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CONFRONTATION
The
When the disturbances began in early May, they followed
a pattern of disjointed and spontaneous incidents consisting
of demonstrations and riotous gatherings which from time to
time degenerated into unplanned acts of violence.
pattern then changed to one of attempts to foment strike
action aimed mainly at transport and other public and
essential services, and earlier this month to one of pre-
planned deliberately staged acts of violence in which
explosives and various incendiary devices were used.
targets for these attacks were mainly on police and public
transport; at the same time, attempts at intimidation were
intensified.
The
2. To counter this development the Hong Kong authorities
decided a few days ago to adopt more positive measures for
dealing with the situation: these have involved planned
operations against a number of Communist-owned buildings known to be the focal points from which Communist operations
were being directed and to be used for storage of weapons,
The police explosives, etc., or to hide wanted persons, achieved their objectives, in some cases against determined
resistance. Several hundred people have been arrested
including a number of persons of special intelligence and
security interest.
3. The role of the military in these operations has been confined to cordon duties and engineer assistance in breaking
down iron and steel grilles.
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