CONFIDENTIAL
8.
people here is that they are both unused to violent crime in Hong Kong and aware of how bad it can get amongst their own people when it gets out of control. The important factor in the situation is this concern over the deterioration in the situation as well as over violence itself. In the present state of Chinese public opinion therefore we need to shew we are taking remedial action to the best of our ability. We need to try to meet the criticism that an excessively "progressive" attitude to crime and punishment in the past has brought about this deterioration which, indeed, may well be true. But at the same time we shall have to take care to keep things in proportion and avoid excessive and unacceptable ways of dealing with offenders.
16.
Lastly, I would like to make it clear that the proportionate number of people, especially young people, engaged in these anti-social activities is really quite small: but even so, in total, they build up into dangerous numbers.
-
Moreover, the young amongst them are not of the type who can be interested in Scouting or similar organized youthful activities and we by no means lack opportunities for young people to join such organi- zations here. We have a wide and increasing variety of organizations catering to youth, which are active and on the whole well organized and well supported. They do a great deal of good work and no doubt help to contain the problem, but they just do not appeal to the determinedly vicious and violent minded.
Yours ever Daud
id