Wong Nai Siong
Resettlement at Sibu
Resettlement at Sibu
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In September 1900, Wong and his party started recruiting villagers to immigrate to [Sibu](/wiki/Sibu "Sibu"); they were able to recruit over 500\. On 23 December 1900, the first batch of 91 immigrants left for Sibu, arriving on 12 January 1901\. Some of the prospective immigrants changed their minds during the journey, so only 72 people reached Sibu.

The second batch of immigrants was led by Wong personally from Fujian. However, during their stop in Singapore, rumours of the villagers being sold as coolies resulted in a riot. Wong, with the help of the minister from the Methodist Episcopal Church, was able to stop the rioting. On 5 March 1901, the immigrants left Singapore; they reached Sibu eleven days later.

The third batch of immigrants totalled 1118, of whom two\-thirds were Christians. They reached Sibu on 7 June 1902\.

Wong renamed Sibu as New Fu Zhou. He took out a loan to build six atap houses in New Zhushan to accommodate the farmers. Later, he changed the name of New Zhushan to New Cuo Ann, reflecting the prosperity of the new settlement.

Wong gave each farmer  of land for farming. However, the new immigrants were not accustomed to the local climate and many fell ill. On top of that, they had to explore new techniques of farming, which made their life more difficult.

Wong established the New Fuzhou Company, which sold basic necessities, including rice and salt, to the immigrants. He built five churches and a primary school during his stint in Sibu.

During a lion dance event on the Yuan Xiao of 1930 (15 January of the Lunar Calendar), there was a gang fight between the Fuzhou immigrants and the immigrants from Guangdong. This had to be settled by Wong and the Guangdong immigrant leader. To prevent future conflicts, the Brooke government directed immigrants from Fuzhou to develop the area below Rejang Sibu.

In June 1904, Wong passed the managing duties to American minister James Hoover, and returned to Fujian. There were many rumours regarding his departure, including poor health, his yearning for revolutionary work, huge debts, and his reluctance to deal opium. After this departure, Hoover introduced rubber\-tree planting; the boom in latex propelled Sibu's economy.

[right\|thumb\|400px\|1911; Wong Nai Siong, first row, fourth from left](/wiki/File:1911_Fukien_Cabinet.JPG "1911 Fukien Cabinet.JPG")


What did Wong rename Sibu as?