Man Kam To

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section may require restructuring to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please discuss this issue on the talk page. This article has been tagged since August 2007.

Man Kam To or Mankamto (Chinese: 文錦渡) is a place in the northern New Territories, Hong Kong near the border with Shenzhen.

[edit] Border

Man Kam To is where one of three road checkpoints between Hong Kong and mainland China is located.

[edit] Closed Area

Access to Man Kam To is restricted as it is located in the Closed Area of the New Territories. For those who are not residents within the Closed Area, or are not crossing the border, a Closed Area Permit is required. Applications for a Closed Area Permit outside the Closed Area can be made at the Sheung Shui Police Station in Fanling.

There is a Police Detention Facility in Man Kam To, holding asylum seekers from around the world that are detained by the Hong Kong Immigration Department (there are some 2,500 asylum seekers in Hong Kong).^{[citation needed]} They are being held under the following conditions:

1. 18-20 people are being kept in a cell. 2. The asylum seekers sleep on the floor with a couple of blankets. There are no beds. 3. Each cell has one open toilet. People therefore eat, sleep and use the toilet in very confined space. 4. Detainees are not allowed out of their cell, except for 10-20 minutes per day to shower. 5. There is no access to a telephone for calls to lawyers, families etc. 7. Detainees are not being given proper medical treatment, and the conditions allow for rapid spread of sickness.

This information comes from the Refugee Concern Network in Hong Kong.