Ed. (3746)
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry No.
This 13/7 DRAFT DESPATCH
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Soorot.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified,
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
To:-
GOVERNOR,
Type 1 +
From
nies
es lesl
Telephone No. & Ext.
HONG KONG.
Fresh draft-
plse
Department
CONFIDENTIAL
(und the strong backmą it receved from the great-majority of the people of Hong Kong
Copy to be sent to Сору Dr. Murray, F.E.D),
on issue.
Sir,
I have the honour to refer to your Despatch No. 239
of 13 February 1968 in which you review the principal
developments that have taken place in Hong Kong since
June 1967.
2. It was regrettably inevitable that your despatch it
should need to be very largely devoted to reporting on
the course of Communist confrontration in the Colony.
However, I consider your report to be an admirably
accurate and objective history of events during the period
under review. The account of the build-up of the
Communist campaign last year, the degree and manner of
People's
support from the Chinese Central Government and in
particular, the way that the incident of 8th July at
Sha Tau Kok triggered off the subsequent campaign of
violence, confirm the view that the confrontation was an
overspill of the cultural revolution in China. This,
among other things, resulted in a weakening of the channel
of control over local Hong Kong Communists.
But for the
admirably firm and patient policy of the Hong Kong
the Chinese People's Government" Government, Peking might have been tempted or obliged
to give full support to the efforts of their local
supporters to disturb the status quo and to undermine
authority in the Colony.
130
CONFIDENTIAL