Siu A Chau

Geography

Siu A Chau is the northernmost and the second largest of the Soko Islands, after Tai A Chau. It is dumbbell-shaped and has a rugged indented coastline with steep slopes. The highest point of the island is at 74 meters. A beach lies to the south, and another to the north of the island.

Administration

Siu A Chau is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy.

History

In 1937, Walter Schofield, then a Cadet Officer in the Hong Kong Civil Service, wrote that Siu A Chau was "another settlement of early man" and that it had a "fishing village of huts very different from ordinary Chinese dwellings" at the time of writing.

Features

There is a temple on the south side of the island.

A low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) facility began operation at Siu A Chau in July 2005. Low-level radioactive wastes which had previously been stored in disused tunnels, two factories and five hospitals were subsequently transferred to the Siu A Chau facility. Part of this waste was relocated from the disused Mount Parish air-raid tunnels at Queen's Road East, in Wan Chai. The 55 m3 of LLRW stored there had raised objections. The opening ceremony of the facility was held in June 2006.

References

References

1. [http://www.atal.com.hk/proj/sp/sac/doc/ema/EChapter%202.pdf Low Level Radioactive Waste Storage Facility at Siu A Chau. Environmental Monitoring and Audit Manual]
2. [http://www.pland.gov.hk/pland_en/p_study/comp_s/swnt/final-report/final-report.htm South West New Territories Development Strategy Review. Recommended Development Strategy. July 2001]
3. (22 March 2007). "No Man Is an Island". [[HK Magazine]].
4. (8 June 2006). "Far From the Madding Crowd". [[HK Magazine]].
5. (September 2009). "List of Recognized Villages under the New Territories Small House Policy". [[Lands Department]].
6. (1983). "The Islands Around Hong Kong (notes for a talk given in 1937)". Journal of the [[Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch]].
7. [http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/waste/prob_solutions/radioactive_waste.html Environment Protection Department: Low-level Radioactive Waste]
8. [http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr02-03/english/panels/ea/papers/eacb1-1956-1e.pdf Legislative Council Panel on Environmental Affair – PWP Item 70DR – Low-level radioactive waste storage facility, June 2003]
9. [http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr02-03/english/fc/pwsc/papers/p03-35e.pdf Item for Public Works Subcommittee of Finance Committee, June 2003]
10. [http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/news_events/press/press_060624a.html Environment Protection Department: Low-level Radioactive Waste Storage Facility opens, 24 June 2006]