白石羈留中心

1989 to 1997

Close Camp

25,000 Refugees 

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White Head is a peninsular facing the Jolo Harbour, which was documented as early as 1890s. It is also closed to the Wu Kwai Sha and Lok Wo Sha villages. It had, however, not been inhabited until the construction of the asylum seekers detention centre in the late 1980s. The camp was first planned for 9600 people, but soon the camp was expanded to accommodate 20,000 people.[i] The reason behind the large population was partly due to the surge of the number of asylum seekers, but also the Hong Kong government’s policy to reduce the number of detention centres in the urban area. Nonetheless, purposed built detention centres like Whitehead had also gained international notoriety. The Human Rights Watch, for example, highlighted the prison-like atmosphere in the camp, including the 5.6 meter wire fence, topped by barbed wire, that surrounded the camp. Moreover, Whitehead Detention Centre were divided into 10 sections, and the detainees’ movement were restricted by the fence ways separating the sections, too. There were also multiple types of surveillance, ranging from sentry boxes to “representatives” among detainees who were employed by the CSD. Moreover, in 1998, there was also report that 40% of the population of Whitehead were children, most of whom had never lived outside the camp. The reportage stated, “These children have never seen a cat, a dog, or a garden.” Like many other later camps such as High Island and Tai A Chau, White Head is built in a relatively remote area, with hills and beaches. However, the detainees in the camps had no access to the surrounding natural environment. Whitehead camp was closed in June 1997. Part of the site along Yiu Sha Road had since redeveloped into luxurious private housings. Currently, the site of the White Head camp is divided into several ad-hoc functions, including a golf practicing range, a barbecue restaurant, container storages, open-air carpark and collection site of construction waste. In 2017, there were plan to redeveloped the site into a sports park, but the plan is still being discussed as in 2022.  

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