--2--
(a) British and other Commonwealth countries
(b)
British subjects of Portuguese race
(c) ..merican
(a) Dutch and Scandinavian
(e) French
TOP SECRET
about 6,500
3,000
250
200
100
TOTL: about 10,000
7.
Assuming that one half of the non-Chinese residents are men and women of an age and status suitable for voluntary service in an emergency, and that, of that half, say 15% are already employed in Government Service or in essential undertakings, then it follows that the non-Chinese available for redeployment to meet an internal threat are perhaps a little over 4,000.
D
8.
As has been said, some Chinese will be reliable, as also will be many of the non-Chinese Asiatics, .g. Indians and local Eurasians. No allowance has been made in the above calculation for these favourable factors. On the other hand the calculation is based on the assumption that all the Chinese police will prove reliable. It is a fair deduction from these figures uncertain as they must be that the reliable civilian volunteer manpower may well be insufficient for the reinforcement of the Police and the maintenance of essential Services, But provided the available manpower is efficiently organised and trained for this purpose alone, it will be reasonable to expect that the regular garrison can be kept free from duties in support of the civil power except in the worst forms of civil unrest. However efficiently the available manpower is organized and trained it would be dangerous to assume that they would be able to undertake any duties additional to those connected with internal
security.
9.
It is suggested therefore that it is premature to assume that volunteer civilian manpower will be available for other than internal security duties.
10.
It is therefore proposed, subject to the advice of the Local Defence Committee,
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
that plans for the use of civilian manpower in an emergency should be confined to measures for meeting the internal threat unless and until it is shown that there is a surplus of reliable manpower;
that until arrangements for meeting the internal threat on the maximum anticipated scale are complete no commitments should be accepted for the use of civilian manpower for any other purpose;
the that in the present stage of forming the H.K.D.F. emphasis should be on the infantry component and the auxiliaries (Home Guard and Essential Services Wing) and that volunteers, apart from those with specialist quali- fications, should be guided as far as possible into those channels.
with
that a despatch should be addressed to the S. of S., a copy to the B.D.C.C. Singapore, asking that this policy should be approved.
Page 245Page 246