Siu Sai Wan - History

History

Siu Sai Wan was originally an intelligence gathering centre for the United Kingdom. In 1947, Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand signed an agreement to jointly pursue the gathering of intelligence. The British Armed Forces then set up an intelligence gathering centre in Siu Sai Wan, one of the largest in the Far East, to monitor wireless communications from the then Republic of China (ROC), present day People's Republic of China (PRC). In the 1980s, as the handover of Hong Kong to the PRC became inevitable, the centre was completely destroyed.

At the same time, along with the development of the Mass Transit Railway, the resettlement estates in Chai Wan were to be demolished. To accommodate residents from these estates and from the expanding urban population, the government decided to develop Siu Sai Wan. At that time the name Siu Sai Wan was deemed "indecent" by the Government, who suggested to name the area "Siu Chai Wan" instead. This didn't sit well with local residents, and as a result when the Siu Sai Wan Estate was built a few years later, the name Siu Sai Wan was returned to the area. Nevertheless, taxi drivers are known to use a similar-sounding profane term when they refer to the area.

Siu Sai Wan faces Tathong Channel, an entrance to the Victoria Harbour, and promotes beautiful scenery. The government has built Home Ownership Scheme housings such as Harmony Garden.