Settling In: Kwan Mun Hau, 1968–1970
Settling In: Kwan Mun Hau, 1968–1970
Hong Kong was occupied by Japanese military forces from 1941-45. The occupation was brutal. Many died and women were abused by soldiers. There was clandestine support for guerilla activities. Civil war, and revolution, in China after 1945 brought investment by, especially, industrialists from the Shanghai area and the onset of industrialization, primarily in textiles. There was mass migration from China which provided labour for industry but caused major housing problems. Village lands were overwhelmed by industry and immigrants which reduced the original Hakka inhabitants to a numerical minority, but brought them rental income. Their distinctive land rights were key for development of the growing town and allowed kin groups and some families to flourish. The original inhabitants maintained political dominance through the Rural Committee. Some villages were re-sited away from the growing town centre in the early 1960s, but development was compromised by colony-wide disturbances in 1967-68. The town had great linguistic diversity in the 1950s and 1960.
Keywords: military occupation, starvation, recovery, immigration, industrialization, urbanization, unplanned development, housing, village re-siting, linguistic diversity
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