PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
CHIC.O.882/11
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ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- | COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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was full of rumours of reviving bolshevism. Such notoriously com- munistic organizations as the Labour Union's Delegates Congress and the Railwaymen's Union again lifted their heads and there seemed every prospect of a return to the disorders of M. Borodin's régime, Instead of 3. But the triumph of the extremists was short-lived. acquiescing in these murders and assaults as heroic manifestations of the people's sovereign will, the new Commissioner of Police, on the 19th October, made a raid in force both on the Seamen's Union and its twin trouble-maker the Hong Kong-Canton Strikers' Union, arresting over fifty persons, At the same time warrants were issued for the arrest of five leading communists, Ho Loi being among them, and orders were promulgated cancelling arrangements for a large
The scale Labour Demonstration planned for the 24th October. warning to so-called strikers that their dole would be brought to an end was also repeated though a little extension of the original time-limit was conceded.
4. It is difficult to be certain how much of these more recent measures represent the deliberate policy of General Cheung Fat-fui, carried into effect after consolidation of his military position during the brief days of the velvet glove. The balance of opinion rather favours the view that General Li Chai-sum's forces cleaned up the diversion at Swatow (see the first paragraph of my last despatch*) more quickly than General Cheung had anticipated and that the forces of Wong Shiu-hung were back at Canton before General Cheung could obtain complete mastery of the situation, with the result that his rival has demonstrated his capacity to resist super- I enclose an interesting session and is all the stronger thereby. appreciationt of the situation by Mr. Luk Wan-chau, whose nomina- tion as General Li Chai-sum's representative is reported in the Governor's secret despatch of the 20th September (memorandum on the conference of the 19th September).
5. A further indication of the readjustment of the balance of power at Canton is to be found in a mandate by the Branch Political Headquarters abolishing the Military Headquarters both of General Li and of General Cheung and placing control of military affairs in a Branch Military Council in the list of members of which Generals Li Chai-sum, Wong Shiu-hung and Li Fuk-lam appear first, second and third, while General Cheung Fat-fui and his second-in-commnand, General Wong Ki-ts'eung are fourth and fifth respectively. A complete list of the members of the Council is enclosed†.
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6. The Anti-British Boycott Society has been drawing up a new code for the refmposition of the boycott and the coercion of merchants dealing in "enemy goods, but the movement is not taken seriously and with the collapse of the new Communist movement this gang more from the scene. of patriot profiteers will no doubt fade once Indeed, so far from planning any fresh hostilities against Hong Kong, the Canton authorities, or some of them, have sent an aviation expert to investigate the possibility of importing aeroplanes through
+ Not printed. * C. 90001/27 E. [No. 8]: not printed,
C. 30001/27 E. [No. 2]: not printed.
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I need not go further
Hong Kong "for the suppression of piracy". at present into the real objects behind this somewhat curious pro- posal, which would of course not be entertained without your prior sanction. But the incident is worth mentioning as a proof of con- tinued friendly contact with Canton.
7. I am glad to be able to report that the new super-surtax, men- tioned in paragraph 5 of my last despatch* has been abandoned, any- how so far as foreigners are concerned. The Commissioner for Foreign Affairs has covered the cancellation of this piece of aggression by a statement to Mr. Brenan that no tax was ever intended but only a which appears to mean voluntary contribution to a "lottery loan"
Such bonds will of course be quite some form of premium bond. valueless.
8. I enclose reports† by the Assistant Superintendent of Police, New Territories, dated the 16th and 23rd October, on the position in the The disarming of General neighbourhood of the British frontier.
Wu Hin is interesting. With his elimination the last of Marshal Tscung Kai-shek's commanders disappears from Kuangtung (sce I also enclose for Governor's secret despatch of the 29th July‡). your information a translation from the Wah Kiu Yat Po, Hong Kong, of the 8th October, containing a very ambiguous statement by, Li Chai-sum on his attitude towards Nanking and Wong Ching- wei.
9. Chinese characterst for names given in this despatch are on a separate sheet.
I have, etc.,
W. T. SOUTHORN, Officer Administering the Government.
C.30001/27 E. [No. 13].
No. 25.
The Officer Administering the Government of Hong Kong to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.
(Secret.)
SIR,
(Received 12th December, 1927.)
Government House, Hong Kong, 10th November, 1927.
lu continuation of my secret despatch of the 26th October, 1927,§ it is now clear that the outbreak of violence initiated by the Seamen's Union on 14th October, was intended as a inere prelude to a general rising of the extremist unions. This was planned to take place on 24th October, on which day a general strike was to begin with inter-
+ Not printed. § No. 24.
* C. 30001/27 E [No. 8]: not printed.
+ Extract only printed as No. 20.
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