Ten years of the Thatcher Government hasbrought the homeless figures into thirdworld proportions. Of the 75,000 homelesspeople in London, squatters are thebiggest category.

The history of squatting goes back furtherthan the days of the Anarchic Punks andthe Political Activists of the 70's andthe 80's trying to beat the system,refusing to conform and making a politicalstance against the state of the country.Even the hippies of the 60's attempting tocreate an alternative lifestyle with theircommunes, bookshops and vegetarian cafesweren't the first to squat. It is a wellknown fact that after the First World Warsoldiers returning to their 'homes fit forheroes', that didn't exist beyondgovernment propaganda, were forced tosquat with their families.The Second World War finished and thisbrought in a new wave of squatting. Ex-servicemen and women returned to thecountry to find themselves homeless.Families squatted in empty hotels, secondhomes and even disused army barracks.

In England records of squatting can betraced back to the middle ages. TheDiggers are probably the best knownsquatters of that time.

THE DIGGERS

After the 'revolution' in 1649 things werestill no better for the poor of thiscountry. The Diggers or True Levellersbecame prominent in April of that year andare recorded as being a socialist sect

headed by Gerrard Winstanley, although theDiggers did practice the principles ofearly anarchism. They were unable andunwilling to pay rent to the richlandlords so they took over wasteland andstarted to build their own communitiesnear Cobham, Surrey and elsewhere insouthern England. Time after time theywere attacked by soldiers at the requestof local priests and lords. Their cropswere pulled up and they themselves werebeaten up. They were under severe pressurefrom the landowners and the state led byCromwell.

The Diggers were pacifists and made noresistance to the violence imposed onthem. They moved from site to site tryingto encourage others to follow theirexample of communal living and theystruggled on for two years preaching avision of common ownership and sharedlabour.

Because of their willingness to accept theviolence and destruction of the statewithout fighting back the Diggers wereshort lived. Vhey have shown by nature oftheir example of common and equal work,without lords or masters, that there canbe an alternative to the robbery andinequality of capitalism. The earlyQuakers were considerably influenced bythe ideas of the Diggers.

St. Georges Hill is the most famous of theDiggers' plots of squatted land. It is nowa select residential area full of yuppiestockbrokers.

You noble diggers allStand up now, stand up no*You noble diggers a11 stand up nowThe wasteland to maintainSeen cavaliers by nameYour digging does maintainAnd persons all defameStand up now, stand up now.

Your houses they pulI downStand up now, stand up nowYour houses they pulI down, stand up nowYour houses they pull downTo fright your men In townBut the gentry must come downAnd the poor sha11 wear the crownStand up now, diggers all.

With spades and hose and ploughsStand up now, stand up nowWith spades and hose and ploughsstand up nowYour freedom to opposeSeen cavaliers are boldTo kill you If they couIdAnd rights from you to holdStand up now, diggers all.

The gentry are all roundStand up now, stand up nowThe gentry are all round stand up nowThe gentry are all roundOn each side they art boundTo cheat us of our grou.idStand up now, stand up now.

The lawyers they conjoinStand up now, stand up nowThe lawyers they conjoin stand up nowTo arrest you they adviseSuch fury they deviseThe devlI In them IiesAnd are blind In both their eyesStand up now, stand up now.

The clergy they como InStand up now, stand up nowThe clergy they come In stand up nowThe clergy they come InAnd say It Is a sinThat we should now beginOur freedom for to winStand up now, diggers all. -,

'Gainst lawyers and 'gainst priestsStand up now, stand up now'Gainst lawyers and 'gainst priestsstand up nowFor tyrants they are bornThieve and plot against their ownTo grant us they ar« loathedFree meat and drink and clothStand up now, diggers all.

The club Is all their lawStand up now, stand up nowThe club Is all their law stand upnowThe club ts all their lawTo keep a 11 men In oarBut they no vision sawTo maintain such a lawStand up now, diggers all.

Written In 1649 by GerrardWinstanley.

2

Well, reckon this paper is a bloody goodidea.BUT, if it is going to be as good as itcould be, maybe a bit of thinking needs tobe done about one or two things:DISTRIBUTION This matters just as much asthe content and coming out regularly. Itwould be & complete waste if the paperjuat circulates around the existing squatgroups and the "ghetto" of post-punkanarch squatters (speaking as a pre-punkof that ilk). It needs to get around muchmore widely, especially to new squattersand homeless people who might think aboutsquatting. Can't say I've got magicanswers to the problem, but getting itinto bookshops (i.e. ones that pay rent)and bundles to advice centres wherehomeless people go (e.g. Piccadilly AdviceCentre and loads of others). They mighteven buy them and help to fund the paper.Distribution is a lot of work, but itshould be possible to get 1,000 around sothat they are actually read.PRODUCING IT I don't think the idea ofcirculating the job around the squatgroups will work. Many of them don't havethe energy/time and some aren't convinceda paper like this is a priority. Noreflection on anybody at all, but asystem like this is inherently unreliable.Some people will remember that the attemptto produce a national squatters paper thisway failed a couple of year3 ago forexactly that reason. Also, aeven if it didwork, the paper would tend to stay mainlyaround the areas which already have squatgroups instead of getting around the rightplaces in , say Westminster or Newham.I reckon it would be better done by agroup of people (no doubt mainly alsoactive in local squat groups) who havedecided to make the paper their maincommitment. Rather like ASS is acollective of people from all over whomake that their main squatty activity,this could be a similar open collectivefor journalism, writing and agitation bysquatters about squatting, like ASS is inlegal and bureaucratic stuff.The money that's around could be used toproduce several pilot issues, while wework towards building up such a collectiveand the distribution links we'll need.Honey to sustain it long-term would alsoneed to be thought about, but ought to bea solvable problem provided this doesn'tgo the way of many good ideas which sinkin untogetherness for lack of

On the 2nd January 1990 a benefit gig washeld at the Sir George Robey, FinsburyPark, in aid of All London Squatters. Thegig was a great success, around 300 peopleturned up to see a number of bandsincluding Splodge, Skitzo and Demented areGo. Bands performed free of charge andwere playing from 5.30pm until 2am. £275was raised on the night and that excludesa small amount for expenses. Theorganisers left the money in the hands ofSHIP to decide how it could be used mosteffectively, so on the 25th February wewill be holding an All London SquattersGathering to decide how to use or sharethe money.

At SHIP we propose that the money be usedto bring out a newsletter for All LondonSquatters so we have used our share toproduce this. We would like to see otherSquatting Groups follow suit and continueto publish it in rotation. Anyway, thefuture of this newsletter can be discussedat the All London Squatters Gathering.Hope you like it, pleaae help to make it asuccess for the future.

This edition was produced at SHIP, 612 OldKent Road, London SE15, Tel; 277 7639.

WHAT IS SQUATTING?

Basically, squatting means getting into ahouse or flat that is empty and making ityour home. Like ail other households,squatters have the right to essentialservices such as electricity, water, post,gas, rubbish collection and so on.Squatting means using empty property tolive in, empty property that wouldotherwise tot away.

IS IT LEGAL?

Yes, squatting is legal. The only time youare committing a criminal offence is ifyou cause criminal damage when gettinginto the property. However, it is verydifficult to prove this in court so veryfew people are actually charged. Theimportant thing that you must remember isto get in quickly and quietly, causing aslittle damage as possible.

WHO ARE STOKE NEWINGTON HOUSING ACTION

Stoke Newington Housing Action is made upof squatters who are committed to helpingpeople escape the total poverty ofhomelessness and bad housing.We can supply:-1. an up-to-date list of empty houses andflats;2. practical help on how to gain entryinto empties;3. advice on gas and electricity problems;4. basic legal advice;5. 'The Squatters' Handbook' - a helpfulend very practical guide to all aspects ofsquatting;6. other more general information.

But Stoke Newington Housing Action is noten 'estate agents' - we want to helppeople to help themselves and we are alsocommitted to challenging the causes of thehousing crisis that forces people intosquatting.

SQUATTING IN HACKNEY

The majority of squatted houses in Hackneyare owned by the council. Some are housesbut most are round on the many estates inthe borough. Many have been empty for

months and often years, which means thatsometimes they're in a bad state ofdisrepair. The time that you can get in asquat can vary from between 6 months to ayear - or even longer. On the whole, thepolice in Hackney recognise squatting as asymptom of the housing crisis and sorarely intervene. It is also very possibleto squat in privately owned places andHousing Association houses (as long as, ofcourse, 'they're empty).

HACKNEY COUNCIL

Due to a combination of central governmentcuts and complete inefficiency, there areover 3000 empty council homes in Hackney.As well as this, there are nearly 5000empty homes here that are owned byproperty speculators and HousingAssociations. Added to this are the manythousands of people who are homeless or invery poor housing. Squatting is a shortterm solution to the housing crisis formany people. Some people say that it's"queue jumping" but that ignores the basicreality of the housing situationhomelessness plus empty homes equals a lotof squatting. It is the governmentofficials, property speculators and thecouncillors who are the guilty ones, notsquatters because they are the onesresponsible for the housing crisis.

If you want to find out more aboutsquatting or are looking for a squat, cometo our regular meetings every Monday from6pm to 8pm at the Old Fire Station (61Leswin Road, Stoke Newington, N16, justoff Stoke Newington High Street. For moreinformation, contact the Advisory Servicefor Squatters (2a St. Pauls Road, Nl, 3598814 (2pm - 6pm, Mondays to Fridays)).They can also put you in touch with othersquatters' groups in London and across thecountry.

A GROWING SOLUTION IN TIMES OF HARDSHIP

Finding a decent home is becoming harderand harder - unless you've got loadsamoney! Not only is squatting a solution tothe housing crisis, but it also shows thatwe don't have to rely on rich landlords oruseless councils. It's time that westarted to take things that we need forourselves. It is important that we sharethe knowledge we gain with as many peopleas possible. We can all help by makinglists of empty property, by helping peopleget in, by getting involved with StokeNewington Housing Action or othersquatting/housing action groups. Squattingis not the problem - the real problem isthe housing crisis, the empty homes, thefact that homes are seen in terms ofprofit and power, not real human need.

5.

ASS REACHES THE PARTS . . .

Advisory Service for Squatters (ASS-not the "SAS") has been around for15 years now. Comes from having acheap rented office, rather than asquatted place.

We are a bit different from othersquat groups, because we aren't localto anywhere in particular. We aim togive legal and practical advice tosquatters and homeless people fromall over England and Wales, mainly byrunning a daily telephone adviceservice and publishing SQUATTERSHANDBOOK and other information.Quite a few people who contact us arefrom outside London, and squatting isclearly growing in places likeManchester, Leeds, Liverpool andBristol, as veil as various smalltowns and rural corners. Mainly,though, its London squatters who findus useful to have around.

We ate a collective of about 12people, running the office and theadvice line on a rota, dealing withup to 30 calls a day. We have ameeting every week to discuss themore difficult problems which come upand keep ASS organised. ASS alwayswelcomes new members to join thecollective (see below).

Because we aren't local to anywhere,our practical squatting advice is abit more general than local squatgroups can give. We always suggestpeople go along to local groups,where they exist, if they want adviceabout picking the best place tosquat, studying the local style ofsteel doors, dealing with the fuelboards etc. etc. Where ASS can comeinto its own is in providing accurateand up to date legal advice on allthe hassles visited on squatters andhomeless people, such rights as wemight have, and how to make sure weget them. Mostly, this is purelydefensive stuff, but justoccasionally it is possible to usethe state's laws creatively to putvarious, bits of its apparatus rightup shit creek.

NOT JUST SQUATTERS

A fair bit of the advice we giveisn't about squatting, as such. Weare often contacted by people whothink they're squatters but aren't(such as unlawful sub-tenants orprivate tenants whose agreement hasrun out). Sometimes, people believetheir only choice is to leave wherethey're living and squat, not knowingthey have rights where they are andto go off squatting would only beletting some landlord or council offthe hook. More often, people withrights to be housed by the councilhave been fobbed off. Assertingtheir rights might be a better routeto what they want than squatting is.

On the other hand, people who findthemselves dropped through one of theloopholes in the laws about housingrights can sometimes fix things bysquatting in a carefully selectedborough for a while and telling thatcouncil a carefully selected storywhen eviction time comes. Our aim isto explain people's situation asfully as we can, together with anychoices they may have apart fromsquatting. We don't believe in justadvising everyone to squat, but ingiving people full information sothat they can make their own decisionabout what is in their bestinterests. Of course, most peoplehave no choice -and squattingcertainly beats sleeping rough!

EVERYONE RINGS US I

Because we are well-known and inevery directory of housing or adviceorganisations around, a wider rangeof people contact us than wouldusually turn up at many localsquatting groups (much as weencourage them to) -pensioners, deadstraight families, tenants who wantto squat flats on their estates fortheir children or relatives- allsorts of folk as well as the mostly-youngish, mostly-childless, mostly-subversive connection that forms thesquatting movement in London (such asit is). There seem to be about

30,000 squatters in London (plus ahell of a lot more unlawful sub-tenants etc.), but maybe not morethan 500 or 1,000 of us who could bedescribed as any sort of squattingmovement.

EVEN THE"PROFESSIONALS"

Another consequence of being well-known is that we are often consultedby other advice centres, law centres,etc. for specialist support or ideasabout squatting problems. Recently,we have been trying to raiseawareness and technical expertiseabout squatting in such circles. Weace also able to maintain contact (tothe extent it is useful) with housingorganisations and campaigns such asShelter and try to snake sure theyhave things straight about squatting.

We also get numerous enquiries fromthe media and researchers. Sometimes,if we are satisfied about theirapproach and the likely result, wegive them interviews, information orbackground material. If we do this,we are always careful to make itclear that no way do we "co-ordinate"or "organise" squatting, neither canwe speak for or represent squattersin general. We just give our ownviews about squatting, the housingcrisis, what councils, courts and thegovernment are up to, etc., based onour experience.

SOME SUCCESSES

Host of the work ASS does, beyondsimply giving advice, is trying tohelp squatters with fightingevictions and other legal problems.This mostly means helping people puttogether Affidavits for court cases,sometimes going down there with them,or trying to see off attempts bycouncils to fiddle squatters out withbent PIO certificates, and othersimilar work.

Last year we had a good success inclobbering Tower Hamlets councilthrough the "Ombudsman" (*) for twoPIO con-jobs. They were told to paycompensation to the squatters! Took ,

a year and didn't stop thoseparticular squatters getting evicted,but it has stopped the bastardstrying it on any more. We have alsobeen able to develop a couple ofdelaying devices for ordinaryevictions through the courts.Really, they amount to exploitingcouncil's idiocy and getting thecourts annoyed with them.Often works, but not always becausecourts are just casinos, really!

THE FUTURE . . . .BIO CHANGES COMING

The work both ASS and local squatgroups are doing is going to be evenmore vital over the next couple ofyears. Not only are there morepeople homeless than ever, butmonumental changes to the situationin which squatting has operated eversince 1945 are going to start rollingover us very soon.

Last year, a lot of people thoughtthe 1988 Housing Act would change oursituation. It didn't, and isn'tlikely to, except in a few isolatedcases. What is coining into force inApril is another Act which hasn't hadmuch publicity and isn't worryingsquatters at the moment -although itshould. It's the Housing FinanceAct, 1989.

This Act doesn't say anything at allabout squatting or change the lawsconcerning our liberation of unusedhomes. What It does do is ensurethat councils won't be able to haveany empty, squatted or short-lifeproperties. They will have to showthe government they are getting an"adequate return" ( i.e. lots ofmoney) for the housing stock theyhave. If they aren't pulling inrents for empty properties, they'llhave to get that amount of moneyanother way by putting up the rentsof their existing tenants. This isoften politically unacceptable andwill be very divisive if they do it.Some councils will -and then blamethe squatters for the rent rises!

Councils are going to be desperate toget fiats tenanted. At first, this

might be an incentive to givesquatters tenancies, but after thatthey'll be shoving people into anyold wreck or else, if a whole blockor estate is in very bad nick,flogging or transferring it to ahousing association (who now haveaccess to money the councils can'tget their hands on). Some councilswill even flog off to private owners,which the '68 Act facilitates. Quitesoon, it's likely that most squatterswill be in housing association placesrather than council ones. These willnot last nearly as long as councilsquats do now, and there will be muchreduced squatting opportunitiesgenerally.

AND POLL TAX TOO !

Unlawful sub-tenants may also beunder threat. Apart from othernasties, the Poll Tax register is apotential tool for councils to sussout just who Is living in theirplaces. Quite apart from squatting,we reckon up to 25%-30% of councilflats on some estates aren't occupiedby the people the council thinks arethere. This is going to lead to alot more homelessness.

ASS's main job immediately, wereckon, is to get a new edition ofSQUATTERS HANDBOOK out. Not that thecurrent one is wrong or misleading-it just doesn't adress the newsituation. We've got the money. Allwe need to do is write the bastardand get it 100% reliable, which isespecially difficult this time.Currently we ain't making muchprogress because of the pressure ofrunning the office and sorting outcourt cases, but we're trying. Weaim to have a chapter on travellers'rights and boat-squatting, both ofwhich we're getting enquiries about.The sort of material SHIP are gettingtogether about sleeping rough mightalso have a useful place.

NEW PACES WELCOME!

YES, the Collective needs new people.If you have some time you could give,please think about it, especially ifyou are the sort of subversive pedantwho likes teasing out the subtletiesand contradictions of laws andbureaucracies, and using them todefeat their own purposes.

BUT...there is usually a lot tolearn. Most new people in ASS takeabout three months to feel confidentabout advising people on many things,so it probably isn't worth gettinginvolved if you aren't going to bearound for at least six months.

Because we are a small collectiveoperating a rota and sharingknowledge with each other, thereIsn't really room in ASS for fringemembers. Better to be committed fora time and then drop out if you needto, rather than being involvedirregularly.

You need to be able to come to theweekly meetings, which are the onlytime we all see each other (currentlyWednesdays 7.30) as well as doing anafternoon in the office once a weekor fortnight.

Hope this hasn't put you off, but ifyou want to get involved, come alongto a meeting any Wednesday night andsee if ASS is for you.

ASS Collective

(*) Sexist shorthand for theParliamentary Commissioner for LocalAdministration, if you really want toknow.

THE ASS OFFICE IS OPENMON-FRI, 2-6pm, 359-8814

Please ring before calling)2, ST. PAULS ROAD, N1 2QN

By November 1983 the SNOW office was movedinto a room in the GLC owned AmbulanceStation on Old Kent Road. SNOW wascontinuing to give advice on squatting andwas publishing 'THE WIRE' on a regularbasis. It soon came time to expand andmove to larger premises so on the night ofSunday 15th January 1985 SNOW activistsentered an empty shop at 362 Old Kent Roadand were soon granted a licence by theowners, the GLC. This shop became the SNOWoffice for the next 3 1/2 years.

The SNOW Collective had regular weeklymeetings and the office was open Monday -Friday, 4-7pm. SNOW could give advice onall aspects of squatting and had veryclose links with the squatting community.SNOW was heavily involved in the massresistance to evictions on the Kinglakeand Pullens estates in- June 1986 and byApril 1987 the number of squats inSouthwark had risen dramatically to over2,000.

SNOW was becoming very successful in itscampaign for squatters and SouthwarkCouncil soon began to feel the pressure oforganised squatting. After the GLCdissolved, Southwark became the new ownersof 362 and on 27th January 1988 they madeit official council policy to evict SNOW.

In July, SNOW received a summons to appearin the High Court on 14th July 1968. Atthis time, leaflets produced by SHIP(Southwark Homeless Information Project)began to appear in the WIRE, SHIP weresupposedly operating from the ground floorof 362.

The last edition of the WIRE came out on8th July 1988 the headline read - 'SNOW inCourt'. The court case was adjourned forSNOW to seek Judicial Review againstSouthwark. Two weeks later issue one ofSHIP NEWS came out. SHIP (SouthwarkHomeless Information Project) had nowtaken the place of SNOW.

SQUATTERS NETWORK OF WALWORTHMARCH 1983 - JULY 1988

The decision to form a squatters networkin Southwark was made in the beginning of1983 and by March of that year SNOW(Squatters Network of Walworth) set upoffice in a prefeb at 3 Alvey St, SE17.From this office a regular newsheet calledSNOWKAT (Squatters Newsheet of Walworthand Kinglake and Alvey Tenants) was beingproduced giving information, news andstories about the area. Tenants on theKinglake and Alvey estates didn't like thename of the newsletter because peoplebegan to confuse it with KAT, the tenants'newsletter, so eventually it was given thename 'THE WIRE'.

SHIP was officially set up in July 1988,working from 362 Old Kent Road, with theintention of becoming a registeredcharity. At this time there were about1,600 squats in Southwark. By November1988 the number of squats droppeddrastically to 1,353 whilst the number ofvoids was increasing. This showed thatsquatted properties were being evicted butjust left empty.On 16th January 1989 SHIP becameregistered as a private limited company totry and obtain charitable status. At thesame time SHIP was becoming verysuccessful at encouraging squatters todefend themselves in the High Court underorder 113. By March 1989 an average of 1in 9 squats were gaining adjournmentsalthough the number of squats in theborough was still dropping but since thenhas stayed at the level of around 1,200 upuntil now.SHIP gained charitable status on 21stApril 1989 and started a fund raisingcampaign and a search for more permanentpremises. The latter being not too successat this stage.The search for a new property became moreimportant. 362 Old Kent Road had beenhanded over to Southwark and on 14thNovember 1989 SHIP was to appear in theHigh Court under order 113.

The new SHIP office is situated at 612 OldKent Road and is open Monday to Friday, 4-7pm.

Dear 'Persons Concerned'

I am writing to you as a member/secretaryof BHAM (Bristol Housing Action Movement),who as a group, have been in existence forover five years. We have regular meetingshelping the homeless find accommodationwhile producing support for those alreadysquatting, housing lists are provided anda tool service for those who need it. Someassistance can also be given to those whohave difficulty moving into a squat.Once upon a time BHAM held a squattersconference which was a great success. Theconference took place over a weekend andattracted people from all over thecountry, unfortunately the conferencedidn't go a great deal further and after asomewhat smaller conference in Brightonthe whole idea seemed to deteriorate intonothingness.We haven't been in touch with squattinggroups and related organisationsnationally for some time, this being asituation we would like to change. Anywayour reason for getting in touch with youis to ask if you could please contact usand tell us a little about yourselves,what your 'organisation' is doing at themoment and how much support you receive.We'd also be grateful if you could send usany squatting group/or useful contactaddresses you may have.It is hoped that if we get favourableresponse we can arrange a 'NationalSquatting Conference' possibly in Marchsometime at a community centre that hasbeen squatted and re-opened in Bristol.It's highly likely that there's a hell ofa lot going on in your area/across thecountry which we don't know about andwould be useful knowledge for a group suchas ours. Anyway, must go, I hope we cancontact you on a slightly more personalbasis, hope you can be of some help.

Cheers, Mike.

P.S. Apologies for the officialness ofthis letter but it would be too much of aworkload to gat in touch with so manygroups on an individual basis all at once.

B.H.A.M.BOX 4

Greenleaf CafeBristol

SQUATTING GROUPS IN LONDON (16/2/90)

Advisory Service for Squatters (ASS)2 St. Pauls RoadLondon NlTel: 359 8814 Mondays to Fridays 2-6pm

Brixton Squatters Aid121 Railton RoadLondon SE24Tel: 274 6655 Sundays 3-5pm

Camden SquattersCulross HallBattle Bridge RoadLondon NW1 Tuesdays 7-8pm

Limehouse Squatters17 Turners RoadLondon E3 Tues & Thur 6-9pm, Sat l-4pm

Southwark Homeless Information Project612 Old Rent RoadLondon SE15Tel: 277 7639 Mondays to Fridays 4-7pa

Stoke Newington Housing Action61 Leswin RoadLondon N16 Mondays 6.00-8.00pm

One of the world's biggest and oldestsquats was the former Walled City ofKowloon in Hong Kong. The area was ananomaly in the treaty of 1898 when theBritish Empire took over the NewTerritories from China. The originalconvention of Peking, that was negotiatedwith the assistance of corrupt officals inthe decaying Manchu empire, allowed forthe Chinese to retain jurisdiction overthis small area. The British governmentlater tired to overrule this provision,but no Chinese govt has been found whowould accept the unequal treaty. So as aresult the Mailed City fell through alegal loophole with the Hong Kong govtunable to claim authority over the onehundredth of a square mile which lost itswalls during WW2 and was just a smallvillage of 436 in 1948, but following theChinese revolution and the wave ofrefugees who have flooded into the Britishhaven on the South this squat nearKaitak airport attracted more illegalimmigrants, prostitutes and drugs than anyother over-crowded tenement block in HongKong. Without building regulations it hasbeen built up by the occupiers so that in1975 the Hong Kong airport had to get thetops knocked off 2 new buildings whichwere obstructing the flight paths.Opium smoking and all forms of drug useare rife and the place is a haven forunqualified dentist!?, where authoritiesfear to tread. All the electric wiring isunpaid for and a notorious fire hazard.After a bloody power struggle affectivecontrol of the place has been shared by 2leading Triad gangs.

But the People's Republic of China cannotallow itself to be blamed far permittingsuch lawlessness go unchecked and so anarrangement was reached in 1987 allowingthe place to be demolished ~ with the40,000 residents rehoused elsewhere - tomake way for a public park.

ftwr t+z CAN! ge ftxjNio «N» f-ssv/es 36TA N J O 36 OF -SHfp N E W S P£sP£rr»v/6.L.y,

•SHIP on Kinglake' and 'SHIPon Friary' (opposite) areexamples of squattingnewsletters produced atestate level.