Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1954-1955 — Page 12

tightly-packed wooden huts were many illegal factories and work- shops storing and using highly inflammable materials. The stage was set for the big fires.

3. The population is believed to have reached a peak, estimated at 2.36 million, in April, 1950. Immigration controls were put into force in May, 1950, and the population is estimated to have dropped to a little over two million by the end of the

year.

There was some evidence at that time for the proposition that conditions on the mainland were settling down after the revolution and that refugees were beginning to return to China. The policy towards the 300,000 squatters estimated to be in or near the urban area reflected this. Huts were demolished in accordance with a systematic plan; those occupants whom inves- tigation showed to be permanent residents of the Colony were allowed to establish themselves on prepared sites in resettlement areas and the remainder were expected to fend for themselves or return to China. 20,000 persons were rendered homeless by a squatter fire which took place in Kowloon City in January, 1950.

4. During 1951 the population is believed to have remained stable at slightly over two million. By the middle of the year it was becoming clear that the squatter problem would have to be tackled in its entirety,-i.e. that it would not after all be sign- ficantly diminished by the voluntary return to China of large numbers of refugees-and a new policy was established in July, 1951. Under this policy there were to be a number of small areas for "approved" type resettlement structures and two or three large "tolerated" areas. Accommodation in the "approved" areas would be semi-permanent bungalows and these were re- served for persons with some claim to be residents and with the means to conform with the structural standards laid down. The rest of the squatters would go to the "tolerated" areas where there was to be little control of the type of structure erected. Both types of areas were to be planned-i.e. laid out in planned sites with allowance for roads, fire-breaks etc. Both included communal water supply and communal latrines. The "tolerated" areas had to be large and were some distance from the main

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