POVERTY IN HONG KONG

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27735, 12 August 1955, Page 15

POVERTY IN HONG KONG

CHRISTCHURCH MAN’S IMPRESSIONS Great extremes of poverty and wealth could be seen in Hong Kong, and living conditions for the majority of the people—particularly unskilled workers—were very poor, said Mr W. Peers, chairman of the Christchurch CORSO Committee, last evening, when he gave an address, illustrated by lantern slides, on a recent visit to Hong Kong and the Far East. “Unskilled workers receive an average of 3s 9d for a 10-hour working day, and as well as working a six-day week, are also expected to do a half* shift on Sundays,” said Mr Peers. Very often when the husband returned from his shift, his wife had to go out to work for a similar period, and this was having a disrupting effect on family life. Referring to the severe overcrowding in Hong Kong, Mr Peers said that there was a population of about 3,500,000 crammed into a space 30 miles deep and 40 miles long. Since the revolution in China, more than 1,000,000 refugees had settled in Hong Kong. This had caused even more congestion, and had seriously affected living conditions. Because of the desire to avoid losing “face,” all refugees leaving Communist China were given sufficient money before they left to buy the bare essentials foresetting up a temporary home,, said Mr Peers. Consequently, shanty towns comprising thousands of bamboo shacks 12 feet square, and each containing an entire family, sprang up in the streets, said Mr Peers. To accommodate these people, the Hong Kong Government had erected nine large apartment blocks in which the families each lived in a room 12 feet square. Communal kitchens and washing facilities were provided. Altogether 360,000 persons had been accommodated in these blocks. Mr Peers said that there was a big need for clothing to be sent to Hong Kong- It was heart-breaking to see young children running around with hardly any clothes in a country where the weather could be extremely cold. “Pestilence, theft, fire, and poverty are some of the problems requiring the assistance of CORSO,” said Mr Peers. “There is a lot that we in New Zealand could do to help the people in Hong Kong.”