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DET 57/51/01
28 February, 1952.
Dear Hood,
You asked Mr. Hall to let you know the reasons for the deportation last month of certain Chinese connected with the Hong Kong Film Industry. Quite simply, they were deported because they were working on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party to that end, they were employing coercive methods to induce the production of pro-communist propaganda films in the Colony.
Their methods included deliberte obstruction and threats to actors during the production of non-political films. The Governor's action was taken in the exercise of his normal powers for the preservation of law and order in the Colony and this fact is appreciated by the large masses of lɛw abiding citizens in the Colony. All the deportees were of course aliens, of Chinese nationality: and I am sure you will agree that their subversive activities could not have been tolerated, interfering as they did with the rights and indeed the personal safety of their fellow workers.
The deportations were followed by a virulent outburst of propaganda attacks on Hong Kong in the Chinese press. You will no doubt have seen references to this in the press, but I enclose for your information various extracts from the New China News Agency bulletins, so that you may sea for yourself the extrava- gant nature of this propagande.
Page 96
WALTER HOOD, "SQ.,
Yours sincerely,
(Syc.) (N. D. Watson)
INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF THE T.U.C.
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EXTRACT FROM NEW CHINA NEWS AGENCY
DAILY BULLETIN NO.454, DATED FRIDAY, 18th JANUARY 252182 Fage
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Feking, January 17 (NCNA) - British imperialism must bear full res- ponsibility for the consequences of its outrages, declared a state- ment issued by Chinese film organisations as well as cinema workers throughout China in protest against the unjust deportation of eight Chinese cinema workers by the British Government in Hong Kong.
The statement points out that this savage and vicious action by the British Governments of Hong Kong is a further mani- festation of its persistence in obstructing Chinese residents and suppressing patriotic movements of the Chinese.
At a meeting held in Canton on January 13 at which the eight victims were present to relate the circumstances of their arrest and deportation, the Chairman of the South China Federation of Literature and Arts Circles declared that the attempt of the British imperialists in Hong Kong to use force to undermine and oppress the Chinese patriotic movement is bound to fail in the face of united support by the entire Chinese people.
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Another stern protest against the deportations was issued on January 15 by various democratic organisations in Canton. protest also referred to the action of the British Government of Hong Kong in conniving with bandit groups of Chiang Kai-shek agents to intrude into Chinese territory from Kowloon for subversive and counter-revolutionary activities. All of these acts by the Hong Kong Government are part and parcel of the British imperialists' subser- vience to the U.S. Government's aggressive plans. They show that the British imperialists are working hand in glove with the Chiang Kai-shek remnants in Taiwan, the protest continued.
Warning the British Government of Hong Kong, the statement declared the Chinese people who have now stood up victoriously are not afraid of any frentic provocations and they will seriously con- sider effective measures to protect the legal rights and interests of Chinese residents in Hong Kong.
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EXTRACT FROM NEW CHINA NEWS AGENCY
DAILYO SULLE TREN NO. 455, DATED MONDAY, 21st JANUARY, 19532
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Peking, January 18-19 (NCNA) The deportation of eight Chinese cinema workers by the British Government of Hong Kong is described as an outrage which directly violates the freedom and rights of Chinese people and a menace to peace-loving people throughout the world, in a statement of protest, by the All-China Federation of Literature and Arts Circles.
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It shows the true Character of British imperialism in its servile following of the American imperialist aggressive policy and its conspiring with remnant Kuomintang bandits in Taiwan to under- mine and suppress the patriotic activities and peace movement of the Chinese people, the statement declares.
It concludes: "We are confident that these criminal ventures will recoil on the heads of the British imperialists as a result of the glorious struggle of people throughout the world, including patriotic Chinese people."
In a letter to progressive cinema workers who are still in Hong Kong, the Shanghai Association of Dramatic and Cinema Workers and three other people's organisations state:
"We are confident that, supported by the just struggle of your fellow-countrymen locally and on the mainland, you will carry forward the cause of progress and unity... with a high spirit of patriotism and will frustrate the manoeuvres and intrigues of the British imperialists in connivance with American and Chaing Kai- shek agents;"
At a mass meeting in Shanghai on January 17, Yu Ling, Shen Fou, Pai Yang and other outstanding film workers expressed their warm sympathy and solidarity with the deportees. Yeh Yi-chun, director of the privately owned Yangtse and Kunlun joint film studios, said:
"The British Government of Hong Kong has all along attacked her cinema workers by such reactionary measures as censoring scripts, rpatristine pur purchases of film and obstructing gur production of films with progressive and patriotic themes. 16 forced several of
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