refugee the one supreme right that in my experience, all refugees seek ,
the right to be self-sufficient and to be self-reliant and to make for him
self and his family aa daily living.
To my knowledge, the crown colony has received no financial assist
ance from the United Kingdom for its refugee needs. The declared
policy of the crown colony is to absorb the refugees as soon as pos
sible. When you talk in Hong Kong about refugees at least the Gov
ernment authorities, you are quickly channeled into another are of dis
cussion , because in their judgment, they do not want to call this a
" refugee problem .” This is a problem of absorption of a population.
The refugee or the person who flees across that border is made into a
part of Hong Kong community and he is treated as a part of the
Hong Kong community at the earliest possible moment.
REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO 53
I also went to Macao on this trip and I would make aa few comments,
if I may , about that. Evidences of malnutrition were much clearer, to
me, among the refugees arriving in Macao than in Hong Kong. The
escapes being made to Macao are much more dramatic in many ways
than the escapes being made to Hong Kong, involving much peril to
the lives of those who had been denied exit permits by Communist
officials. Those who escape to Macao, having been denied exit permits
by the Chinese Government, frequently comeasa measure oftheir own
personal despair and their own reaction to the Chinese Communist
Government . Again , I think Macao has done a tremendous job in
trying to give sustenance and assistance to the refugees. The volun
tary agencies who work in Macao and in Hong Kong are really worthy
of great admiration. Anybody who sees the CARE feeding station
in Macao can only be deeply and profoundly impressed, or sees the re
habilitation center established by the American Association for the
Overseas Blind, or sees the extraordinary work done by the church
groups in Hong Kong and Macao. To spend a day with Father Ruiz
in Macao is a personal experience that rery few people who have ever
had it will forget. He is a person who has given his life to the care
of the refugees.
I would make additional comments about the problems of Taiwan
in relation to Hong Kong and the extremely delicate problems of re
settlement in Taiwan, but I would prefer to make those at a later date
and perhaps under differentcircumstances.
Senator HART. Would it be possible to include those in the written
report ?
Mr. VANDEN HEUVEL. Yes ; I will try to do that, Senator.
In conclusion , I would just like to make what Í regard as the points
of assistance that are possible and reasonable in the current emergency
concerning HongKong. First of all, I think the greatest need among
the refugees in Hong Kong is for continued assistance at every level,
and I would emphasize especially the direct assistance of the voluntary
agencies who are involved in resettlement and rehabilitation within
the crown colony itself.
I realize in saying this that I am pleadinga special interest, because
the International Rescue Committee is involved in this work. But I
think that the heads of the other voluntary agencies would agree with
me that the greatest single need for these refugees is to be trained and
permitted to make their own living and to be self -sufficient as soon as
possible. To that end, we have entered into programs of English
language training, because refugees who can speak English are capa
ble of earning at least three times what they otherwise would be
capable of earning. The IRC supports programs like the Organiza
tion for ChineseRefugee Industrial Development, whichhas techni
cal training facilities and supports training of the handicapped in
Hong Kong. We have a program mapped out for day nurseries, so
that Chinese mothers who must work will know their infants will be
taken care of. This kind of work , in addition to the medical assist
ance, I think, is of extreme importance. The International Rescue
Committee, for example, hopes to start soon a program of training
hotel workers, because within the next 2 years, it is estimated Hong
Kong's hotels will need an additional 7,000 employees and this is the
kind of technical trainingthat helps the economy of Hong Kong but,
most importantly, helpsindividuals to sustain themselves.
54 REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO
Secondly, I think the program such as that announced by the
President is of unusual importance, and I would wholeheartedly
support it. To allow refugees to come to the United States, to realistic
allyadjust the immigration quotas, which is part of your bill, Senator,
I think is an urgent necessity. And in saying this, I would say
again that realistically, I think we are fooling ourselves if we think
that any kind of mass immigration or migration is going to sub
stantially reduce the problem that confronts HongKong. În saying
that, I include the offers that have been made by all the other nations
of the free world, including Taiwan.
Thirdly , I would say that a terribly important item that the Con
gress must consider is the trade policies concerning Hong Kong.
not possibly
Hong Kong survives on its export industries. It could Its
begin to raise the food necessary for its inhabitants. lifeblood
is exports. To the extent that the United States and other nations
adopt protective policies against Hong Kong industries, to that ex
tent do we decrease the possibilities within the colony itself for
providing the jobs and the daily suetnance that is desperately needed
for its refugees. There is no doubt about the reaction in Hong Kong
to the recent embargo on textiles from Hong Kong. The impact this
has had on the textile industry, which is the mostimportant industry
in Hong Kong, has already had substantial results in causing unem
ployment. I do not attempt to suggest a solution, but I do suggest
that in contemplating these problems, we remember they are not only
economic in their straight classical sense, but they do have human
overtones, especially inHong Kong where a refugee community is
affected .
Fourthly , I would like to say I was delighted to hear Bishop
Swanstrom talk in terms of capital improvement in Hong Kong.
For example, the building of new housing, the reclaiming of new
lands, the development of land in places like Lan Tau that has greater
land capacity than Hong Kong itself. These are lands that can be
developed but it takes capital investment to do it. Hong Kong should
be able to makean appreciable addition to that development.
International banks can help, and this is clearly an area where the
United States itself can be of direct assistance .
An international conference has been discussed to allow the free
world to meet and discuss the possibilities and problems of the
Hong Kong crisis. I believe that the crisis we saw in Hong Kong
in the early weeks of May is one that we will see again, because the
conditions that occasioned it will recur again. And I would hope very
much that in contemplation of that recurrence, the nations of the
free world would concentrate and focus their attention on possible
solutions. Because of the political problems that are involved , I do
not think that this can be done in a formal way. I think it has to
be done unofficially and it has to be done at a high level and it has to
be done with realism and frankness and the honesty that allies deserve
to give to one another.
I think that Hong Kong faces the basic problem of the Chinese
refugees and carries the basic responsibility for whatever solutions
will come about. Essentially, it is a problem whose solution, if any,
depends upon the guidance and goodwill of the British and Hong
Kong authorities.
REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO 55
Because this is a problem that has evoked a response throughout
the world , and especially because it is a challenge that has evoked a
deep emotional response in America in its traditional sense of com
passion and humanitarianism , I think the refugee problem in Hong
Kong is one that should and must command our continuing attention.
But I think it has to be an attention that is within a framework of
responsibility. And that framework of responsibility is the frame
work of the Hong Kong authorities who bear the principal burden
of the daily battle . I hope very much that those who are charged
with the responsibility of settling these problems will try as far as
possible to seek out the opinions and the advice and the recommenda
tions of the Hong Kong government before moving into any major
areas of new recommendations.
Thank you , Senator.
Senator Hart. Thank you. I find it hard to imagine that your
written statement could be any more explicit and easy of chronological
absorption than your oral one from notes. It is excellent. So, too, the
specific suggestions with which you concluded that statement. It is
the kind of statement that we have not exchanged views on for a long
time, just as Bishop Swanstrom’s. I think our wisest course is simply
to let it speak for itself.
Mr. Johnson
Mr. JOHNSON . No questions.
Senator HART. Mr. De Haan ?
Mr. DE HAAN . No questions.
Senator HART. Mr. Nishimura ?
Mr. NISHIMURA. I observed that there is a great deal of American
concern on the Hong Kong refugee problem . Have you seen the activ
ities of the United Nations or the nations of the United Kingdom or
other members of the free world on this Hong Kong problem ?
Mr. VANDEN HEUVEL. There are authorities in the room who can
correct my impression , but I believe that the United Nations has
little or no program in relation to the Chinese refugees because they
are not under the mandate of the U.N. High Commissioner for
Refugees.
The United Kingdom, of course, carries on major relief programs
through its own system of voluntary agencies, such as the Oxford
Committee for Famine Relief. During the WorldRefugee Year, the
British response, of course, was more generous than any nation in
the world , and a good part of that was directed toward Hong Kong
and the refugees.
Butbasically, the everyday problems of the refugee community
have been the problems of the Hong Kong authorities and the volun
tary agencies who have worked there. The American voluntary agen
cies have struggled with their various constituencies to find the re
sources to carry on the endless programs that could be carried on if the
resources were available. There is no limit to what the voluntary
agencies can do, I think, in HongKong, if the resources were available
to them, because Hong Kong does represent a practically endless
humanitarian problem .
I think thatthe voluntary agencies deserve great commendation for
the work they have done, and I think the British authorities in Hong
Kong feel that very strongly, too. They have established excellent
56 REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO
working relationships with the agencies and are deeply appreciative
ofthe assistance and the generous support they have received.
The agencies, I think , have had a difficult time for a decade in find
ing the kind of support that they needed, although there were a million
refugees in Hong Kong before May 1. It was very difficult to get the
American people to understand the dimensions of the problem , and
perhaps one of the greatest benefits that will come under the recent
experience is the fact of a real and realistic identification between the
American public and the Chinese refugee problem in Hong Kong.
I hope it will be an enduring identification .
Mr. NISHIMURA . One more question, Mr. Chairman .
You suggested that the rehabilitation and resettlement work can
be carried out within Hong Kong itself. Is there room or space to
absorb more refugees, or do you mean the present refugees in Hong
Kong ?
Mr. VANDEN HEUVEL. I mean among the present refugees in Hong
Kong and among the 50,000, who, as you may know, come in legally
every year. The crown colony admits at least 50,000 refugees each
year legally intoHong Kong.
I might add, Senator, that of the 60,000 or 70,000 who appear at the
border, probably 15,000 or 20.000 are in Hong Kong today through
various means and the Hong Kong authorities are not returning them
to China. They are allowing them to register and establish residence
in Hong Kong
All of us, I think, were deeply disturbed to see one of the few
boundaries of the free world that is left to us where people can come
from an Iron Curtain country to the free world closed up. We feel
very deeply about the wall in Berlin and its consequences, and it is a
traumatic shock to us to think that it was necessary for a member
nation of the free world to put up an obstacle of its own to prevent
people from coming across the boundaries of the free world. But, at
the same time, we do not have the direct responsibility for Hong Kong.
I am sure thatwe would no more appreciate the government ofHong
Kong setting the immigration standards for admission into the United
States of Chinese refugees than they might appreciate various recom
mendations that have been made publicly in the United States, and I
might say among those recommendations were my own.
I feel that my trip to Hong Kong has, among other things, given
me a very real appreciation for the daily problems that that govern
ment faces, and I think that there are many things that we can do as a
voluntary agency , as a government. But I think we have to do it in
a realistic context of guidance from the authorities who have the basic
responsibility.
Mr. NISHIMURA . Thank you.
Senator HART. One of the things we ought to repeat often here at
home is the point you just made, that, annually, 50,000 refugees are
admitted and absorbed into Hong Kong. We have been " standing
on our head” around here for a couple of years over the influx from
Cuba. So we ought to remember this point. We ought to remember
Hong Kong's capacity when we talk about reevaluating our own basic
immigration policy. When we tear our hair out over the fact that
increased immigration might cause economic disturbances and areas
of unemployment, we just ought to measure our performance against
that of Hong Kong.
REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO 57
Mr. VANDEN HUEVEL. Yes.
Senator Hart. Before you leave, Miss Chu, when did your family
come to this country !
Miss CHU . My two elder sisters came in 1949. Then my parents
and my younger sister --my mother and my younger sister in 1956.
Senator HART. What does your family do, if I may ask ; your
father ?
Miss Chu. Well, my father is retired and my elder sister is working
as a writer at NBC onthe “ Today " show. Mysecond sister is working
at Time-Life. My third sister is studying in the University of Cali
fornia, biochemistry; and my younger sister in Columbia University,
Far Eastern courses .
Senator Hart. Well , again, I wish we were going into the living
rooms of every home in America.
Miss CHU . Thank you .
Senator HART.I would like to find anybody that would wrestle with
the proposition that this American society is not richer because you
and your sisters are here. I take it from that sequence that you
described beginning in 1949 , that is took quite a while for that to
happen.
Miss CHU. Yes.
Senator HART. Absent a very wise and prompt response from the
Attorney General and the President, I take it you would not yet be
here .
Miss CHU . No.
Mr. VANDEN HUEVEL. Thank you very much .
Senator Hart. Unfortunately, I must suggest a recess. I know
how difficult it is for those remaining.
If for some reason any of the remaining witnesses find it simply
impossible to return, as I shall suggest, at 2 o'clock, there are two
alternatives. One, the less satisfactory from our standpoint and un
doubtedly from yours, would be to file a written statement to be
made a part of the record. The other would be to plan to come
tomorrow. I have not made this announcement for the record today
until this point, but the committee will resume hearings at 11 o'clock
tomorrow morning, at which timethe president ofthe ChineseRefugee
Relief Organization, Mrs. Claire Chennault, will testify. You can
indicate to Mr. Johnson your preference and I shall suggest a recess
until 2 o'clock.
(Whereupon, at 12:40 p.m., the subcommittee recessed, to resume
at 2 p.m. , of the same day .)
AFTERNOON SESSION
Senator Fong (presiding ). Senator Hart, chairman of the subcom
•
mittee, will be unavoidably detained. I will open the meeting and
we willnow continue with our hearing .
I will call for our first witness, Mrs. Pettiss.
STATEMENT OF MRS. SUSAN PETTISS, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR,
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICE, NEW YORK , N.Y.
Senator Fong. Mrs. Pettiss, I have read your whole testimony, be
cause I thought you had given it this morning while I was not here.
Mrs. PETTISS. Thank you .
58 REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO
Senator Fong, on behalf of the American Branch of the Interna
tional Social Service, I should like to express our appreciation for the
invitation to appear before your subcommittee.
Problems of refugees and migration were the central reason for the
establishment of International Social Service. During the past 40
years an individualized approach has been provided to uprooted peo
ples by our agency which is nonsectarian in character and operates
through its network ofoffices in 20 countries and qualified correspond
ents in most other countries around the world . Experience has proven
the validity of the social casework method of assisting refugees, as
the eventual solution to their problems must inevitably be on a one-by
one basis.
We were receptive therefore, in 1958 when the Hong Kong govern
ment asked International Social Service to assist in finding a secure
future for a number of orphans abandoned or stranded in their al
ready overcrowded orphanages. With partial support of the Far
East refugee program (FERP ) of the U.S. State Department, ISS
Hong Kong has ,since that time, been able to show dramatic and
heart -warming results with the problems of these " littlest refugees. "
Over a thousand children in Hong Kong have received ISS help ,
some assisted to remain with a mother or relative under bettered con
ditions, others to go to selected adoptive homes in 13 countries—
chiefly Great Britain and the United States. Forty -three percent of
these children were known to be refugees or children of refugees.
Thirty -three percent were abandoned, and therefore with no records
to show whether they were refugees. Since in the Chinese culture,
however, children are loved and highly prized , one can only think that
abandonment was a last resort ofa desperate parent or family over
whelmed by the conditions of the refugee crowded economy and
insecure future.
Specialnonquota orphan immigration legislation has made it pos
sible for ISS to bring over 600 ofthese children to the United States
to waiting adoptive parents who have welcomed them as a member of
their family.
This very personal and intimate gesture of generosity has created
an image of the United States which, ina way, offsets that usually
created by the U.S. immigration restrictions imposed on orientals.
The families assure us, however, that they are the benefactors, not
the children, because of the love and joy they receive from them .
Through this intercountry adoption plan, permanent solutions are
found for children who would have been a costly burden on the Hong
Kong Government as they would have required care in institutions
until they grew up. The adoptive parents bear the cost of transporta
tion and documentation, so that the expense to the U.S. Government
is at a minimum. The service of the American branch of ISS has,
up to now, been provided without cost to families, or to either the
Hong Kong or the U.S. Government.
Children are a precious commodity and although the conditions
creating the need for expeditious movement of these Hong Kong
children are overwhelming, it is to the credit of the Hong Kong Min
istry of Welfare and the U.S. State and local adoption agencies that
this movement into individual American homes is considered withno
less skill and care than that which would be given to American chil
dren placed in adoptive homes.
REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO 59
The results giveproof that this planning pays off. In less than
1 percent of the ISS adoptive plans has there been the necessity to
alter the original placement arrangement, and in no caseis thereany
indication that the child should be returned to Hong Kong. The
intercountry movement has been accomplished within the framework
of the excellent Hong Kong child welfare and adoption laws, and
according to the child placement and adoption laws of the 50 Śtates
of the United States.
We confess that we had some questions at the beginning of this
program as to whether the oriental children going into Caucasian
American families would encounter discrimination in their new com
munities, how would they be accepted in their American schools, and
what would it be like for them when they reached adolescence and
marriageable ages.
In 1959 we called in a group of eminent scientists to consult with
us — an anthropologist, a psychiatrist, a geneticist, a psychologist, and
a sociologist. We were reassured by their expert advice .
It was only after we had .a meeting of a group of adoptive parents
last year, however, that we were assured that our fears were un
grounded. They had adopted oriental children of all ages, and some
had been with them for over 5 years. Their experience, and that
which we have reported to us daily from all over the country, con
firms our faith in the response of American families and commu
nities to children eventhough they may be visually different.
Over half of the children from Hong Kong have been adopted by
Caucasian families. The interest inspired by Church World Service
through their affiliated Protestant churches has been a positive force
in stimulating families to want these children and to welcome the
children into their new hometowns.
But this movement of Hong Kong children into adoptive homes in
the various countries is not the only benefit of the ISS Hong Kong
operation. Like all ISS offices, it is staffed by trained social workers,
native to the country, and enjoys a close relationship with the gov
ernmental and voluntary welfare agencies. Because of this indige
nous compatibility, it has been in a more strategic position to have its
service accepted as a demonstration which will undoubtedly have wide
effect on general child welfare services to children in the crown colony.
As the only professional voluntary casework agency, ISS is frequently
called uponto consult with orphanages, schools of social work, and
other voluntary agencies . Recently one of the orphanages was so
impressed with the way ISS assembled facts about a child's back
ground and medical history that they asked for the loan of a case
worker to set up the whole registration and recordkeeping system for
the institution. Up until that time they did not even have a proper
file cabinet and children were taken in with the only record of their
admission and background in the memory of the person receiving
them . Now the orphanage has taken a social worker on their staff.
While planning to continue intercountry adoptions, ISS Hong
Kong is moving to fulfill other service needs in this refugee-ridden
city .
Hong Kong's problem is people. The Hong Kong Governmentis
doing a stupendous job in trying to provide basic housing, jobs, medi
cal attention, schools, et cetera. People need attention to their per
sonal problems and situations, though, and there are not enough
60 REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO
trained social workers to give it. ISS is being called upon more and
more to support efforts of the Hong Kong Government to bolster their
reservoir of trained personnel to meet this overwhelming need . Some
of the ISS staff teach in schools of social work, the agency serves as a
laboratory for practical experience for social work students, and ISS
caseworkers are called upon for leading seminars on casework coun
seling for those individuals working directly with refugees on retrain:
ing or resettlement plans.
We were asked by your subcommittee, Mr. Chairman , to give our
appraisal of present relief and assistance programs in Hong Kong.
I have just returned from Hong Kong and after only a few days there
would not presume to do more than comment on my impressions which
to some extent have been confirmed by the experience of our agency.
The Hong Kong Government has beenmost effective in establishing
and maintaining law and order in a chaotic situation , so much so
that one mightsuperficially get the impression only of a bustling,
thriving city. I was most favorablyimpressed with the U.S. Govern
ment efforts to support the Hong Kong Government in coping with
the refugee-swollen population, and the sound way in which the
FERP, under the leadership of Mr. Robert Aylward and Mr. Herman
Washington, are directing the expenditures of funds, coordinating
and advising with the American voluntary agencies operating there,
and generally recognizing and meeting the human needs.
It did seem to me that these voluntary efforts needed to be better
coordinated to eliminate duplication. Also, guidance seemed called
for to direct more effectively good intentions into sound programs.
For instance, I learned from staff ofthe Hong Kong Ministry of Wel
fare that the Ministry was finally forced to take a firm position not
to permit any building of more children's institutions. Certain
schemes designed to assist institutions based on contributions to in
dividual children might be reevaluated to be sure the children are not
then bound to permanent institution care. I learned that a new build
ing for blind infants had recently been completed, beautifully
equipped, and it was only when no babies were brought for admission
that it was determined that what was really needed was trained ther
apists to go out to homes to help mothers and families determined to
keep their babies with them .
In order to accomplish best results in the present situation it seemed
to me that what is needed is more skilled staff to plan for the move
ment of children out of institutions, more qualified staff in the existing
institutions to provide the children with adequate care, professional
leadership to help bring recognition of the fact that storing children
in institutions and turning them out at the age of 18 is not the best
preparation for adulthood and citizenship.
Repeatedly examples came to my attention strongly pointing up
the need for more trained personnel at all levels of social welfare.
This need does exist all the way from the top level of social surveys,
social planning, and social welfare administration to the practical
level of combating juvenile delinquency, caring for children'in insti
tutions, day care of children of working mothers, and casework serv
ices in hospitals, housing projects, refugee reception centers, vocational
training for the handicapped, mental institutions, et cetera .
REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO 61
Money spent to provide better staff and expand Hong Kong schools
of social work, bolster the current program to train those already
working in social welfare jobs, offer stipends and scholarships to
social work students, strengthen operating agencies with standards
sufficiently high to give internship experience to those in training,
would be a very wise investment whichwill pay off for years to come
in dividends inhuman happiness and productivity.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, I would ſike to comment that if a bill
similar to S. 3043, which Senator Hart introduced in the Senate, had
been law, the United States would have been in a much better posi
tion to give tangible expression of our sympathy for the heartbreak
ing plight of the refugees in Hong Kong by absorbing a number into
the United States.
Undoubtedly, this would have had a great impact, not only in terms
of the individuals resettled, but by ourexampleother countries would
have been encouraged to do likewise. Senator Hart's bill is a step
forward in the whole field of immigration as a constructive revision
of the currently rigid formula structure of national origin quotas and
an expression of a humanitarian desire to assist refugee groups more
adequately. We earnestly hope, also, that the bill, H.R. 10079, intro
duced into the House of Representatives by Congressman Francis
Walter and passed by that House, will soon be assigned to a com
mittee in theSenate for their consideration and prompt action. The
recommended provisions in this bill for appropriations for U.S. par
ticipation in ICEM , UNHCR , and USEP - covering FERP - pro
grams is more important than ever in view of the recent flood of ref
ugees from Communist China.
I might add that International Social Service is prepared to assist
our Government by immediately bringing into this country for adop
tion 200 orphaned or needy children, assuming that an agreement
can be reached with the Hong Kong Governmentto expedite the plan.
In cooperation with the established adoption agencies of our States
and communities, ISS is ready to move swiftly. Most of these adop
tion agencies are already burdened with the problem of finding homes
for the Cuban unaccompanied children , but we believe they can be
counted upon to rise to this Hong Kong emergency.
May I thank you, Mr. Chairman , for this opportunity, and may I
Social Service will be glad to make our
advise you that Internationalcommittee
experience available to your in any way in which you will
find useful .
Senator Fong. Mrs. Pettiss, concerning the International Social
Service - how many nations are in this social service group ?
Mrs. PETTISS. At the present time, we have offices or branches in
20 different countries. It is an international agency. Our headquar
ters is in Geneva, Switzerland.
Senator Fong. Do you have any members who are now working
in Hong Kong who areU.S. citizens?
Mrs. PETTISS. No; they are all Chinese, with the exception of the
director, who is an American.
Senator Fong. And in the work that has been done by the Inter
national Social Service in getting these orphans to be adopted by
families, most of them have been adopted by American families ; is
that true ?
87544-62-5
62 REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO
Mrs. PETTISS. A number have gone to Great Britain. Some few
have gone to Canada. More will be going to Canada and small num
bers have gone to other countries. The largest numbers have come to
the UnitedStates.
Senator Fong. Are you familiar with the laws of these other coun
tries relative to allowing these orphans to be adopted by their people?
Mrs. PETTISS. Somewhat familiar. Particularly, I am familiar with
the British law.
Senator Fong. Does thatlaw allow unlimited adoption ?
Mrs. PETTISS. The British law does. The Canadian law and some
other countries are extremely restricted . The Australian law, for in
stance, does not allow them to come into Australia to be adopted by
their people.
Senator Fong. Is the International Social Service trying to liberal
ize the laws in those countries ?
Mrs. PETTISS. The International Social Service in these countries
where they have branches, I think, has consistently taken the stand
that the American branchof the social service has, and that is that
these children should be allowed to go to whatever country in which
homes are offered to them .
Senator Fong. Does International Social Service work in coordina
tion with the local branch of social service; for instance, in Hawaii?
Mrs. PETTISS. That is true. We work very closely with the child
welfare division of the Hawaii State Department of Public Welfare.
Senator Fong. Before the child is allowed to come, do the social serv
ice and welfare organization of the State make a careful study of the
family ?
Mrs. PETTISS. This is true, and after the child comes, the same agency
will remain in the picture to supervise and stand by until such time
as the child's legal adoption is completed, which in many States is at
least a year after the child arrives.
Senator Fong. And all these adoptions that have taken place in
the United States, has anyone been sent back ?
Mrs. PETTISS. None have been sent back, sir.
Senator Fong. Has it been a very beneficial thing ?
Mrs. PETTISS. We feel it has been a very successful program .
Senator Fong. And all the people you have contacted, the Interna
tional Social Service has contacted , their expression has been a happy
one ?
Mrs. Petriss. I would say that is an understatement. They would
say they are the recipient in the program , as they have been able to
get from these children a great deal of joy and happiness.
Senator Fong. I was interested in your statement that over one
half of these children were adopted by Caucasian parents. I had the
impression that most of them were adopted by Oriental parents.
Mrs. Pettiss. The children that webring in, Senator, are ordinarily
in two categories. About a third of the children come to relatives.
These are children that have been orphaned by the death of their par
ents, or one parent. They come to grandparents, uncles and aunts,
or perhaps even a brother or sister. Of course, these would be Chi
nese families. Of the other two -thirds, half have gone to Chinese
families and the others to Caucasian families.
REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO 63
Senator Fong. Is there not a restriction in the orphanage law which
states that before a child is eligible for adoption, the child must be a
child of a refugee or must have lost a parent !
Mrs. PETTISS. I believe the definition of a child that is eligible for
the nonquota visa is that the child is orphaned either by loss of both
parents or the loss of one parent and the other parent is unable to take
care of him and has irrevocably released the child for adoption.
Senator Fong. Regardless of who the parents were ?
Mrs. PETTISS. Yes .
Senator Fong. Thank you very much, Mrs. Pettiss, for a very fine
statement.
Any questions, Mr. Johnson ?
Mr. Johnson . No.
Mr. DE HAAN . No.
Senator Fong . Thank you.
Mr. Snyder of the American Friends Service Committee, we would
like to have you come forward to give your testimony.
STATEMENTS OF WILLIAM W. CHANNEL AND EDWARD F. SNYDER
ON BEHALF OF AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE AND
FRIENDS COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL LEGISLATION
Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Chairman , I am Edward Snyder and this is Wil
liam Channel. William Channel is going to lead off in the testimony
and I will add other points.
Senator FONG. Proceed .
Mr. CHANNEL. Thank you. I have some descriptions of the Ameri
can Friends Service Committee program in Hong Kong which I will
leave here for the committee.
Senator Fong. We will incorporate that as part of your testimony.
Mr. CHANNEL. Thank you.
( The document referred to is as follows :)
AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE REFUGEE PROGRAM IN HONG KONG
REPORT No. 3
More than 1,500,000 refugees have come into Hong Kong since the Com
munist takeover of China in 1949. It is the world's most densely populated city,
increasing in numbers every year. The problems of housing, feeding, clothing,
and caring for the needs of these people are overwhelming ones. In an attempt
to alleviate some of these hardships and to assist the refugees in obtaining jobs
and useful leisure time occupations, the American Friends Service Committee
has been working in Li Cheng Uk, one of nine large resettlement estates.
AFSC community service in Hong Kong includes a cooperative day nursery,
mothers' clubs, fathers' clubs, youth activities, and work with villagers. The
project center is located in the third largest of the multistoried resettlement
buildings erected by the government. Over 48,000 people live on a 14-acre site.
Some 16,000 are children under the age of 10. Thousands of other refugees
still have to live in shacks on hillsides, or on sidewalks, rooftops, and boats.
The AFSC program has been centered in the city, but opportunities for helping
the refugees have recently been extended to fishing villages on the mainland
portion of Hong Kong.
The AFSC has organized projects in two villages among refugee fishermen .
At Tsung Hau village there was great need for an all -weather path so that
supplies could be brought in during the rainy season . AFSC staff helped the
villagers meet this problem. Responding to the aroused refugee initiative, the
government provided cement, stone, and sand ; villagers did the work - meticu
lously organized with a local cement man supervising mixing and laying.
Tools were borrowed from a local work camp organization. Extra food was
64 REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO
provided for workers. With the path completed , villagers have now improved
their own houses with steps and paths, buying a few cents worth of cement and
using river said.
The AFSC also provides training in sewing and literacy. Villagers enjoy get
ting together for a constructive purpose in the community center.
The room pictured here is 10 by 12 feet. It is typical of the rooms in the
resettlement block where the AFSC is working. This is the living space for five *
adults. Children under 10 count as half an adult. If families are small, one
room is divided into two sections and two families live in the space with a com
mon door and a thin partition separating them .
Residents show much ingenuity in making a home of this cubicle, dividing off
a sleeping and living area, or putting in a half-balcony for sleeping . Twenty or
more families share communal toilet and laundry facilities with one or two
water taps for the entire floor.
The two boys in the picture, aged 16 and 19, sew all day - assembling previously
cut short pants. They get 25 cents per dozen for completed articles, and can
average 50 cents a day. Their mother takes care of a neighbor's baby, which
allows the neighbor to work in a factory and earn a few more dollars.
These youths are not only learning a useful occupation, but are contributing
to the income of their family. AFSC classes in tailoring enabled the boys to get
work.
In addition to these training and recreational programs, the AFSC has estab
lished a library. This is available for all ages and is much in demand. Its
6,000 volumes are used daily by about 500 children and adults.
“The youth in Hong Kong are terribly confused ," write an AFSC worker.
"In place of emptiness and hopelessness the AFSC staff attempts to put some
thing constructive - job opportunities, and recreational facilities.”
The AFSC-trained Chinese staff teach the refugee children in a cooperative
nursery school set up as part of the service committee project. In this picture
children are learning how to tell time. Refugee mothers share in planning and
running the school, thus feeling a sense of belonging and of community. Without
this activity large numbers of small children would be left to sit in their cubicles
or huts, or to play in the streets.
In all these programs - fathers' clubs, youth work, mothers' clubs, village de
velopment, cooperative day nursery, counseling, teaching — the aim is to help
refugees to help themselves, and to gain a purpose in life. This is a beginning
toward the solution of an enormous problem which will have to be met for a
long time to come.
Mr. CHANNEL. I would like to say at the beginning that I am one
of those Caucasian parents — referred to by the previous witness — who
has adopted a Chinese child in Hong Kong and it is certainly one of the
happiestthings that has everhappened to us.
I am William W. Channel, of Philadelphia, director of the oversea
refugee program of the American Friends Service Committee. I have
recently returned from Hong Kong where I have served for 242
years as director ofour Hong Kong refugee program . My companion
is Edward F. Snyder, executive secretary of the Friends Committee
on National Legislation. Our two committees do not claim to speak
for all Friends, since Friends cherish the right to their individual
opinions. Nevertheless, Friends in general have aa long and continuing
record of concern for the hungry and dispossessed.
I will speak to the refugee problem in Hong Kong. Edward Snyder
will speak to the more general problem of hunger on the mainland of
China .
The first page of my testimony and about halfthe second page has
been already said in one way oranother by previous witnesses. So I
would like to spare the committee hearing them again by skipping
down to my recommendations on themiddle ofpage 2.
REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO 65
Senator Fong. That will be incorporated as part of your testimony.
( The matter referred to is as follows :)
The influx of refugees from China into Hong Kong over the past 10 years has
resulted in one of the most dramatic refugee problems in the world today. The
responsibility of caring for and housing these refugees has been borne largely by
the Hong Kong Government, though there has been substantial help from the
United States Government as well as many private agencies.
The crown colony government has responded to the emergency in many ways.
Health and welfare programs have been developed and expanded . Industry has
been encouraged to the extent that, whereas before the war entrepôt trade made
up 70 percent of the colony's income and local industry 30 percent ; the situation
is now exactly reversed with local industry providing 70 percent of the colony's
income. Perhaps the most dramatic development has been in public housing. In
the past 5 years, over 400,000 squatters have been rehoused in multistoried re
settlement estates. Another 100,000 people of higher incomes have been re
housed in middle -income housing units.
Private welfare agencies have helped bring relief to Hong Kong by providing
schools, vocational training programs, community services, as well as vast feeding
programs. These feeding programs have been made possible through contribu
tions of millions of pounds of U.S. surplus commodities. In addition to providing
approximately $5 million worth of food each year, the U.S. Government, through
its Far Eastern refugee program , allots $1 million annually in cash assistance,
much of which goes to finance special projects proposed by various private
agencies.
With the various government and private agency relief programs in Hong
This is largely true. With
Kong, it has been said that no one need starve.
present numbers and present programs continuing, no one need be hungry.
But these people have no future.
They are ambitious and industrious. One might say they share the American
dream of making life better for themselves and their children. But unlike us,
their chance of fulfillment of this dream is slight.
As Hong Kong has continued to bsorb vast numbers of refugees over the
years, the question has frequently been asked , “ How long can Hong Kong con
tinue to absorb such numbers of people ? How long can they be fed ? How long
can industry continue to expand and provide jobs for this rapidly expanding
population ?" Hong Kong has responded with resignation , and a faith that
somehow they would manage, that in any case they had no choice but to continue
to accept people as they came.
The deluge of refugees that began to cross the border in May of this year
changed the picture. It was obvious that Hong Kong could not absorb the num
bers that were coming and continue to provide jobs and food for its citizens.
The government of Hong Kong was suddenly forced to turn people back.
For this reversal of policy Hong Kong was criticized in many circles. Yet it
was not Hong Kong that was taken by surprise. It was the entire Western
World, including the United States. We were not ready. Hong Kong had been
receiving refugees in vast numbers for 10 years and receiving only token help
from outside. Because this refugee problem had been in existence for 10 years,
we in the West accepted it as a normal state of affairs. We learned to live with
it. We did not demonstrate a readiness to devote major attention to this prob
lem . And we were not ready when the situation suddenly became dramatic and
critical.
China has now spared the West continuing embarrassment. The bamboo cur
tain has again closed . For how long we do not know. But now is the time for
us to give serious thought and study to a major constructive program for
Chinese refugees and to provide leadership for other nations in the West. This
committee is to be commended for its initiative in this direction .
Mr. CHANNEL . While I am not prepared to suggest a major solu
tion to this problem , I feel there are certain things we could be doing,
in addition to the very commendable action by President Kennedy in
permitting several thousand Chinese refugees in Hong Kong to enter
the United States. Among such actions might be these :
1. Take greater numbers of Chinese immigrants and refugees as
proposed in the bill being sponsored by Senator Hart with the co
66 REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO
sponsorship of other Senators. Raising the quota on Chinese immi
grants from 105 to more than 5,000 and permitting the admission of
up to 50,000 refugees a year — including Chinese refugees encourage
a more liberal policy on the part of other nations. It would increase
the hope of many who nowfind Hong Kong a dead end. Putting
the quota more in line with that of other nations would remove the
stigma of the Chinese as an " excluded” group. It would be public
recognition that the Chinese make good American citizens.
2. The United States should also take its fair share of the aged and
infirm Chinese .
3. We should study ways and means to encourage Hong Kong
industry to expand and diversify in order to provide more jobs for
a people who are anxious and willing to work. I am no expert in
this field, but I feel we should take advantage of the Chinese desire
to work and make a better life for themselves. The Chinese are a
courageous and industrious people and will make their way if given
a chance.
4. We must remember that Hong Kong must manufacture and sell
in order to provide employment for thousandsof these refugees. How
ever, in an overpopulated area suchas Hong Kong, labor standards
are naturally far below our own. The Hong Kong Government is
vigorously pursuing the problem of labor standards and is making
steady progress. We might further encourage and support these
efforts by suggesting a " certificate of good labor practices ” for fac
tories that comply, giving import priority to such factories. Such
a step would put Hong Kong products on a fairer competitive level
with our own and would be far more constructive than blanket re
strictions on imports.
5. The United States might also explore the possibility of joining
with the Hong Kong Government in constructing a demonstration
desalination plant in Hong Kong. This suggestion is made, not be
cause we have any expert knowledge about desalination, but because
we are aware of the many problems Hong Kong faces because of
the water shortage. An increased water supply might allow Hong
Kong to accommodate more people, or accommodate present numbers
better, and expand industrial production.
We are also aware of the fact that last year Congress gave the Sec
retary of the Interior authority to initiate cooperative desalination
programs with other nations under Public Law 87–295. The possi
bility for developing conversionplants outside theUnited States was
discussed at length by Under Secretary of the Interior, James K.
Carr, in a speechon March 28, 1962.
In addition to this I would like to describe briefly the water situa
tion in Hong Kong as I have known it over the past few years.
Outside of the rainy months, toward the end of the year, for ex
ample, when we got up in the morning, we knew thatthere would be
4 hours of water a day. We had to do all of our washing and clean
ing during those 4 hours between 6 and 10 o'clock in the morning.
Before 10 o'clock when the water went off, we had to fill our bathtub
in order to have water for use during the day for the flushing of
toilets and for use in cooking and drinking.
Now, we had a bathtub. More thana million people in HongKong
do not have a bathtub. Almost a million of these probably do not
REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO 67
have a water tap in the house where they live, and they must take
pails and stand in line at a public water tap on the street and hope
that they will reach this water tap in time to collect a pail of water
before the water goes off.
Manytimes there is near panic as the hour for the water cutoff comes
near and many people in this line have no water. Hong Kong uses
approximately 40 to 50 million gallons of water a day. All of this
water is rainwater that is collected during the rainy season and run off
into reservoirs. There is no appreciable water supply from wells. A
yearago, a reservoir was built and made available to HongKong by
the Chinese Communist government just over the border. This aided
the water situation considerably .
Now, several desalination plants have been experimentally devel
oped in the United States. I have received information this morning
that the United States could build a 50 -million -gallon -a -day conversion
plant in Hong Kong in 18 months to 2 years. Westinghousehas built
a plant at San Diego and has said they are prepared to build plants
of up to 150 million gallons a day capacity. The cost estimates on
constructing a 50 -million -gallon plant — that is, to produce 50 million
gallons a day, would be approximately $40 million.
Now, Hong Kong is preparing to double its water capacity by
damming off bays of the sea and pumping out the salt water and using
these then to collect fresh water. However, these are long -term proj
ects and may take 8 to 10 years to complete. If we could provide a
plant to convert sea water to usable water in a period of 18 months to
2 years, it seems to me that this would be a tremendous contribution to
helping solve Hong Kong's water shortage.
I will now let Mr. Snyder talk to youabout food for China.
Mr. SNYDER. Mr. Chairman, several times during the hearing today,
the question has been raised about feeding the people on mainland
China, potential refugees rather than actual refugees, and I think that
most people regard this as an integral part of the whole question of
the refugees in Hong Kong. It is important for the United States to
make strenuous efforts to help ease the plight of the Chinese refugees
in Hong Kong through resettlement in the United States, through
revision of the immigration law, through expanding the contribution
of U.S. surplus food to refugees in Hong Kong, and through explor
ing the possibility of assisting in a water desalination program .
But it is increasingly apparent that with 600 to 700 million people
in mainland China - roughly one-quarter of the people on the earth
no solution is adequate which deals only with the relatively small num
ber of refugees who can make their way to Hong Kong or Macao.
ThePresident pointed this up in his May 23 press conference when
he said that any efforts at refugee relief and resettlement are swamped
and dwarfed by " the basic problem , which is that of a tremendous
country **** * where food supplies are inadequate.”
Up to this point China has been trying to stave off hunger by
importing millions of tons of grain from Canada, Australia, and
France. Now , however, there is a question as to whether these sup
pliers will be able to meet China's future demand. There is also a
question of whether China has the foreign exchange to continue such
massive oversea purchases.
68 REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO
The United States, on the other hand, is blessed with an abundance
of food. As of the end of March , the Commodity Credit Corporation
had in storage 1.1 billion bushels of wheat, 981 million bushels of corn ,
and 32 million bushels of barley .
We believe our Government should begin active exploration to find
ways to help feed those in mainland China who are hungry. We
should not wait to be asked . Pride and self-respect make it difficult
for the Communist Chinese to ask the United States for assistance .
China's Foreign Minister has already proclaimed that Peking “would
never stoop to beg for food from the United States."
Brotherly love knows no national boundaries. As a nation we are
focusing our attention and material assistance on the Chinese refu .
gees who have somehow arrived in Hong Kong. Our hearts have also
been touched by the tragic faces of those who sought to reach Hong
Kong but were truned back . Too few have remembered the hungry
who never left home. Yet each of these persons should be the object
of our concern . As hunger knows no boundaries, so a desire to help
our fellow men should not be restricted by barbed wire borders or cur
tains, whether iron or bamboo , or restricted to China, or Africa, or 1
India.
A humanitarian concern for the hungry regardless of political or
ideological views has been one of the brightest chapters in American
history. After the First World War, hungry people were fed in
Germany, Austria, and Russia . After the Second World War, the
same was done in Germany, Japan, and Italy. Surplus foodswere also
given to the needy people in the Communist countries of East Ger
many, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Yugoslavia , after the disas
trous Danube flood of the midfifties. This last program was initi
ated under title II of Public Law 480 ; the food was distributed by 1
local Red Cross societies, acting under the supervision of the League
of Red Cross Societies.
The present situation in China provides this generation of Ameri
cans the opportunity to reaffirm our Nation's traditional concern for
the hungry .
Under our present policy, U.S. Government regulations prohibit 1
the sale of all goods to mainland China including food. Recently a
Seattle trading company applied for a license to sell food to China,
but its application was denied on the grounds there was no evidence
it was acting on behalf of the Communist Chinese Government.
Gifts of food or money to buy food by private U.S. citizens to Chi
nese in mainland China are prohibited by administrative regulations
issued under the Export Control Act and the Trading With the Enemy
Act.
The U.S. Government could give food to the Chinese people under
title II of Public Law 480, which permits donations to friendly
but needy populations without regard to the friendliness of their
Government.'
At his recent news conference on May 23, President Kennedy ex
pressed the latest view of his administration :
Well, there has been no indication of any expression of interest or desire by TH
the Chinest Communists to receive any food from us as I have said from the
beginning, and we would certainly have to have some idea as to whether the
food was needed and under what conditions it might be distributed . Up to the
present, we have no such indications.
REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO 69
RECOMMENDATIONS
We recognize this is a very complex subject with many ramifications.
Nevertheless, we believe the present situation gives the United States
anespecially creative opportunity to act constructively in helping to
knit together a dividedworld . We hope our Government will -
1. Lift the prohibitions on selling food to China.
2. Take the initiative in exploring, in quiet ways at Warsaw and
elsewhere, Chinese Government interest in a sale or gift or loan
of food .
3. Initiate discussions inside and outside the Government re
garding the possibility of using international channels, such as
the League of Red Cross Societies which includes the mainland
Chinese Red Cross, to distribute food in China.
4. Remove restrictions on gifts by private American citizens to
designated persons in China. It is intolerable that people who
attempt to send a food parcel to hungry people in China are sub
ject to prosecution under the Trading With the Enemy Act and the
Export Control Act .
America's abundance in a hungry world lays a heavy burden on
our national conscience. We have done much to discharge that burden
through the surplus disposal program under Public Law 480 and the
more recent food - for -peace program, which has provided generous
help in many parts of the world , especially India, Africa, and South
America.
The sharing of our agricultural abundance should now be extended
to the people of mainland China. To withhold help from one- quarter
of the world's people who are in need when our agricultural abundance
is at record heights, would be a moral disaster for our Nation.
To act affirmatively and constructively by offering to sell or give
food would be in accord with our own national traditions and with
the highest teachings of our Judeo -Christian heritage that we should
share food with thehungry even if they are called our enemies.
A magnanimous act at this crucial hour in history might also enable
our Nation to help create an atmosphere in which the traditional
friendship of the American and Chinese people can be reestablished
and the chances for world peace enhanced.
We appeal to this subcommittee to continue its search for effective
methods to assist Chinese refugees in Hong Kong and to support and
encourage efforts to find ways to use U.S. surplus food to feed the
hungry in China.
I have with me, Mr. Chairman, a number of editorials and state
ments, commenting on this question. They include statements favor
ing U.S. food for mainland China by the New York Times. The
Washington Post, Life Magazine of January 27, 1961, of Rabbi Mau
rice M. Eisendrath , president of the Union of American Hebrew Con
gregations; Herschel Newsom of the National Grange ; Charles Schu
man of the Farm Bureau ; George Meany of the AFL -CIO , and
private groups of citizens such as the one in Kansas, who have collected
eight_thousand signatures on a petition to President Kennedy, the
New England Committee for Famine Relief; a. group of San Francisco
clergymen who sent an appeal to the President; the Gallup poll of
March 19, 1961, which showed at that time that 52 percent of the
people questioned favored offering food to China ; 37 percent opposed ;
70 REFUGEE PROBLEM IN HONG KONG AND MACAO
and 11 percent had no opinion. This may be of interest to your sub
committee, and with your permission, I will submit it for the record 1
for whatever use you may wish to make of it. .
Senator Fong . It may be submitted and it will be incorporated as
part of the record .
(The documents referred to are as follows :)
[ From the New York Times, Mar. 31, 1962 )