he slip aboard ferryboats, the
cases.
o at night by swimming one p Bay in the Northwest and crossing is a mile, but there has laid wire netting across s. In the winter of 1970-71, morning in November 1970, the beaches of Hong Kong. the barrier often tore their attracted the sharks. To get g of an athlete. The fugitives twenty-five who have spent training in lakes and swim- ture. The Great Helmsman ence of his celebrated swim.
e authorities have once again empts. A campaign has been Kong and Macao to put the and fatal fascination of these t decay and colonialist dec- deaths of the fugitives in the inflicted on those who fail in Local peasants are trained to
of
ce dogs had found groups
to the coast; they were shot e authorities made quite sure nd. Those who are not killed corrective" treatment. People ted labor camps.
and the strong likelihood of ot only not dropping—it is being fed better and better, y, and the political and social of the Cultural Revolution? for by the Colony authorities public organizations like the
The Fugitives of Hong Kong and Macao
343
United Nations refugee service, the Social Welfare Department, Interna- tional Social Service and the International Rescue Committee. They are discreetly encouraged to tell about their lives in the People's Republic, and these interviews have become one of the best sources of information about the attitudes and thinking of young people in China. The majority are peasants and workers, but a certain number are intellectuals, students, technical people and former Red Guards who have become disillusioned.
Disturbing Evidence
The morale of many of the
young townspeople who are sent "back to the land" seems to be bad. With their intellectual abilities, they are humiliated when they are relegated to the rank of rice-planters. They feel they are losing face, and this is even more serious in China than in other countries. Some confess that they had hopes of being given positions of authority during their stint in the country, or perhaps responsibilities in the local Party machines things which would stand them in good stead when they re- turned to the towns or tried to go to the university. In fact, the peasant cadres mistrusted them and let them do only the very simplest jobs. They felt they would have to work as peasants forever and would never be able to take up their studies again or return to the towns. So they fled from a regime which did not recognize their merits. They were lucky to be sent to Kwangtung province, because the authorities-in an attempt to reduce the number of defections-cut down on the number of young people sent to the coastal areas. It is difficult enough to escape when you live near the border, but it is virtually impossible when you don't; a person who is not conforming to the rules is quickly spotted, particularly because his residence permit-which he is always being asked to produce is not in order.
Some technical people frankly confess that they were attracted by the high salaries paid in Hong Kong. Most simply say that what drew them was the rumor circulating among young people in China that an individual is welcomed in Hong Kong, finds work easily, lives better than in China, and is free of fear. In fact, the British authorities, who are now less embarrassed by these arrivals than they were in the first few years of the People's Republic, are very pleased to have them; young technicians and qualified workers are just what is needed for an expanding economy. The colony is receiving highly motivated young people who are keen to work and whom China has trained and educated, so it is all to the advantage of Hong Kong.
The situation of the refugees in Hong Kong is hardly comparable with that of the refugees from East Germany, Poland or Czechoslovakia, who crossed barbed wire at the risk of their lives. It does not seem right to compare
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