Along the Southern Boundary by Les Bird has been postponed due to COVID restrictions- This is a book talk and presentation by former Hong Kong Police officer Les Bird entitled “Along the Southern Boundary : A Marine Police Officer”s Frontline Account of the Vietnamese Boat People and their arrival in Hong Kong.” Les, (and some of his former colleagues who were tasked with meeting the overloaded ramshackle craft and people-smuggling freighters as they arrived along Hong Kong’s southern sea boundary between 1975 and 1997), kept a compilation of photographs and accounts of their experiences. In addition to the frontline officers who have shared their accounts of that time, several former senior Government officers have given the rationale behind many of the decisions made at the time with regard to the refugees. Les will describe the reasoning behind some of these decisions. He will also touch on the subject from the viewpoint of the boat people themselves - from their remarkable escapes, near death journeys at sea, life in the camps, and some “where are they now” stories.
The Speaker
Les Bird joined the Royal Hong Kong Police in 1976 and served with the Marine Police for 21 years until June 1997. He followed a diverse career pattern, serving in both land and sea-going formations. In the early 1980’s he returned to launch-going duties, overseeing the influx of tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees during the years that followed. Les also commanded the Marine Police units which oversaw operations to combat the cross-border smuggling of people, arms, drugs and luxury cars during this period. He comes from a military family with a strong Royal Navy connection.
It is emphasised that Les has been invited to give this talk to both the Royal Asiatic Society and the HongKong Maritime Museum, together with the Hong Kong International Literacy Festival in both 2020 and 2021. These talks have proved to be “sell out” events on all these occasions, and we confidently expect that this event will be no different.
Obviously, for reasons which I do not need to go into, we will have to follow social distancing and seating restrictions at the USRC. We would therefore strongly urge that if you do wish to join this event, you reply to Martin Heyes at martin.heyes@gmail.com as soon as possible. We will have to operate on a “first come first served basis.”
The Speaker
Les Bird joined the Royal Hong Kong Police in 1976 and served with the Marine Police for 21 years until June 1997. He followed a diverse career pattern, serving in both land and sea-going formations. In the early 1980’s he returned to launch-going duties, overseeing the influx of tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees during the years that followed. Les also commanded the Marine Police units which oversaw operations to combat the cross-border smuggling of people, arms, drugs and luxury cars during this period. He comes from a military family with a strong Royal Navy connection.
It is emphasised that Les has been invited to give this talk to both the Royal Asiatic Society and the HongKong Maritime Museum, together with the Hong Kong International Literacy Festival in both 2020 and 2021. These talks have proved to be “sell out” events on all these occasions, and we confidently expect that this event will be no different.
Obviously, for reasons which I do not need to go into, we will have to follow social distancing and seating restrictions at the USRC. We would therefore strongly urge that if you do wish to join this event, you reply to Martin Heyes at martin.heyes@gmail.com as soon as possible. We will have to operate on a “first come first served basis.”
