0003230
G.F. 323
CONFIDENTIAL
Confrontation
Since May 1967 communist organisations in Hong Kong have sought to
impose their will on the Government and the people by intimidating workers,
fomenting work stoppages, by demonstrations and rioting, and by indiscriminate
violence. It has been a testing time for the people of Hong Kong.
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But these events must be seen in their proper perspective. The communist-
initiated confrontation between themselves and the Hong Kong Government is in
no sense a popular movement; indeed it does not have the support of any
significant section of the people, much less of the people as a whole. Those
who have taken part represent a very small fraction of the population, and they
have had no success in their attempts, either by persuasion or by intimidation,
to gain support for their cause. The overwhelming majority of the people have
shown clearly that they support the Government and the maintanance of law and
order.
moreover, despite the claims made by the communist press, and despite
the impression that might have been given by the world wide press coverage
given to the disturbances, the ordinary life of the Colony has not been
disrupted. The rioting that has taken place has been limited in area and in
scope and has been contained. The stoppages that were called have had little
effect on the Colony's economy. Throughout the summer, when the effects of
confrontation were at their height, the ordinary man in the street was able
to go about his work, not quite as usual and not without considerable
inconvenience at times, but sufficiently easily to keep the business of the
Colony operating efficiently.
The origins of confrontation stem directly from the cultural revolution
in China, which has inculcated among its adherents a fervent patriotism and an
intense adulation of Chairman Mao Tse Tung and his teachings. The dedicated
Macist has come to beliege that he has a duty to propogate the gospel of the
cultural revolution and that armed with the "Thoughts of Mao" he is invincible.
Hong Kong was an obvious target for this missionary zeal; its population is
predominantly Chinese, who as 'compatriots' could be expected to rally to
the attack against a Colonial Government; and its free economy is an affront
to revolutionary doctrine. The recent events in nearby Macau had shown that
a colonial government could be made to accept the demands of the 'masses'; while
nearer home a similar confrontation had heen successful, in March 1967, in a
dispute with a major shipping company in Hong Kong. It must have seemed to
many ardent communists that the time was ripe to bring the cultural
CONFIDENTIAL
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