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this connection facilitics in our Pacific dopondoncics may be a
possibility). Hore, too, we cannot make any arrangononts in advance of tho
nood arising and, Taivan excoptod, wo may find great reluctant to act
as host to largo numbers of Chinoso who have no other permanent place to
rosido.
32. Preparation of Evacuation Plan. There is an oxisting ovacuation
plan ("DIGIT") for Hong Kong properod in the carly 1950s, providing for
tho ovacuation of non-Chinese wonen, children and olderly mon only, It is
out-of-dato and inappropriate to present circunstancos. Both the Governor
and C.B.F. have categorically stated that fresh contingency planning could
not possibly be undertaken in Hong Kong or oven in Singaporo, Tho
widosproad knowledge that such a plan oxistod would ontail an unacceptable
risk of leakago which, if it occurred, would load to a sorious crisis of
confidence in Hong Kong with public opinion swinging right against us.
33. But a plan, oven an outlino plan, cannot be propared in sufficient
detail to be of any great value unless at least cono of its proparation
is ontrusted to those with the necessary intinato local knowledge. This
applios particularly to:-
34.
(i) selection and listing of those to be evacuated;
(ii) designation of assonbly areas, including accommodation;
(iii) selection of evacuation points;
(iv) arrangements for essential supplies (c.g. food and wator)
in assembly areas.
There is, morcover, a doubt whether any plan could be successfully
implonontod unloos individual government officers and cortain dopartments
in the Colony had prior knowledge of their rosponsibilitios and hold
dotailed instructions on how those were to be carried out. Plan DIGIT
was proparod in Hong Kong but was not issued outside the Defence Secretary's
Offico in Hong Kong except that one copy oach was hold by the Governor, the
C.B.F. and the Colonial Office. Apart from the Governor and tho C.B.F.,
only about a dozon government officers had any knowledge of the cxistence
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/of the