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themselves and to bring a renewed recognition of the economic
importance of Hong Kong to China. The communist effort seens now to have moved from violence to attempts to increase support
by finding popular grievances to exploit. In the long run this could be potentially dangerous but the communisto have much leeway to make up. The Colony's economy survived almost
unimpaired, the value of exports rising in 1967 by 16.9% over
1966.
Communist Prose
L In the course of the campaign of violence, the communist
prose was a potent factor in encouraging disorders. By August
1967 the Governor considered it necessary to take action against
the communiot newspapers in order that their continued publica-
tion of seditious and inflammatory material would not be taken
es a sign of weakness. There were successful prosecutions for
sedition against the chief executives of three minor pro-
communiet newspapers and the newspapera wore suspended from
publication for six months, This action and the arrest of
communist journalists led to the delivery of the ultisatum of
the Chinese Government on 20 August on the expiry of which the
British Mission was sacked. Supreme Court judgments wore also
obtained against three other communist newspapers as a result
of civil actions for libel by Hong Kong Government servants.
The sensitivity of the Chinese Government to action against
communist press in Hong Kong was indicated when the Chargé
d(Affaires in Peking, who had applied for exit visas for some
/members
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