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the Army RAPWI organization closed down and the housing, feeding, payment and documentation of the 200 remaining repatriates and of repatriates in transit through the Colony were undertaken by the Relief Section.
The Civil Government thus inherited from the Military Administration considerable responsibilities in the field of relief, and the Relief Section continued its work as a sub- department of the Medical Department. The free food kitchens were maintained throughout the year and a system of assisted repatriation was set up whereby destitute Chinese persons were given free transportation back to their homes in the interior of China. This was made possible by co-operation between the Hong Kong Government and CNRRA, an agency of UNRRA which operates in China. Shelters were opened for street sleepers where they could stay in warmth and safety and obtain a free evening meal. Expectant and nursing mothers and infants in need of extra food were given free milk and nutritious congee, a gruel made from rice, to supplement their scanty diet. On all these works, and in subsidies to charitable bodies and hospitals, Government spent about HK$5,000,000 during 1946. Valuable assistance was given throughout the period by the British Red Cross, the Salvation Army and such local agencies as the Hong Kong Social Welfare Council, the Society for the Protection of Children, the Boys' and Girls' Clubs Associations and various religious bodies.
The repatriation of over 2,000 Chinese labourers who had been taken from Hong Kong to Hainan Island by the Japanese was carried out in May. These men had been cajoled or conscripted by the enemy for the purpose of working in the Hainan iron mines and the end of the war found them stranded in labour camps at various points on that island and in urgent Plans were need of food, clothing and medical attention. made in consultation with the Chinese Government, CNRRA and the Royal Navy, and 2,343 persons were brought to Hong Kong in two trips by H.M. Hospital Ship "Empire Clyde" in the second half of May. The detailed arrangements for collecting clothing, feeding and supervising the repatriates were in the hands of a Medical Officer of the Hong Kong Medical Department assisted by CNRRA officials.
At the end of the year plans for setting up a Social Welfare sub-department of the Secretariat for Chinese Affairs were under consideration and an administrative officer was receiving special training in the United Kingdom in social welfare work.