Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1967-1968 — Page 11

Government; and from July until September senior staff were employed full-time on a special liaison campaign in estates and in cottage and squatter areas, the first fruits of which were a very substantial strengthen- ing of the kaifong movement in estates and cottage areas, and the forma- tion of a number of preparatory groups in squatter areas. Indeed, with closer contact between estate staff and the kaifong associations and other groups represented in estates, and with the encouragement of more sporting and other recreational functions in the estates, it is probably true to say that by the end of the year the relations between the department and its wards had never been closer.

13. As implied above, the number of squatter control demolitions carried out showed a decrease on the previous year's figure-some 11,300 as against 17,900. Unlike the previous year the majority of demolitions were of new structures rather than of re-erections or extensions to existing tolerated huts. A sizeable proportion of the new squatting occurred at Tai Wo Hau, on the outskirts of the New Territories town of Tsuen Wan, which in October saw the Colony's first large outbreak of mass squatting since 1963. This outbreak was aggravated if not instigated by speculative small building contractors, who, quite illegally, put up a large number of huts for sale to prospective squatters. Some 880 huts were demolished but about 1,700 huts occupied by 8,800 people remained and were allowed to stand, their sites subsequently being converted into licensed areas. Despite this setback and the politically more difficult conditions of the year, the squatter and resite area population continued its steady decline under the impact of the resettlement programme, as the following table illustrates:

31st March

1965

1966

1967

1968

Squatters

Resitees

463,000

75,300

..

430,000

84,800

428,000

57,100

409,000

33,600

14. In spite of the temporary slow-down at the height of the disturb- ances, the year proved a record one for clearances; nearly 114,000 people were offered resettlement and 29,000 residents of estates were moved to new rooms under the programme for the relief of overcrowding. The pace of development clearances also increased and 46,000 squatters were cleared in this category; a further 10,000 squatters were cleared in a pro- gramme for creating firebreaks in the most crowded squatter areas. The figure for the previous year was 25,000 for these two categories combined.

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