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APPENDIX G
Prepared by
00185
Ale Reynold, Careef of Staff to Circ. Hong Kong.
The need for a large
airport in HONG KONG, for both R, A, F. and
civilian use, has been accentuated since the end of the war by the development
în recent years of heavy, long range aircraft, and by the growing impertence and
possible cameraial imminence of the CANTON airfields.
The difficulty of erbending the aerodrome at KAI-TAK and the dangerous
propinquity of its mountains has therefore made necessary the selection of
another site where a field of adequate dimensions o«n be constructed. A survey
of the Colony in October, 1945 revealed that only one such alte ciated
round PING SHAN village, about 16 miles Northwest of KOWLOON Peninsula, în the
NEW TERRITORIES,
This site, which it was intended should include one long runny capable of
handling the heaviest aircraft, contained a large proportion of rios-bearing land,
The building of a single rummy would necessitate the conversion of 170 sores of
padły-field and the rumval of five or six umll villages. Technical and adminia-
trative sitos and buildings could be loanted any frau thé cultivated ground,
certain amount of constructional material was adjacent to the site, and two
granite quarries of xple capacity were easily accessible
A
The legal aspect of taking over this territory presented a for problems,
difficult although not impossible of solution, The HƠNG KONG Government had
undertaken under the lease conditions to interfere as little as possible with tho
lives of the Chinese, and when it was neosusary to displace the tenants of land
to pay them proper compensation.
It has always been the Government's paliay to give this co-permati ́n in kind,
rather than in money. But almost ali cultivated land in the K24 TEMIRIS3 is
now privately owmed, and ability to provide all displaced landholdara vish
recompense in kind is not easy. However, it ma intended that everything possible
should be done to offer alternative land, hotases and employment to the people of
these villages,
/Backy
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CO 537/1427 restrictions. Further information is given in the enclosed Terms and Conditions of supply of National Archives' leaflet. Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the National Archives' terms and conditions and that your use of it may be subject to copynght|