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on DEF 55/51/02.
The mood of complacency which has developed among the Colony's Chinese population during the past 18 months, regarding Hong Kong's relations with China, has been shaken by the virulent propaganda attacks from the mainland which followed the recent deportation of left-wing trouble makers (see para 7 of my telegram No.48). Revived references in these attacks to Hong Kong as an integral part of Chinese territory and open threats of retaliation in the near future have brought local Chinese face to face with the realities of the situation and a considerable degree of nervousness has developed among them in consequence. Local morale is, of course, particularly susceptible at the present time when pessimism has already become deep-rooted as a result of the effects of the Colony's economic situation in general and of the American embargo in particular.
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