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Government for the burial of the Chinese dead of any class. The Government reserved the right to resuming the land and ordering the remains to be exhumed and buried anywhere else the Government might from time to time be pleased to direct. 115
A solution was finally arrived at in 1913 when a plot of land was selected in Aberdeen as the location of a Chinese permanent cemetery:
His Excellency Sir Francis Henry May had been graciously pleased to set apart a certain piece or parcel of ground situate at Aberdeen in the said Colony of Hongkong and registered in the Land Office as Aberdeen Inland Lot No. 78 for the purpose of a Permanent Cemetery for Chinese permanently resident in the said Colony..... 116
The cemetery was under the control of a Board of Management made up of recognized leaders of the Chinese community. It was stated that the Board should have absolute power in the management of the cemetery and in the control and disposal of the funds, subscriptions, donations, fees, charges, income, fines and all moneys collected or received in respect of or in connection with the cemetery. The erection of this permanent cemetery was an important step and an encouragement for the upper class Chinese residing in Hong Kong to recognize the place as their home.
The Problem of the Japanese Burials
The early 20th century saw a gradual increase in the Japanese population in Hong Kong. The population rose from 484 in 1901 to 958 in 1911. A decision to erect a Japanese chapel and crematorium was made by the government which required the removal of graves on a plot of Crown Land, to the North-East of I.L. [Inland Lot] 1021 in the Soo-kun-poo Valley. Although this crematorium was intended for the Japanese, the Japanese had no cemetery of their own. The earliest Japanese burials were found intermingled with Christians in the Colonial Cemetery before a special section of the cemetery was set aside for the burial of Japanese. When their numbers began to increase after the turn of the 20th century, the Buddhist practices associated with their graves and burning joss sticks in particular had created annoyance among the western communities in Hong Kong, who thought such customs were not appropriate in what they considered to be a
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Government for the burial of the Chinese dead of any class. The Government reserved the right to resuming the land and ordering the remains to be exhumed and buried anywhere else the Government might from time to time be pleased to direct. 115
A solution was finally arrived at in 1913 when a plot of land was selected in Aberdeen as the location of a Chinese permanent cemetery:
His Excellency Sir Francis Henry May had been graciously pleased to set apart a certain piece or parcel of ground situate at Aberdeen in the said Colony of Hongkong and registered in the Land Office as Aberdeen Inland Lot No.78 for the purpose of a Permanent Cemetery for Chinese permanently resident in the said Colony.....116
The cemetery was under the control of a Board of Management made up of recognized leaders of the Chinese community. It was stated that the Board should have absolute power in the management of the cemetery and in the control and disposal of the funds, subscriptions, donations, fees, charges, income, fines and all moneys collected or received in respect of or in connection with the cemetery. The erection of this permanent cemetery was an important step and -an encouragement for the upper class Chinese residing in Hong Kong to recognize the place as their home.
The Problem of the Japanese Burials
The early 20th century saw a gradual increase in the Japanese population in Hong Kong." The population rose from 484 in 1901 to 958 in 1911. A decision to erect a Japanese chapel and crematorium was made by the government which required the removal of graves 'on a plot of Crown Land, to the North-East of I.L. [Inland Lot] 1021 in the Soo-kun-poo Valley.'" Although this crematorium was intended for the Japanese, the Japanese had no cemetery of their own. The earliest Japanese burials 120 were found intermingled with Christians in the Colonial Cemetery before a special section of the cemetery was set aside for the burial of Japanese. When their numbers began to increase after the turn of the 20th century, 122 the Buddhist practices associated with their graves and burning joss sticks in particular had created annoyance among the western communities in Hong Kong, who thought such customs were not appropriate in what they considered to be a
121
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