A dignified plea
On September 24, ten representatives of the residents of Rennie's Mill delivered the more than 300 ROC flags they had gathered to Taipei. They immediately attracted attention, and many members of media carried related stories.
They held a public seminar in Taipei, and filed a petition with the Executive Yuan. They are asking Taipei to provide funding to help the residents hire legal services to win reasonable treatment from the Hong Kong government; to establish a special unit to handle matters related to Rennie's Mill; to clearly acknowledge the desires of the residents there; and to help residents move to Taiwan permanently.
Huang Ming, just in his thirties, who grew up in Rennie's Mill and graduated from the Department of Law at National Taiwan University, is currently the chairman of the residents' committee. He says that in fact most of the people in the anti-relocation committee have, to one degree or another, received help from the FCRA to complete their studies in Hong Kong or Taiwan. They are not by any means ungrateful. It's just that they want to make sure that, at this sensitive time in relations between Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the PRC, the rights of the residents of Rennie's Mill are given due consideration.
[Picture Caption]
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(right) At the end of June of this year, old veteran Hsia Chang-yun took down the colors from the Rennie's Mill dock, initiating the activities to send their flags to Taiwan.
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At the end of September, the "Anti-Relocation Committee" delivered their hundreds of ROC flags to Taipei.
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In 1950, huts were built at Rennie's Mill to accommodate 20,000 refugees from mainland China. (photo courtesy of FCRA)
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From this high point you can see all of Rennie's Mill. (photo courtesy of FCRA)
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Although the houses in Rennie's Mill are old, they still beat the "rabbit hutches" in the high rises.
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The slogan "Long Live President Chiang" is embedded on a hillside. It will disappear with Rennie's Mill.
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Every October 10, the ROC National Day, flags flutter all around Rennie's Mill, attracting many tourists from Hong Kong and beyond. (photo by Vincent Chang)
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The once bustling middle school in Rennie's Mill had to close its doors as residents increasingly moved away and the number of students declined.
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Although it was hard for them to do, in order to make a point and gain support for their claims, the residents regretfully hauled down their ROC flags to be sent to Taipei.
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The Hong Kong government's land reclamation project has gotten as far as the vicinity of the middle school. The sea route will soon be cut off. The Junk Bay residential district in the distance is where the people of Rennie's Mill may be resettled.
The once bustling middle school in Rennie's Mill had to close its doors as residents increasingly moved away and the number of students declined.
Although it was hard for them to do, in order to make a point and gain support for their claims, the residents regretfully hauled down their ROC flags to be sent to Taipei.
The Hong Kong government's land reclamation project has gotten as far as the vicinity of the middle school. The sea route will soon be cut off. The Junk Bay residential district in the distance is where the people of Rennie's Mill may be resettled.