Peak Reservation Ordinance

Hill District Reservation Ordinance, Ordinance No.4 of 1904cite press release
title = Council Sittiing Record of Legislative Council of Hong Kong
publisher = Legislative Council of Hong Kong
date = 28th March, 1904
url = http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=res&cd=13&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.legco.gov.hk%2F1904%2Fh040328.pdf&ei=guCjSKncKo6o6wOJuLRH&usg=AFQjCNHw2JLN_F_SRrO56DGSv6E6h_xx5g&sig2=Oxe4kZ6H-HCbLaH0uz_n9A
accessdate = 2008-08-14] cite book
last = Lai,
first = Lawrence Wai-Chung,
authorlink =
coauthors = Weicong Li, Ki Fong
title = Town Planning Practice: Context, Procedures and Statistics for Hong Kong
publisher = Hong Kong University Press
date = 2000
location = Hong Kong
pages =p 13
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=pMikv58lxdIC&dq=%22Hill+District+Reservation%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0
doi =
id =
isbn = 962209516X, 9789622095168 ] (1904-1930) (Traditional Chinese:山頂區保留條例), commonly known as Peak reservation Ordinance, was a racially-based zoning law passed by the Hong Kong Government that reserved the Victoria Peak as a place of residence to non-Chinese people. Wiltshire, Trea. [First published 1987] (republished & reduced 2003). Old Hong Kong - Volume Two. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. Page 21. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-60-6. pg 21] According to Government record, it was to prevent the spread of Bubonic plague when the Third Pandemic reached Hong Kong from China in 1894. Contemporary historians' views toward the Ordinance varies, with some cite book
last = Wordie
first = Jason
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Streets: Exploring Hong Kong Island
publisher = Hong Kong University Press
date = 2002
location = Hong Kong
pages =pp74-75
url = http://www.amazon.com/Streets-Exploring-Hong-Kong-Island/dp/9622095631/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1214701525&sr=11-1
doi =
id =
isbn = 9622095631 ] [ [http://www.cciv.cityu.edu.hk/website/?redirect=/field/2000-2001-b/0224B/index.php 香港早期醫療] ] attributes the Ordinance to the plague, whereas others attributing it to racial segregation or social status.

Background

egregation by health

In 1894, the deadly Third Pandemic of Bubonic plague spread from China to Hong Kong, causing 100,000 deaths in Canton alone within two month [cite book
last = Cohn
first = Samuel K.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Black Death Transformed: Disease and Culture in Early Renaissance Europe
publisher = A Hodder Arnold
date = 2003
location =
pages = p336
url =
id= ISBN 0-340-70646-5 ] . Dr. Gomes da Silva, the Principle Medical Officer of Macau, in recording the sanitary condition of the Cantonese population, observed that they usually threw house refuse into the street where it accumulated until such time as the torrential summer rains and the overflow of Pearl River cleared it away. A study by City University of Hong Kong also attribute the spread of plague to the hygiene and sanitary condition among local population at the time [ [http://www.cciv.cityu.edu.hk/website/?redirect=/field/2000-2001-b/0224B/index.php Early history of medicial service in Hong Kong{香港早期醫療服務)] , City University of Hong Kong, accessed 8th July 2008] . Governor of Hong Kong Sir William Robinson reported to the British Government that "the filthy habits of life amongst the 210,000 Chinese who reside here have rendered Hong Kong liable to the invasion and development of the germ of the bubonic plague." [cite journal
last = Pryor
first = E.G.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Great Plague of Hong Kong
journal = Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
volume = 1975
issue =
pages = p65
publisher = Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Hong Kong Branch (Hong Kong Branch)
location = Hong Kong
date = 1975
url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4401304.pdf
doi =
id =
accessdate = ] .

In late 1890s, European who resided in City of Victoria gradually moved to places of higher attitude to evade such living condition. But as Chinese population continued to increase in the city, and the Europeans were reaching the Peak thus cannot move any higher, the Hong Kong Government decided to reserve the Victoria Peak for the European and other non-Chinese. The 1904 Government Gazette explained that such reservation of the district was to address such concerns over the health of European people.Between 1894-1929, the plague caused 24000 case of infection in Hong Kong, of which 90% were fatal. [ cite journal
last = Pryor
first = E.G.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Great Plague of Hong Kong
journal = Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society
volume = 1975
issue =
pages = p69
publisher = Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Hong Kong Branch (Hong Kong Branch)
location = Hong Kong
date = 1975
url = http://sunzi1.lib.hku.hk/hkjo/view/44/4401304.pdf
doi =
id =
accessdate = ] In 1929, the plague was eradicated and the law was repealed in 1930.

egregation by race and social status

Some historians believe the Peak Reservation Ordinance is a law based on social segregation as its goal. At the time one's social status was measured by the altitude of one's residence. One incidental benefit that came with the law included the reservation of the Peak Tram at certain hours of the day. From 8 to 10am in the morning, the tram service was for top officials, first class passengers only. They would be guaranteed good commute time for such top officials and first class passengers. The front seat of the tram was always reserved for the governor, who further accorded its desirable social status by building a summer retreat, the Mountain Lodge. The Peak at the time was referred to by the British as "Little England".Courtauld, Caroline. Holdsworth, May. The Hong Kong Story. Hong Kong publishing, Oxford university press. ISBN 0195903536. pg 46.] Many of the upper-middle class household members would have a dozen to 20 Chinese servants.

imilar Ordinances

Few years prior to the Peak reservation ordinance on December 22, 1895, about 400 Chinese citizens protested against the racially biased Light and Pass Ordinance. The law exclusively required Chinese citizens to carry a lamp when passing at night. [Jung-fang Tsai. [1995] (1995). Hong Kong in Chinese History: Community and Social Unrest in the British Colony, 1842-1913. Columbia University Press. 1995. ISBN 0231079338, 9780231079334.] The law was believed originally established under the assumption that all Chinese residents of the colony were potential criminals. [Munn, Christopher. [2001] (2001). Anglo-China: Chinese People and British Rule in Hong Kong, 1841-1880. ISBN 0700712984, 9780700712984.]

Other racially-based zoning law in colony of Hong Kong.
*European District Reservation Ordinance, (April 1888) cite book
last = Tubbs, Clawson
first = Floyd R., Robert W.
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Stahlhelm: Evolution of the German Steel Helmet
publisher = Kent State University Press
date = 2000
location =
pages = p15
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=1653hGljnfgC&dq=%22Hill+District+Reservation%22&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0
id= ISBN 0873386779, 9780873386777 ]
*The Peak District (Residence) Ordinance, Ordinance of No.8 of May 1918, repealed in 1930.
*The Cheung Chau Reservation Ordinance, Ordinance of No. 14 of August 1919

Exemption

The ordinance stated that “It shall be lawful for the Governor-in-Council to exempt any Chinese from the operation of this Ordinance on such terms as the Governor-in-Council shall think fit.” Such exemption has been invoked to such personalities as First Lady Madame Chiang Kai-shek. ; and Eurasian millionaire Sir Robert Ho-Tung and his family.

References