insentamed
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TOP SECRETANNEX A to DP 9/68(C)
(Directors' Draft) (Continued
present indications she does not intend to do so in
the near future.
In the event of a decision to take over Hong
Kong, China is likely to use methods other than direct
aggression, such as a co-ordinated and systematic
campaign of terrorism, aimed at undermining public
confidence and at disrupting the machinery of government
and the economy to an extent that would make the British
position untenable. There is at present no sign that
such a course will be pursued, but there will continue
to be a risk of action on these lines. We are likely
to get at least some warning.
C.
(In other circumstances little or no warning might
be available, and even comparatively minor incidents
in the densely populated areas are liable to grow rapidly
into major riots in which mass excitement and unrest can
spread quickly. The local communists would exploit such
disturbances and, if they succeeded in gaining wider
support from the mass of the population, the disturbances
could well be considerable.
With more realistic elements in the ascendant in
Peking at the end of 1967, and some signs that the lull in
the Culteral Revolution is to be prolonged, Peking
ordered a major policy change calling for the abandonment
by the local Hong Kong communists of violence, and the
continuation of the struggle by political means.
e. If, during the next few years, confrontation was
again raised to the level reached during the summer of
1967 and was maintained for a prolonged period, it could
have a very severe effect on the economy and the
confidence on which Hong Kong's viability depends.
A
2
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