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4 Yuen Long, 1962-1967 M / ue n Lon g was know n fo r it s proud an d independen t spiri t K / an d ha d fough t wit h determination , bu t wit h hopelessl y M / inadequat e weapons, as the British troop s advanced westward s • acros s th e territor y i n 1899 . It was a district o f many villages, a • centra l market town , rice fields, fishponds o f grey mullet, oyste r beds along the coast, and a fairy-tale history which linked the oldest group of villages to a Sung princess. Hong Kong was always short of water, but there was plenty to be had north o f the border i n th e rivers which stretche d fo r hundred s o f mile s inland fro m th e Pear l Rive r estuary . I n 195 7 th e Chines e governmen t offered t o build a reservoir nea r th e border t o suppl y Hon g Kon g wit h water fo r which Hong Kong would pay what it charged th e Hong Kon g consumer. It was a good deal, and Hong Kong agreed. An earth dam was built just across the border from Hong Kong in six months, by thousands of workers carryin g baskets and wheeling barrows o f soil, and fro m th e dam a huge black pipe was to snake its way across the paddy fields to feed into the Tai Lam reservoir in Yuen Long. The villagers objected noisily. It meant acquirin g farmland , interferin g wit h th e geomanti c environ s o f villages and causin g a lot of disturbance. Th e villagers were determine d to exact their pound of flesh. A former Assistant Commissioner of Police, a no-nonsens e Sco t called Norma n Fraser , was hastily summoned bac k from retirement, and he found the right degree of compensation to quieten their discontent. I n 196 2 I was appointed t o succeed him . 4 Yuen Long, 1962-1967 uen Long was known for its proud and independent spirit and had fought with determination, but with hopelessly inadequate weapons, as the British troops advanced westwards across the territory in 1899. It was a district of many villages, a central market town, rice fields, fishponds of grey mullet, oyster beds along the coast, and a fairy-tale history which linked the oldest group of villages to a Sung princess. Hong Kong was always short of water, but there was plenty to be had north of the border in the rivers which stretched for hundreds of miles inland from the Pearl River estuary. In 1957 the Chinese government offered to build a reservoir near the border to supply Hong Kong with water for which Hong Kong would pay what it charged the Hong Kong consumer. It was a good deal, and Hong Kong agreed. An earth dam was builtjust across the border from Hong Kong in six months, by thousands of workers carrying baskets and wheeling barrows of soil, and from the dam a huge black pipe was to snake its way across the paddy fields to feed into the Tai Lam reservoir in Yuen Long. The villagers objected noisily. It meant acquiring farmland, interfering with the geomantic environs of villages and causing a lot of disturbance. The villagers were determined to exact their pound of flesh. A former Assistant Commissioner of Police, a no-nonsense Scot called Norman Fraser, was hastily summoned back from retirement, and he found the right degree ofcompensation to quieten their discontent. In 1962 I was appointed to succeed him. Feeling the Stones Shortly after ou r arrival in Yuen Long, the continual trickle of illegal immigrants wh o mad e thei r way by land and se a into Hon g Kon g fro m neighbouring Guangdon g turne d int o a flood . Ther e ha s bee n n o satisfactory explanatio n for this sudden exodus. Some say it was because of th e distres s an d foo d shortage s bein g fel t i n village s afte r th e 195 7 Great Leap Forward, when the energies of the whole nation were diverted from foo d productio n an d concentrate d o n attempt s t o mak e stee l i n backyard furnaces. Others say that rumours had circulated that...

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