Thread: This Land Belongs to China

This is another short stories of mine about Hong Kong when it was still a British Colony.

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In 1977, my Singaporean wife Dorothy, a few years into our marriage, followed me to return from Singapore to work in Hong Kong. We stayed with my mother in a house in Stanley. This is at the southern and less crowded side of Hong Kong island. The house was well located as it faced the sea very near a public beach there called Tai Tam Beach.

Stanley was originally a quiet fishing village. Fishermen still stay and go out to sea from there. But over the years, nice houses were built there for the better off because of the peaceful environment and good scenic view. My mother's house was actually a family house developed by my single stay-in aunt. She built this house after she got this well located piece of land from a land swap with the government. The swap was offered when a very old house she bought earlier had to be pulled down for road widening. .

From our front window, we could have a nice view of the east facing beach and the sea. The front of this beach does not directly face the ocean. It is protected from very strong ocean waves by a long hilly peninsular running north to south about a mile away. I knew this peninsular well from my childhood days. My father sometimes took us swimming at a nice beach there called Shek-O with fine white sand. This beach faces the ocean. It is on the other eastern side of the peninsular. The peninsula's western side facing Stanley had been left undeveloped for years with no houses.

When I returned with my wife to Hong Kong, what I found intriguing was the appearance of nice looking new houses lining this peninsular. They were on the western side of the hilly peninsular thus facing Stanley. I was told these were private quarters for British army officers and their families.

While Singapore and Hong Kong were both British colonies, by 1977, Singapore had gone independent but not Hong Kong. Britain refused to return Hong Kong to China quoting the terms of a treaty ceding Hong Kong island to Britain until 1997. It was still beneficial for Britain to keep Hong Kong as it generated much income to its national coffer.

To satisfy our curiosity about these nice new houses, Dorothy and I drove over to take a closer look. We drove from the north along the peninsular to a Y-junction. One branch of the road turned left to go down to Shek-O beach. The other branch road going straight ahead was newly built to lead to these houses. At the side of this road I saw a sign saying "Private, No Entry". But there was no guard house or barrier there. So being adventurous, I bravely drove on.

Near one of these new houses I stopped the car and we got down. The view from there was fantastic. It faced a very scenic Stanley across the water.

But while we were admiring the scenic view a Caucasian man in plain civilian clothing approached us. I guessed he was a resident there and thus a British army officer.

"You are not allowed to come here. This is British Army reserved land." He said with a loud annoying voice.

I could not immediately think of how to respond. But Dorothy was quick on the draw.

"This land belongs to China." She answered.

He was taken aback and couldn't utter anything. Instead he slowly walked away.

I think due to political sensitivity, British army personnel were not allowed to discuss matters concerning China with others, especially with the locals from Hong Kong.

Hong Kong people would not think of driving in to disturb these British Army Officer's homes. At a protected army camp, they may be threatened with a gun. But where others would fear to thread, only Dorothy and I boldly went in for sightseeing at this very scenic place.

Great but short piece.

Cheung.
Yes, Britain created an empire. The men who put it together have long been dead. The British who are alive today have a completely different about whether being responsible for managing a far away country is appropriate but back in those days of Empire the responsbilities were inherited and could not be shirked. Today the Empire has shrunk to a bundle of small islands. Even the Scots (and the Welsh) have ideas of independence which may one day be acheived.

Britain's modern empire is to be identified listed in the FTSE 100 and is a commercial empire run on capitalist principles.

You, as an educated Chinese man who speaks and writes excellent English, are in a good position to make a comment as to whether the rule of empirical Britain was a good thing or a bad thing. However being shooed away from what an Army officer viewed as private property is a minor matter. He would have told a British non commissioned soldier to move on in similar vein.

Hitler and the generals of Japan put an end to Empire. The system was flawed but it did have some good points. As Empire collapsed so did the rule of law.

Hong Kong was passed back to China in 1997, as per treaty, without loss of life or military confrontation. Many Brits still live and work there under Chinese rule.
How do today's citizens feel about the change?

Please write more.

I enjoyed your perspective was well as the detail and colour of the piece.

I think the most compelling component in your story was the reference as to who owns the land. The British Officer's silence spoke volumes.
I see that as a universal theme that most people can easily relate to. My compliments, sir.