, <a href="#Page_254">254-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Romaniello, Msgr. John, <a href="#Page_66">66-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Roosevelt, President F. D., <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Royal Naval Launch incident, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Rubber products, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ruling group, <a href="#Page_214">214-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Russell & Co., <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Russia, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Russian pastries, <a href="#Page_306">306-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ryan, Fr. Thomas F., <a href="#Page_179">179-81</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Sai Kung, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span><i>St. Bride’s Bay</i> incident, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Salt water use, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sanitary conditions, <a href="#Page_36">36-7</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sargent, Sir Malcolm, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Saunders, Doris, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Schools, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Seamen’s Strike of 1922, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Seawall, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Secretariat for Chinese Affairs, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sedan chairs, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shakespeare, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sham Chun Reservoir, China, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sham Chun River, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sham Shui Po, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shanghai, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shanghainese cuisine, <a href="#Page_304">304</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sha Tin, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shatin Heights Hotel, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shatin Valley, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shau Kei Wan, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195-6</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269-71</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shaw Brothers film studio, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shek Kip Mei, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76-7</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shek Kwu Chau, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shek Li Pui Reservoir, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shek-O, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shek Pik, <a href="#Page_167">167-70</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shell-button factories, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sheung Shui Exper. Sta., <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shipbuilding, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116-17</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shipping, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shoeshine Alley, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shopping arcades, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Shopping areas, <a href="#Page_292">292-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sik-nin Chau, Sir, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Silver Mine Bay, <a href="#Page_168">168-9</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Singer Sewing Machine Co., <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sin Hoi, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sin Hung, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Skau, Sister Annie M., <a href="#Page_49">49-58</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smale, Sir John, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smallpox, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smith, Rev. George, <a href="#Page_201">201-2</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Smuggling immigrants, <a href="#Page_79">79-81</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Social conditions, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Society for Aid and Rehab, of Drug Addicts, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>South China Morning Post</i>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">South China Sea, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> - -<li class="indx">South Sea Textile Mfg. Co., <a href="#Page_126">126-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sparkman & Stephens, Inc., <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Spies, Nationalist Chinese, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Squatter shacks, population, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Squeeze on parcels to China, <a href="#Page_89">89-90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stalin, Josef, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Standard of living, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stanley, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Star Ferry terminals, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265-6</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Starling Inlet, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stather, Lt. Cmdr. K., <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Statue Square, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Steel Rover</i> incident, <a href="#Page_91">91-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Stonecutters Island, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Suez Canal opening, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sullivan, Ed, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sung Wong T’oi, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sunshine Island, <a href="#Page_60">60-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Sun Yat Sen, Dr., <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Szechuan cuisine, <a href="#Page_304">304-5</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Tai Hang Tung, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taikoo Dockyard & Engineering Co., <a href="#Page_116">116-7</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taikoo Sugar Refinery Co., <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai Lam Chung Reservoir System, <a href="#Page_165">165-7</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai Lung Forestry and Crop Experimental Station, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai Mo Shan, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai O, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai Ping Rebellion, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai Po, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai Shui Hang Monastery, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai Tam, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai Tam Bay, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tai Tam Tuk, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taiwan, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tak Sau coffin shop, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span>Ta Kwu Ling Exper. Sta., <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tang, P. Y., <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tanka, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242-3</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taoists, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tao-Kuang, Emperor, <a href="#Page_21">21-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tap Mun Chau, <a href="#Page_285">285-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tariffs, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Taxis, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Telegraph link to England, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Temple Street, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Textile exports, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141-2</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149-50</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Three Fathoms Cove, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">T’ien Hou, <a href="#Page_249">249-50</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tientsin, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tiger Balm Gardens, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ting, H. C., <a href="#Page_124">124-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ting, Prof., <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tingle Athletic Assn., <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tingle, Billy, <a href="#Page_265">265</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Ti Ping, Emperor, <a href="#Page_73">73-4</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tobacco industry, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">To Kwa Wan, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tolo Channel, <a href="#Page_170">170-1</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tolo Harbor, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tong King, Gulf of, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Topography, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tourists, <a href="#Page_243">243-4</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289-92</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tourist trade, <a href="#Page_131">131-33</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trade, Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_16">16-7</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Transistor radios, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Transportation industry, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trawling, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Trevelyan, Humphrey, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Triads, <a href="#Page_101">101-4</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106-7</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213-4</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tsang, John Chao-ko, <a href="#Page_109">109-10</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tsim Sha Tsui, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tsing Yi, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tsuen Wan, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105-7</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tsui, Paul K. C., <a href="#Page_221">221-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tuberculosis, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tung, John, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tung Lung Island, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Tung Wah Hospital, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230-1</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Turner, Sir Michael, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Typhoons, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Typhus, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Union House, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li> - -<li class="indx">United Church of Canada, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> - -<li class="indx">United Kingdom, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> - -<li class="indx">United Nations, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> - -<li class="indx">U.N. Econ. and Soc. Council, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - -<li class="indx">U.N. Embargo, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> - -<li class="indx">United States, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> - -<li class="indx">U.S. Navy, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> - -<li class="indx">U.S. Tariff Commission, <a href="#Page_143">143-4</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Upper Kowloon, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Upper Lascar Row, “Cat Street,” <a href="#Page_275">275-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Urban Council, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> - -<li class="indx">U Tat Chee, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Vegetables, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Vehicular Ferry Pier, <a href="#Page_268">268</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Victoria, Queen, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Victoria City, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Victoria Park, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Victoria Peak, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259-62</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Views of Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Volage</i>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Wages and working conditions, <a href="#Page_133">133-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wah Yan College, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Walla-Walla, <a href="#Page_265">265-6</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wanchai, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>Wan Fu</i>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281-2</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Water supply, <a href="#Page_23">23-4</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155-6</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163-73</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Weather, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Welfare handicraft shops, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wells, water, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Western District, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wheelock, Marden & Co., <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wild animals, <a href="#Page_280">280</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wing-Hong Cheung, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wing On Street, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span>Wing Sing Street, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Women, <a href="#Page_33">33-5</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146-8</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">executives and professional, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">in industry, <a href="#Page_146">146-7</a>;</li> -<li class="isub1">status and treatment, <a href="#Page_234">234-5</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Women’s clothing, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wong, Steve, <a href="#Page_97">97-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wong Nai Chung, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wong Tai Sin, <a href="#Page_68">68-9</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wood-carving shops, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wooden chests, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Woods, Aileen, M.B.E., <a href="#Page_147">147-8</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Workmen, quality of, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Workmen’s Compensation, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> - -<li class="indx">World Health Organization, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> - -<li class="indx"><i>World of Suzie Wong, The</i>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li> - -<li class="indx">World Refugee Year, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Wyndham Street, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> - -<li class="ifrst">Yalta Conference, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Yangtze River, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Yau Ma Tei, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Yee Hop Shipyard, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Yuen Long, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li> - -<li class="indx">Yu Yat-sum, <a href="#Page_189">189-90</a></li> - -<li class="indx">YWCA, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> - -</ul> - -<p> </p> -<p> </p> -<hr class="pgx" /> -<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HONG KONG***</p> -<p>******* This file should be named 62191-h.htm or 62191-h.zip *******</p> -<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/2/1/9/62191">http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/1/9/62191</a></p> -<p> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed.</p> - -<p>Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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