;:
3
12.
It is in this respect that the close identity between the unj l. and the publicity committee has been crucial. Through the committee the unit has been aware of the best assessments of the current political situation and likely trends. From the committee the unit has received not only guidance but impetus and direction.
Changing emphasis
13.
The unit was born when the issue was a clear cut frontal rushmit upon Law and order. The relatively straightforward tacks for the unit wee to expose the disruptive and violent efforts of the local communist:., to support the police and to rally public opinion behind the government and against the local communists.
14.
As events progressed the emphasis of counter-propaganda work changed to meet different challenges.
15.
In the period of strikes there w the task of countering communist appeals to workers, exposing their intentions and reassuring the public. The advent of bombings called for a different response and ti present phase of attack upon confidence, represented by the exploitation of grievances, swings counter-propaganda work almost totally away from the style and purpose of the early months. Emphasis must now be on the improvement of the government image and the establishment of public confi- dence so as to minimise communist ability to exploit these grievances.
16.
In facing such a programme the unit fills a double role, workin inwards as well as outwards. The channels of communication developed for the issue of information are a sueful channel also for the study of public reaction. The unit and the publicity committee have been able to comment realistically on problems which cannot always be overcome by presentation alone. But they have also been able to show that in the majority of situations greater attention to presentation will certainly lead to renter acceptance and an improvement in public confidence.
TI
17.
record of work
1.
The special publicity unit wa.. never publicly announced and hous never acted, as far as the public are concerned, as a separate entity. staff have retained their departmental identities, and its releases and publications have borne no imprint to indicate their origin so that there is no reason for anyone to know of its existence unless they observed and queried the múch greater recent cutput of information material, especi::lly in Chinese.
18.
In a rough way the work of the unit can be listed according to the production of information material in various medin.
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