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MR. JOHN DUGDALE
PRIVATE NOTICE QUESTION
FOR MONDAY, 3RD MARCH, 1952
To ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether he has any statement to make on the recent disturbances in Hong Kong.
MR. LYTTELTON:
MƏ VE
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ANSWER
Yes Sir. I welcome the opportunity to make a
statement on the disturbance in Hong Kong last Saturday
since some of the published reports were exaggerated.
A few
In November last year a fire broke out in Tung Tao
village, an area just east of Kowloon, and some 10,000
persons were made homeless. The Hong Kong Government
took immediate steps to resettle the homeless.
weeks ago a group of people from Canton, styling
themselves the Comfort Mission, proposed to visit the
Colony and distribute aid to the "Tung Tao Village
Fire Victims"
These persons made unofficial
•
approaches to ascertain whether they could enter Hong
Kong and were told that permission would not be given
for the Mission as such to enter the Colony. On the
27th February enquiries were made whether representatives
of the donors of money collected in Canton, as distinct
from a Comfort Mission, would be allowed entry the
next day. These enquiries were answered to the effect
that if written application were made and a programme
submitted, consideration would be given to the request,
but that any visit could not take place before the 9th
March. This was the position on the night of Friday,
the 29th February.
On the morning of Saturday the Hong Kong
Government learnt that the Chinese Chamber of Commerce
had heard by telephone from Canton that the proposed
visit of the Comfort Mission was postponed. It is
understood that this information was passed to the
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