CO537-3705 — Page 102

OUTWARD TELEGRAM

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During the course of the first eviction two individuals were arrested who attempted to intimidate the workmen engaged in dismantling the huts and to incite the squatters to resist the police in the execution of their duty. These two were Chu Pui Tong, Chairman of the Kowloon City Residents' Association, described as farmer, and Lau Ngai Fu, described as partner in

a knitting factory. They were brought before the Kowloon Magistrate's Court on the 13th January and after trial were sentenced each to three months' hard labour for inciting persons to resist the police in the execution of their duty. They indicated that they were going to appeal to the Supreme Court at Hongkong.. It is under- stood that have not in fact done so. Lau Ngai Fu, in cross-examiniation, admitted that he had previously been in the 156th Division of the Chinese Army, attached to the political Propaganda Section.

Your Excellency will observe from the facts detailed above that the liongkong Government gave ample notice to the squatters and made alternative sites available, and not until court notices had been served and ignored was action taken by the police on the 5th January. Moreover, the eviction was carried out on that date without incident. There then supervened the Po On magistrate's visit to Kowloon City on the 7th January, following which a considerable number of squatters returned, encouraged thereto by agitators and by Po On officials. At the same time exaggerated and misleading reports appeared in some sections of the Chinese language press, notably in the National Times, which it is understood receives a subsidy from the Kuomintang the predominant party in the Chinese. Government. The consequence was that, when the Hongkong Government met the challenge to their authority and took steps on the 12th January to clear the site again, the police escorting the working party met with organi zaed resistance and were compelled to use force. For that the chief responsibility must be attributed to the Chinese language press in Hongkong and in China, which for weeks pust had been sedulously fanning the spark of anti-British agitation and to the provocative action of the Po On Magistrate referred to above. I would emphasize in this connexion that the Hongkong police on the 12th January exercised the greatest forbearance, as will be clearly seen from the fact that only one person was seriously hurt, and one other detained in hospital, four others receiving superficial injuries. All have received or are still receiving free medical treatment and maintenance while in hosptital. Had the facts been presented to the Chinese públic in proper perspective, I do not doubt but that they would have regarded the matters at issue in a calmer and more objective spirit.

His Majesty's Government for their part also deplore the fact that the incident in question took place while discussions about the walled city of Kowloon were proceeding at Nanking. They regard these discussions as

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