RAS-1980 — Page 188

RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 All AI Reviewed

156

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removal to the housing estate, to ensure that a full scale excavation programme could begin in late 1980. Thereby, through uninterrupt-ed intensive work, we hoped to make up part of the lost time.

In the interim one other incident which showed the strength of village feeling about the fung shui hill occurred in November 1979. In this case, a demolition contract had been let for the houses in the old Chung Mei and Lo Uk villages. The Rural Committee and the village elders had agreed, but unexpectedly there was opposition when the contractor began to move his bulldozer into position to start the work. This time, it came from the young men of the village, and we were informed by the Rural Committee Chairman that they could not be persuaded to agree.

Upon investigation I found that it was not (in the main) the demolition which was being objected to, but rather the route by which the bulldozer was to obtain access to the old village sites. This was over the face of the same fung shui hill that had been causing the prolonged delay, and naturally it was being objected to.

I greatly wished the contract to proceed, on the principle that, when you are dealing with villagers, it is bad to go back on a deci-sion reached with their leaders, besides having to explain to the Finance Branch of the Government Secretariat the claims from the thwarted contractor. However, when I saw how things were, and being mindful of the wisdom of not interfering with the hill, I instructed staff to take the bulldozer by an alternative route. This would still open bare earth on the hillside but it would be out of the sight of the villages, which was what mattered, and it would be on a route to be formed for roadworks at a later stage. In a meet-ing held in my office, the twelve or so young men who had insisted on accompanying the elders, were perfectly agreeable to this solution and the demolition continued.

The end of the story is quickly told. The residents of the four villages moved into the new public housing accommodation when it was ready for occupation, the Project Manager (P.W.D.) was able to let his contract, and the successful contractor was at last able to carry out uninterrupted major excavation of soil from the hill-sides. There was trouble at the seashore where mariculturists had to be moved to enable a pier to be built and a channel dredged for the barges that would take away the soil to the Tsuen Wan Bay reclamation: but that is another story!

Hong Kong, June 1981

JAMES HAYES

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156 NOTES AND QUERIES removal to the housing estate, to ensure that a full scale excavation programme could begin in late 1980. Thereby, through uninterrupt-ed intensive work, we hoped to make up part of the lost time. In the interim one other incident which showed the strength of village feeling about the fung shui hill occurred in November 1979. In this case, a demolition contract had been let for the houses in the old Chung Mei and Lo Uk villages. The Rural Committee and the village elders had agreed, but unexpectedly there was opposition when the contractor began to move his bulldozer into position to start the work. This time, it came from the young men of the village, and we were informed by the Rural Committee Chairman that they could not be persuaded to agree. Upon investigation I found that it was not (in the main) the demolition which was being objected to, but rather the route by which the bulldozer was to obtain access to the old village sites. This was over the face of the same fung shui hill that had been causing the prolonged delay, and naturally it was being objected to. I greatly wished the contract to proceed, on the principle that, when you are dealing with villagers, it is bad to go back on a deci-sion reached with their leaders, besides having to explain to the Finance Branch of the Government Secretariat the claims from the thwarted contractor. However, when I saw how things were, and being mindful of the wisdom of not interfering with the hill, I instructed staff to take the bulldozer by an alternative route. This would still open bare earth on the hillside but it would be out of the sight of the villages, which was what mattered, and it would be on a route to be formed for roadworks at a later stage. In a meet-ing held in my office, the twelve or so young men who had insisted on accompanying the elders, were perfectly agreeable to this solution and the demolition continued. The end of the story is quickly told. The residents of the four villages moved into the new public housing accommodation when it was ready for occupation, the Project Manager (P.W.D.) was able to let his contract, and the successful contractor was at last able to carry out uninterrupted major excavation of soil from the hill-sides. There was trouble at the seashore where mariculturists had to be moved to enable a pier to be built and a channel dredged for the barges that would take away the soil to the Tsuen Wan Bay reclamation: but that is another story! Hong Kong, June 1981 JAMES HAYES

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156 NOTES AND QUERIES removal to the housing estate, to ensure that a full scale excavation programme could begin in late 1980. Thereby, through uninterrupt- ed intensive work, we hoped to make up part of the lost time. In the interim one other incident which showed the strength of village feeling about the fung shui hill occurred in November 1979. In this case, a demolition contract had been let for the houses in the old Chung Mei and Lo Uk villages. The Rural Committee and the village elders had agreed, but unexpectedly there was oppo- sition when the contractor began to move his bulldozer into position to start the work. This time, it came from the young men of the village, and we were informed by the Rural Committee Chairman that they could not be persuaded to agree. Upon investigation I found that it was not (in the main) the demolition which was being objected to, but rather the route by which the bulldozer was to obtain access to the old village sites. This was over the face of the same fung shui hill that had been causing the prolonged delay, and naturally it was being objected to. I greatly wished the contract to proceed, on the principle that, when you are dealing with villagers, it is bad to go back on a deci- sion reached with their leaders, besides having to explain to the Finance Branch of the Government Secretariat the claims from the thwarted contractor. However, when I saw how things were, and being mindful of the wisdom of not interfering with the hill, I instructed staff to take the bu'ldozer by an alternative route. This would still open bare earth on the hillside but it would be out of the sight of the villages, which was what mattered, and it would be on a route to be formed for roadworks at a later stage. In a meet- ing held in my office, the twelve or so young men who had insisted on accompanying the elders, were perfectly agreeable to this solution and the demolition continued. The end of the story is quickly told. The residents of the four villages moved into the new public housing accommodation when it was ready for occupation, the Project Manager (P.W.D.) was able to let his contract, and the successful contractor was at last able to carry out uninterrupted major excavation of soil from the hill- sides. There was trouble at the seashore where mariculturists had to be moved to enable a pier to be built and a channel dredged for the barges that would take away the soil to the Tsuen Wan Bay reclamation: but that is another story! Hong Kong, June 1981 JAMES HAYES

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156

NOTES AND QUERIES

removal to the housing estate, to ensure that a full scale excavation programme could begin in late 1980. Thereby, through uninterrupt- ed intensive work, we hoped to make up part of the lost time.

In the interim one other incident which showed the strength of village feeling about the fung shui hill occurred in November 1979. In this case, a demolition contract had been let for the houses in the old Chung Mei and Lo Uk villages. The Rural Committee and the village elders had agreed, but unexpectedly there was oppo- sition when the contractor began to move his bulldozer into position to start the work. This time, it came from the young men of the village, and we were informed by the Rural Committee Chairman that they could not be persuaded to agree.

Upon investigation I found that it was not (in the main) the demolition which was being objected to, but rather the route by which the bulldozer was to obtain access to the old village sites. This was over the face of the same fung shui hill that had been causing the prolonged delay, and naturally it was being objected to.

I greatly wished the contract to proceed, on the principle that, when you are dealing with villagers, it is bad to go back on a deci- sion reached with their leaders, besides having to explain to the Finance Branch of the Government Secretariat the claims from the thwarted contractor. However, when I saw how things were, and being mindful of the wisdom of not interfering with the hill, I instructed staff to take the bu'ldozer by an alternative route. This would still open bare earth on the hillside but it would be out of the sight of the villages, which was what mattered, and it would be on a route to be formed for roadworks at a later stage. In a meet- ing held in my office, the twelve or so young men who had insisted on accompanying the elders, were perfectly agreeable to this solution and the demolition continued.

The end of the story is quickly told. The residents of the four villages moved into the new public housing accommodation when it was ready for occupation, the Project Manager (P.W.D.) was able to let his contract, and the successful contractor was at last able to carry out uninterrupted major excavation of soil from the hill- sides. There was trouble at the seashore where mariculturists had to be moved to enable a pier to be built and a channel dredged for the barges that would take away the soil to the Tsuen Wan Bay reclamation: but that is another story!

RAS-1980 — Page 188

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