Hong Kong Society for the Blind and blind workers’ strike: Correspondence and clippings, 1968 - 1972

A major portion of the Elsie Tu Papers is made up of correspondence and clippings from different Hong Kong and British newspapers. While some of the subject titles are self-explanatory, many categories warrant further description to make clear the content and context of the records.

Ever since Dr. Elsie Tu came to Hong Kong in 1951, she has devoted herself to social activism, such as education and fighting for justice, etc. In 1979, Mr. and Dr. Tu formed the Association for the Promotion of Public Justice (APPJ) to promote public justice, stability and prosperity. APPJ’s constitution, members directory and certificate of registration are contained in folder 2-5 while the Association’s correspondence, reports, statements on various social issues and cases it handled are kept in folders 2-6 through 3-5, 4-2. In 1982, APPJ Filipino Overseas Workers Group was established to help Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong (folder 2-1, 3-6 through 3-7).

The Corruption files document Dr. Tu’s work as an active anti-corruption fighter in the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of these files consist of both incoming and outgoing correspondence related to allegations of corruption in different government departments, such as the Royal Hong Kong Police, Public Works Department, Prisons Department, Urban Services Department, Labour Department, and Resettlement Department, etc. (folders 6-9, 6-11 through 6-13, 6-15 through 7-8, 8-6 through 8-7). The main correspondents in these letters include the Commissioner of Police, Chief Superintendent of Anti-Corruption Branch of the Royal Hong Kong Police, Lord Murray MacLehose, Colonial Secretary, and Directors of ICAC.

In the Corruption files, the minibus racket and police corruption allegations is one of the many cases which is documented in great detail. In some May and June, 1970 letters (folder 7-5), minibus drivers complained about racketeering at Jordan Road Yaumati Ferry Terminus. In a March 6, 1972 letter (folder 7-6), minibus drivers and the Hong Kong, Kowloon & N.T. Public Light Bus Merchants United Association (香港九龍新界公共小型巴士聯合會) described how drivers paid extortion money to the Continental Clean Service Co. (大洲清潔公司) in order to avoid receiving summonses. Similar complaints of racketeering are also documented in a November 3, 1972, letter (folder 7-6), from minibus drivers of Chung Fat Motor Co.(中發汽車公司) and a October 26, 1968, letter (folder 7-8), from Mr. Mak Pui Yeun (麥培元). When drivers paid the extortion money, they would be given stickers (folders 7-6, 7-8) to put on the windows of their minibuses.

Dr. Tu reported these minibus rackets to Mr. Peter Fitzroy Godber (葛柏), the Chief Superintendent of the Traffic Department, Governor Lord Murray MacLehose, the Traffic Commissioner of Traffic Department, and Colonial Secretary in various letters (folders 7-5 through 7-8). She also disclosed such allegations of police corruption and minibus racket in her manuscripts, Mini-buses and gangsterism, and Police protection of corruption and intimidation in Hong Kong (folders 7-5, 8-8). In her February 27, 1976 letter (folder 7-6) to Mr. G. A. Harknett, the Director of Operations of ICAC, Dr. Tu mentioned that she was glad to know one policeman was finally arrested on a charge of perverting justice and involvement in a minibus racket through the Continental Clean Service Co. In the minibus rackets case, Dr. Tu also helped Mr. Mak Pui Yuen (麥培元) to fight for justice. Mr. Mak was believed to be victimized for having reported corruption to Police Inspectors Mr. J. Peter Law and Mr. Peter Fitzroy Godber about minibus racket in 1970 (folders 7-7 through 7-8).

Dr. Tu handled many other allegations of corruption and crimes which are recorded in folders 6-9 and 8-2, and the Crime & Corruption files (folders 9-4 through 9-5, 11-4). Most of these are allegations of police corruption and malpractice, vice, triad activities and drugs problem. Clippings in the Corruption and Crime & Corruption files are newspaper reports on cases of corruption and crime, such as that of Police Chief Superintendent Mr. Peter Fitzroy Godber (葛柏) (folders 8-1 through 8-2) and Mr. Ernest M. Percival Hunt (韓德) (folder 6-14).

Later in 1973, Alastair Blair-Kerr headed a commission and wrote the Blair-Kerr report on corruption. Lord Murray MacLehose then established the Anti-corruption Commission in October which later became ICAC under Mr. Jack Cater on February 14, 1974 (folder 7-2). The clippings in folder 7-2 also document the achievements of ICAC and the Governor’s grant of a general amnesty to all who may have been involved in corrupt practices before January 1, 1977.

The Crime files (folders 8-9 through 9-3, 23-3) mainly consist of correspondence and clippings on drugs and triad activities. Some triad activities and short biographical information of suspected Sun Yee On (新義安) members are documented in folder 9-3.

Death of John MacLennan files document a controversial homosexual case in Hong Kong. In the 1980s, homosexual practice was still a criminal act. Mr. John MacLennan, a Police Inspector was found shot five times in the chest and body in his locked flat in January 1980, on the day he was to have been arrested on homosexual charges. An inquest jury refused to bring in a suicide verdict on the evidence presented, thus leading to the setting up of the Commission of Inquiry into Inspector MacLennan’s Case in 1981.

Some people, including Dr. Tu suggested that MacLennan was being persecuted because he “knew too much” about the names of homosexuals in his investigation of homosexuality in the police. As a result, Dr. Tu corresponded with Lord Murray MacLehose (folder 12-4, 13-4), Commissioner of the Commission of Inquiry and MacLennan’s family (folder 12-4), Mr. J. M. Duffy, the Senior Crown Counsel, Mr. John C. Griffiths, the Attorney General (folder 13-4) and she also collected much information on MacLennan’s case as well as the Inquest and Inquiry. The rich information such as clippings (folders 12-1 through 12-3) and documents (folders 13-2 through 13-3), Dr. Tu’s manuscripts and statements for the Commission of Inquiry, a report entitled The death of John MacLennan Hong Kong 15th January 1980 prepared by Professor Alan Usher, Department of Forensic Pathology, Sheffield University (folder 13-4), the coroner’s opening address, investigation report, police statements (folders 13-4 through 14-1), and Dr. Tu’s correspondence with Professor Alan Usher (folder 13-5) give a very detailed account of the case. Later in June 1988, the government put forward a consultation paper, Homosexual offences: should the law be changed? (folder 13-6) to study the laws on homosexuality in Hong Kong. Other records on the reform of the laws on homosexuality are kept in folder 22-5.

The Education files contain papers and manuscripts discussing various education issues such as the new teacher salary structure in 1972 (folder 14-2), selection and allocation for post-form 3 education (folder 14-3), adult education and medium of instruction in school and the development of senior secondary and tertiary education (folder 14-4). Some of these papers were prepared by the Education Action Group. Folder 14-4 also contains clippings and reports which document in detail the dismissal of teachers, student sit-ins and malpractice in school accounting of the 1978 Precious Blood Golden Jubilee Girls’ School incident (金禧事件).

The Star Ferry Fare Increase & Kowloon Riots files document Star Ferry fare increase and events leading to the 1966 and 1967 riots. In 1965, the Transport Advisory Committee (TAC) of which Dr. Tu was a member studied the Star Ferry Company Limited’s application for fare increase. Some of the records which support the application include a September 16, 1965 report done by Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., a financial analysis of the company, a study on ferry traffic as well as an earnings forecast are kept in folder 25-2.

Eventually, TAC approved Star Ferry’s application in early 1966 and folder 25-12 contains some of the related minutes and study reports, such as the Report on the Star Ferry Company’s application for revision of fares and charges prepared in March 1966. However, as revealed in some of Dr. Tu’s correspondence with Mr. D.C. Bray, the Commissioner for Transport (folder 25-1) and Lord Murray MacLehose as well as in a manuscript entitled, Star Ferry fares: memorandum of dissent (folder 25-9), it is clear that Dr. Tu opposed TAC’s decision strongly. The public also shared her viewpoint and some supported her in a public petition. Some letters dated from November 1965 to April 1966 (folders 25-12, 25-9 through 25-10), a Study report on fare increase in March 20, 1966 done by the Current Affairs Committee of Hong Kong University Students’ Union Council (folder 25-2) as well as a tabular summary of opinion from various organizations on fare increase (folder 25-9) document the widespread opposition to fare increase.

In April 1966, Mr. So Sau Chung (蘇守忠) and Mr. Lo Kei (盧麒) went on a hunger strike which was followed by a demonstration and a riot in Kowloon on April 6, 1966. Some rioters were arrested and later the government set up the Commission of Inquiry into the Kowloon Riots (folders 25-5 through 25-6, 35-5) to study the causes of the riots. A year later, Mr. Lo Kei, one of the young men on hunger strike died, clippings and correspondence in folders 35-5 and 25-7 document his death.

In May 1966, Dr. Tu went to London to seek the British government’s support for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Hong Kong to study how Hong Kong was administered (folders 26-1 through 26-2). She also explained her role in the Kowloon riots in some manuscripts and letters (folders 8-3, 25-1). Additionally, Mr. Henry Lethbridge, Mr. M. D. Topley and Dr. Tu attempted to explain the outbreak of the Kowloon riots in some manuscripts contained in folder 25-6.

One year later, disturbances broke out again in Kowloon on May 6, 1967 outside an artificial flower factory in San Po Kong and this led to the 1967 riots (folders 24-7, 35-3). Peace returned quickly, but these two riots had far reaching impact on government administration.

Hong Kong remained peaceful for about two decades until another riot broke out in 1984. This riot was triggered off by a taxi driver strike in Kowloon (folder 5-5).

After the riots in 1966 and 1967, the Hong Kong government drafted the Emergency Regulation (folder 24-4), Public Order Bill 1967, and Public Inquiry Bill 1968 (folders 25-4, 25-8). Gradually, the government also introduced some significant political changes and reforms. Some of these changes are documented in the Political Affairs, Transfer of Sovereignty to China and Urban Council files.

Dr. Tu frequently discussed constitutional and political changes for Hong Kong in her correspondence with British MPs and government officials such as Lord Fenner Brockway, Mr. Robert Parry (folder 21-1), Mr. John Rankin (folder 29-1), Mr. Peter Blaker, Lord Goronwy-Roberts of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as well as Dr. David Owen, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the 1960s and 1970s. In addition, she also invited some MPs to visit Hong Kong and joined the delegations of elected Urban Councillors to London in 1979 to discuss the proposed constitutional changes for Hong Kong. The correspondence and clippings in folders 28-8, 29-1, 29-3 through 30-1 document their discussion on and proposal for political changes in the 1960s and 1970s.

In the 1980s, the political scene was dominated by the Sino-British talks on Hong Kong’s sovereignty. Some manuscripts, clippings and Dr. Tu’s correspondence with British MPs in folders 26-6 through 27-1, 21-1 through 21-4 document the Sino-British relationship and events leading to the signing of the Joint Declaration on the Future of Hong Kong in 1984.

The discussion of 1997 handover followed the Declaration. Issues such as the Basic Law, constitutional reforms, democracy and Legco elections were among the hottest topics discussed in the late 1980s and 1990s (folders 26-4 through 27-4). The record of Debate on Hong Kong in the House of Commons and proceedings of the Labour Party Conference on Hong Kong’s 1997 Handover in 1989 (folder 27-2) document the views of some British politicians.

Perhaps the most controversial political reform in the history of colonial Hong Kong is the Patten Reform Package which was introduced by Governor Christopher Patten. Dr. Tu opposed this Reform Package in her correspondence with Mr. Patten, the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Mr. Douglas Hurd, the British Secretary of State as well as different MPs (folders 27-5 through 27-6). Some of this correspondence is collected in a book entitled, Doom or boom for Hong Kong in 1997? (folder 27-6). Moreover, Sino-British relations went down-hill in the run-up to 1997. A Report by House of Commons, and some articles dated 1993 and 1994 which are contained in folder 27-7 document this worsening Sino-British relationship in the 1990s.

Dr. Tu was elected to the Urban Council in 1963, and was an Urban Councillor until 1995. During those thirty-two years, she was involved in many important issues which are documented in the Urban Council files (folders 27-5 through 30-3). There are records on Urban Council reforms and district administration (folder 30-1), correspondence, committee papers (folder 30-3), and clippings on the functions and efficiency of the Urban Council ward system (folder 29-8) as well as rows in the Urban Council (folders 29-8, 30-2). Folder 28-4 contains Dr. Tu’s correspondence with the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of the Urban Council discussing some controversial issues, minutes, and papers presented at annual convention debates. Some other minutes of the Council are contained in folders 30-1. From 1988 through 1995, Dr. Tu was also a Legislative Councillor, and her reports to the Urban Council as a representative to Legco are contained in folders 21-9 and 22-1.

In order to learn people’s grievances, Dr. Tu received people at her ward offices and recorded their complaints and requests. The Ward Cases files in folders 31-2 through 31-7 and 32-1 through 34-14 contain these records. Most of the complaints are related to social issues such as housing, government malpractice, crime, social welfare, etc.

In her career as a councillor of the Urban Council and Legislative Council, Dr. Tu was also concerned about many other acute social problems. One of these is Hawking and Hawker Policy. Folders 15-1 through 15-3 contain reports, that are prepared by the Urban Council and Urban Services Department, on the government’s changing hawker control strategy and policy as well as Hawker Permitted Areas proposal. In folders 5-3 and 22-5 are clippings and papers on mandatory confiscation of hawkers’ goods.   Housing has long been a serious problem in Hong Kong. Complaints on housing clearance and resettlement (folders 15-4 through 15-6) as well as ways to get public housing (folders 16-5 through 16-6) make up the majority of the Housing files. Other files contain papers and clippings on general housing problems, such as overcrowded living conditions and landslides on the Mid-Levels and in Sau Mau Ping in 1976 (folder 16-1), squatter control and resettlement estates (folder 16-3).

The Human Rights file (folder 17-1) contains two manuscripts, Human rights Day, 10th December [1972], and An appeal from East Timor [March 1996]. Other records include Dr. Tu’s 1976 correspondence with Lord Murray MacLehose, Mr. Timothy Lee and ICAC on a Coroner’s Inquest into the shooting of a youth by a policeman, and some cases of complaints against the Police Force from 1976 through 1996.

Folder 18-2 in the Law and Order files also contain manuscripts on human rights prepared by the United Nations Association of Hong Kong and Reform Club, other records in folders 17-6 through 18-2 include clippings and correspondence on crime and colonialism, etc.

Folder 17-3 in the Labour Problems files is on the Supplementary Medical Professions (Amendment) Bill 1989. Most of the correspondence belonged to the Hong Kong Chiropractors’ Association, Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association, and the Secretary for Health & Welfare. Folder 17-4 contains two manuscripts, Child labour in Hong Kong in the 1970’s and related problems by Mr. Robin Porter, and Industrial health and safety in Hong Kong by Mr. Martin Palmer.

Dr. Tu’s concern on the legal system and her help to prisoners is recorded in the Legal System, Legal Aid & Prisons files. She visited different prisons (folder 18-9) and received complaints of unfair treatment from prisoners (folder 18-4), such as Mr. Kan Chik Tung (簡植東). Some clippings, Mr. Kan’s correspondence and his June 13, 1967 report in folder 18-6 reveal the conditions in Stanley Prison from 1963 through 1967. Having received complaints from prisoners, Dr. Tu wrote to various government departments, some official and unofficial members of the Legislative Council, the press, and Lord Murray MacLehose so as to petition for the prisoners (folders 18-4 through 18-5).

She also helped minor offenders and supported the Rehabilitation of Minor Offenders by writing to some significant figures such as the Anglican Bishop (folder 21-8). Folder 21-5 contains other records such as reviews and various government documents on this issue.

The Notable Cases files (folders 19-4 through 20-10) contain records related to different allegations of crime and social issues. In folder 19-5 are records of cases that Dr. Tu gave financial assistance with the donations she received. Folder 19-6 is on a custody dispute of an infant girl between Judge Donald Davis and Miss Nora Chan. There are also some records of complaints made by civil servants in the files. These include Mr. J. Gerald Gillow’s complaint about his dismissal in 1966 (folder 20-1) and some police officers’ complaints on the Yaumati fruit market drug syndicate corruption (folder 20-4). Folder 20-3 contains a manuscript on the Nanking massacre in 1937, correspondence and clippings on redemption of Japanese wartime banknotes.

The Social Problems files document many different cases handled by Dr. Tu. In April-October, 1971, Dr. Tu wrote a column “As I see it” in China Mail, and these articles which describe various aspects of Hong Kong are contained in folder 22-2. Correspondence and manuscripts in folder 22-3 were mainly written by Dr. Tu, Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee, and Education Action Group on different social issues such as justice, hawkers, gambling, education and Chong Hing Building (重慶大廈) management.

Illegal immigrant is another social issue which drew much attention in the 1980s. Dr. Tu corresponded with the Governor, Government Secretariat, and some British MPs to discuss cases such as the deportation of a six-year old boy to China in 1994 (folder 22-4), and detention of thirteen Iranians in transit at Victoria Prison in 1984 (folder 22-6). Mr. Michael T. Darwyne, a former Attorney General, was also concerned about illegal immigrants and he wrote some articles to express his views on illegal immigrants’ detention in contravention of the Bill of Rights (folder 23-4).

Folder 23-2 documents the ICAC’s investigation into allegations of corruption and commercial fraud involving the buying of defective dental equipment at Prince Philip Dental Hospital in 1981-1982.

The Speeches files (folders 23-5 through 24-3) contain scripts of speeches that Dr. Tu gave to different schools and groups such as YMCA, Peninsula Lions Club, Rotary Club of Women, American Women’s Association of Hong Kong.

The Standing Committee on Pressure Groups was formed in late 1977 and disbanded in 1982. It reported to and advised the Government on social and political trends and developments in Hong Kong under chairmanship of the then Home Affairs & Information Services Branch. Folders 24-4 through 24-6 document the work of the Group and folder 24-5 also contains information on different pressure groups in Hong Kong.

The Vietnamese Refugees files contain clippings on the Vietnamese war and refugees (folder 30-8), Dr. Tu’s correspondence with some British MPs and Secretary for Security of the British government, her letters to press editors and from refugees (folder 30-9). Kempster Report in folder 31 –1 is the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Witness Protection dated 2 April, 1993.

A major portion of the correspondence consists of letters written by Dr. Elsie Tu, various Hong Kong and British government officials, members of British Parliament as well as members of the Urban Council and Legislative Council. There are also Chinese letters complaining about different social issues written to Dr. Elsie Tu. Some of these letters have English translation.