Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1954-1955 — Page 75

}

comparable in standard with any which exists in Asia. The future rôle of these buildings can be determined only in the light of the economic future of Hong Kong and South China. Whatever course this may take there is no good reason to suppose that the Hong Kong taxpayer will have cause to regret the very far-reaching decisions taken during the year under review.

88. This is not to say that resettlement on the present lines should be carried forward until there remains no single individual in illegal occupation of land. Whilst it is clear that no informed observer will regret the disappearance, for instance, of the Li Cheng Uk squatter area or grudge the cost of the measures which were necessary to effect that clearance, there are other squatter areas in respect of which similar expenditure might well not be justified. The suburban residences of Diamond Hill, the predominantly agricultural squatters of Aberdeen and the pretentious week-end bungalows which have been built illegally in some parts of Shek O are obvious cases in point. All are illegal but each presents a different problem. The struggle to regain, in the interests of the whole community, effective control of Crown land must clearly take many forms, and as the year drew to a close a comprehensive survey of all the marginal aspects of this problem was about to be put in hand. In the light of the results of this survey it will be decided how far the interests of the community require the multi-storey resettlement programme to be carried forward on present lines.

CONCLUSION

89. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the very high degree of co-operation and assistance which has been accorded to the Resettlement Department by the other departments of Govern- ment directly or indirectly concerned with the work described in this report. In particular, such progress as has been made would have been quite impossible without the closest under- standing and day-to-day co-operation with the Public Works

47

Page 75Page 76