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Subject: Quarterly Reviews
C.C.A.0.(Secretariat)
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Repatriation Office.
1. On the reoccupation of the Colony the Authorities were faced by the immediate problem of disposing of some 2770 persons who had been interned in the Stanley and the Ma Tau Chung Camps, in addition to handling the prisoners-of-war.
Two hospital ships and the S.S."Empress of Australia" were available and 1,014 civilian repatriates were embarked with a rapidity which allowed little check of eligibility and caused numerous mistakes and omissions in the records.
2.
C.A.S. was not directly concerned with this period.
4th
The second phase covered the period 17th September to October, during which a further six ships were despatched carry- ing 1,037 Europeans and 52 Indians.
During this phase the main problem was fitting into the avail-
able shipping space those who were anxious to get away.
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A more accurate record embarkations was kept and claims to elig- ibility received closer examination. Much work was done on ascertain. ing the wishes of those still remaining and a card index was intro- duced which has proved invaluable.
system
The period closed with the sailing of the S.S. "Highland Monarch" after a cautionary notice by the C.in C. that this was the last ship definitely allocated to Hongkong and that there- after the claims of Hongkong repatriates to shipping space would rank second to those of internees brought here in transit from Shanghai and elsewhere.
3. The third phase, in which we still remain, has been marked problems such as the need for closing Stanley Camp and making pro- vision for those formerly housed there and the emergence of un- foreseen categories of individuals requiring to be dealt with, such as the Central and Southern American nationals to the number of nearly 200, British West Indians to the number of sixty and numerous Chinese of Australian, Canadian and South African birth.
As the travel documents of persons in the last mentioned categories have either been lost or destroyed during the Japanese occupation or, where still existing, have become time expired dur- ing the war, and as the rules of the Dominions concerning immi- gration are exceedingly strict, each individual case has called for close examination and clearance with the receiving end.
Shipping space has, during this period been very limited, and although a further 14 ships had been despatched up to the 20th November only 386 Europeans and 47 Indians were lifted.
Air lift accounts for a further 126.
4. It was fortunate for the Colony that so many ex-internees were able to remain and assist with essential services, but extensive deferments of departure have vastly complicated the work of the Repatriation Office and have called for very close liaison with those employing the services of the ex-internees and with the ex-
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