MARINE DEPARTMENT LIBRARY
CHAPTER III
CLEARANCE AND RESETTLEMENT OPERATIONS
23. The legal definition of a squatter structure covers a wide range from a typical squatter hut, built of wood or any cheap materials that can be had, to substantial two- or three-storey houses. These structures were in some cases built by the present occupants but more usually they are owned by 'squatter landlords', usually absentees, who may charge as much as $25 a month rent for a cubicle measuring as little as 50 square feet. The more substantial houses are for the most part similarly overcrowded, but in some cases, they are occupied by comparatively well-to-do 'squatters'. These houses have mostly been built on leased agricultural land, contrary to the lease conditions, either by the lessees themselves, who then rent them out, or by immigrants who purchased sites from the lessees.
24. The families living in these areas vary greatly in their economic and social status and have come from many different parts of China. The Cantonese are usually in the majority but there are also large numbers of Chiu Chow speaking persons from the Swatow region and northerners from Shanghai or further north. At one extreme there is a very small minority whose family incomes may exceed $1,000 a month, and who may be employed by the Government or by large firms; at the other there are the families in wooden huts, many of whom have no regular employment and whose average earnings from casual labour or hawking are often less than $100 per month.
25. All these squatters are in illegal occupation of land and are liable to eviction, as indeed are those who have squatted on the roof- tops of tenement buildings, or in side streets and scavenging lanes. But the amount of resettlement accommodation is limited and priority is given to the clearance of land required for development. In selecting areas for clearance the criterion is the degree of urgency with which the land is required, and not the degree of need of the squatters themselves; and when an area is scheduled for clearance, all the squatters living within the area are offered resettlement without discrimination.
26. About three months before the final date of a clearance, teams from the Screening Unit of the department make a comprehensive survey of the area. Every structure is investigated and the particulars recorded on the screening form include the number of persons living in the structure; their names, ages and relations; identity card numbers; length of residence in the structure and in the Colony; occupations and
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