Better Life Expected
Thursday, Nov. 8, 1962 University Daily Kansan
Page 3
Refugees Streaming Into Hong Kong
By Jim Alsbrook
About May 15. Americans were intrigued by the picture of an attractive 19-year-old Chinese girl which appeared in scores of American newspapers.
Her name was Lee Ying. She was not an actress or the wife of a Chinese Nationalist diplomat. She was not a scantily attired pin-up girl. She was in tatters, and she was sobbing disconcertedly. She was kneeling in a detention camp at Hong Kong, awaiting deportation
to Communist China, from which she and thousands of hungry refugees have been fleeing at the rate of 40,000 per month.
THE PLIGHT of Lee Ying is the plight of millions of Chinese who are trying to get to and remain in Hong Kong, a British crown colony on the southeastern China coast facing the South China Sea. There, they know, times are better—even though 15,000 persons sleep in Hong Kong's streets each night, 500,000 live in cardboard-walled
cubicles and straw mat lean-tos, and 80,000 live in tarpaper shacks and on tenement house roofs.
Worth Repeating
The immaturity of today's college students is exceeded only by that of the alumni. —William Dailey
Some people think there are only two parties in the United States. One party consists of Republicans, and the other of Democrats, Socialists, and Communists. —John Ise.
In Hong Kong, food is plentiful and wages are at least $1 per day. This enables the resident to buy enough food; but if the person fails to get one of the plentiful jobs there, he can go to any of the 86 private and public welfare agencies and get food until he finds employment.
America has a great advantage over the Communist countries in the kind of system we have, if we will only exploit the advantage. One of the sources of strength of education in a free country is that it can encourage independence and originality of thought. Unfortunately, our public school system in some areas often fails in this respect. Teaching tends to be dull, dry and stereotyped. There is a tendency to avoid "controversial issues," to teach what is "safe" and generally accepted.Justice William O. Douglas
The 398-square-mile crown colony has been enjoying an economic boom since the end of World War II when the Japanese left and a rebuilding program was begun. The impetus of the reconstruction of the area, with stimulated world trade and the beginning of new industries, enabled Hong Kong to reap the benefit of its strategic location, its accessibility to the Chinese mainland, economic reverses in Communist China, and its excellent harbor for ocean-going vessels.
HONG KONG is populated by fewer than 20,000 Caucasians, predominantly British, and about 3,500,000 Orientals, predominantly Chinese. The British foreign office controls the colony through the appointment of a governor, the present incumbent being Sir Robert Black.
An executive council consisting of official and unofficial members assists the governor. About onehalf the unofficial members of the executive council are Chinese. The legislative council is appointed.
The colony police force is controlled and administered by British officials, but most of the policemen are Chinese.
Hong Kong does more business with Communist China than with any other country. The United States is second and Great Britain third in volume trade with Hong Kong.
Despite the economic boom of Hong Kong, however, outside help has been badly needed and inadequate. The government is building 100,000 new housing units a year, but 700,000 residents still have no permanent address.
PRODUCTS WHICH have accelerated the economic growth of Hong Kong are enamel and aluminum ware, rubber-soled canvas shoes, ginger, electric torches, plastics, cement and rope. The British navy finds the port of Hong Kong useful, and other nations use Hong Kong as a listening post for information concerning Red China.
MANY COUNTRIES—including Australia and the Philippines have refused to accept any of the refugees. President Kennedy recently signed a bill permitting 5,000
Freedom of population movement between Hong Kong and Red China —which had existed until recently—has been stopped because the colony simply could not absorb the refugees coming from the mainland.
Seeing the difficulties of the British in Hong Kong, the United States government has given the struggling colony $28 million in surplus food in recent years. The nationalist Chinese have taken thousands of refugees at Formosa and are willing to take more as rapidly as possible.
skilled and educated Chinese to enter the United States. For many years more than 19,000 have been on the waiting list for United States citizenship.
The United States has given $250,000 through the Far East Refugee Program to assist the Hong Kong Technical College and is permitting thousands of Chinese seeking higher education to visit the United States for such training.
Great Britain has attempted to remain on friendly terms with China by voting for Red Chinese admission to the United Nations and by ignoring ideological differences with the Peking regime. This may have postponed to some degree the day when conflict over Hong Kong will estrange Britain and Red China.
and ethnic groups, the distance between Great Britain and Hong Kong, the overwhelming number of Chinese in Hong Kong, the pushing of the Portuguese from Goa and Diu—all these seem to indicate that Great Britain cannot reasonably expect to retain control of this colony indefinitely.
Since the Japanese took Hong Kong so easily in 1941, it is speculated that eventually a strong Communist China will demand and get this colony. Since China is attacking India and apparently is indulging in expansionist policies, the British must anticipate the possible loss of this area.
THE GRADUAL disappearance of colonialism, the surging of nationalistic aspirations by aboriginal
Whenever it comes, the final result will be the outing of the British from Hong Kong. British tenancy will terminate long before Britain's 99-year lease expires.
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