ENG-1956 — Page 31

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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

accepted as a charge upon the conscience of the free world and be underwritten by some international agency. In the beginning it seemed that the first of these three possible courses was both the logical and the likely solution. There was evidence that the worst excesses of the new régime in China were over. Even if no radical change of heart had yet occurred, it appeared that the new rulers were becoming more conscious of their reputation abroad and more anxious to win the approbation of overseas Chinese, whatever their political views. And perhaps, now that the violence of the upheaval was over, now that the refugees had suffered these many months of poverty and exile, they would take matters into their own hands and return. There was no question whatever, of course, of compulsion. They were absolutely free to exercise the choice as and when each individual wished. The Government waited for that choice to be exercised; and it became increasingly clear as the months and years passed that it had been exercised in silence and that they would not return.

The two other courses were neither in the discretion of the refugees themselves nor of the Government of Hong Kong. In 1954 Dr. Hambro's report confirmed that the Hong Kong Government could be relieved of its burden only by emigra- tion or outside financial assistance. The complications attach- ing to the former and the enormous scope for the latter were both emphasized, and, with Dr. Hambro's departure, it was evident to the Government that any form of relief from out- side sources would take time to muster and negotiate,-and that time might well be the one commodity that would not be provided.

The second reason why the Government hesitated to come to grips with the situation was, and it can be said frankly, the immensity of the problem which it presented. The re- quirement was the provision of decent, permanent, fire-proof homes for several hundreds of thousands of people. Granted all else, the only land on which a project of these dimensions