0003160 G.F. 316
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2
4.
Action to close an illegal school may culminate in the prosecution of the operator in the courts. Special Branch advised that if action leading to prosecution were taken against any school (communist or non-communist) in the Walled City, it would provoke a degree of hostile response which might be so marked as to prejudice the orderly progress of clearance and resettlement operations in the Nunnery Site Area; and could lead directly to a major confrontation between Government and the communists. (The largest school is operated in the name of the communist-controlled Kowloon Walled City Kaifong Welfare Association: this school operates in two premises and has approximately 700 pupils.)
5.
There is evidence that a proportion of pupils at communist- controlled schools come from the North-East Kowloon area (and particularly, from TSZ WAN SHAN) where their parents are employed by communist-controlled firms and organisations. If therefore action were to be taken against any communist-controlled schools in the Walled City it might be desirable to time it so as to coincide with the possible opening of communist controlled schools in the North-East Kowloon area where pupils might be absorbed.
6.
Vacancies in Government and Government-subsidized primary schools in areas immediately adjacent would probably be insufficient in number to absorb pupils from the Walled City, particularly in the grades for which vacancies were required (e.g. Primary 1, Primary 2, etc.). Schools outside the Walled City must be expected to be reluctant to absorb pupils from communist controlled schools.
7.
School-sites are included in the Nunnery Site Resettlement Plan. However, it is unlikely that this accommodation would be sufficient to take all the schools now operated by religious sponsoring- organisations within the Walled City (even if such organisations were willing to abandon what they might regard as their chosen responsibilities there).
8.
If attempts were successfully made to persuade operators of neutral schools or those sponsored by religious organisations to move to premises outside the area, two further problems would arise:-
(a) the possible take-over of empty premises for extensions of
commuhist-controlled schools;
(b) the difficulty of meeting the requirements of parents within
the area, whose children benefit
from the welfare services (e.g. milk, meals) and facilities for all-day schooling provided by the religious sponsored schools, and who were reluctant to submit their children to traffic hazards outside.
Recommendations
9.
The Committee concludes that no action over fire hazards or any other matter could be taken against one school only: action would have to be taken against schools generally in the Walled City. Such action would be likely to lead to a degree of hostile response on the part of the communists, even if they were not initially themselves affected: this might not only jeopardize the orderly progress of clearance and resettlement operations in areas adjacent to the Walled City, but might also lead to a major confrontation between Government and the communists. Action against illegal schools might therefore prove counter-productive.
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