COPY.
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24
Enclosure No. 1.
CONFIDENTIAL.
Statement made to Sir Shouson Chow by Mr. Ho Wah-tang, Compradore of Messrs. Loxley & Co., and at one time a Director of the Tung Wah Hospital and of the Po Leung Kuk, Hong Kong.
I was a passenger by the s.s. "Taishan" from Canton to Hong Kong on Saturday the 19th February. The boat was full of
members of the Seamen's Union and their families as well as of
some school-boys, who all came down to Hong Kong for a special
celebration on board the steamer upon arrival in Hong Kong.
There were theatrical performances on board as well as speech-
making. The saloon passengers were invited to participate in
the celebrations.
On the passage down, one man who was apparently an
important official of the Seamen's Union, said among other
things that the firmness shown by Eugene Chen in his negotiatin
tions with Mr. O'Malley had been made possible by the strong
support that the labour unions, particularly the Seamen's Union, had been affording him; that labour need not be afraid
of Great Britain because of the enhanced prestige and increased
strength it has gained during the last two years; and that there
was no fear of war with Great Britain in view of the fact that
Mr. Ramsay Macdonald had been in direct communication with
members of the Nationalist Government, and had shown them such
sympathy as indicated that he and his party would be opposed to any strong measures that might be adopted by Great Britain to-
wards the Nationalist Government.
sd. Shouson Chow.
23rd February, 1927.