Siu A Chau is an uninhabited island of Hong Kong, part of the Soko Islands group, located south of Lantau Island.

Geography

Siu A Chau is the northernmost and the second largest of the Soko Islands, after Tai A Chau. It is dumbbell-shaped and has a rugged indented coastline with steep slopes. The highest point of the island is at 74 meters. A beach lies to the south, and another to the north of the island.

Administration

Siu A Chau is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy.

History

In 1937, Walter Schofield, then a Cadet Officer in the Hong Kong Civil Service, wrote that Siu A Chau was "another settlement of early man" and that it had a "fishing village of huts very different from ordinary Chinese dwellings" at the time of writing.

Features

There is a temple on the south side of the island. A low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) facility began operation at Siu A Chau in July 2005. Low-level radioactive wastes which had previously been stored in disused tunnels, two factories and five hospitals were subsequently transferred to the Siu A Chau facility. Part of this waste was relocated from the disused Mount Parish air-raid tunnels at Queen's Road East, in Wan Chai. The 55 m3 of LLRW stored there had raised objections. The opening ceremony of the facility was held in June 2006.