2. It was decided that motion should be taken
under the existing laws (i.e. not under Emergency
Regulations) in the first instance and should be
directed against selected sections of the
independently-owned Communist Press, It was hoped
that such a course might serve notice on other
sections of the Press to moderate their tone and
thereby avoid the need to proceed against the C.P.G.
backed newspapers.
3.
Accordingly, on 9 August, five persons responsible
for the editing, publishing and printing of three
independently owned pro-Communist newspapers (the
Tin Fung Yat Po, the Hong Kong Evening News and
Afternoon Nows) were arrested and charged with various
offences arising from the publication of seditious
material which had appeared in their newspępers,
the persons concerned appeared in Court on 10 August,
the Director of Publio Prosecutions intimated, on
behalf of the Attorney General, that if the offences
When
were repeated an application would be made under the
Ordi
made(un
Control of Publications Ordinance for suspension of the
nowspapers concerned. This warning was ignored by
the newspapers concerned and accordingly on 17 August
an application for an Order suspending them was sought
and obtained. The Order came into effect immediately
and will last until the termination of Court proceed-
ings against the publishers and printers. The
newspapers continued to publish in defiance of the
Order and on 20 August the police raided their
promises. There was no resistance and a number of
persons were held for questioning and later released
the same day. On 21 August the five accused were due
/to ro-appear