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En Clair

POLITICAL DISTRIBUTION

FROM NANKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE

Sir R. Stevenson

No. 59

17th January, 1948.

D. 8.33 a.m. 17th January, 1948. R. 9.37 a. n. 17th January, 1948.

Repeated to Hong Kong No. 31

IMMEDIATE

LIGHT

Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No. 59 of January 17th repeated to Hong Kong

My telegram No. 56.

I am still without a report from Mr. Hall on Canton outrage. Following is however account of incident appearing in English version of Central News Agency today.

[Begins]

Subversive elements from a mammoth 30,000 men-parade in protest against the Hong Kong Government's forcible eviction of Chinese residents from Kowloon City this afternoon started a roit in shameen in which British buildings were set afire and several persons, both Chinese and British, were injured. Over ten suspected persons have been arrested. The fire, which lasted for over two hours and was not extinguished until 5 p.m. razed to the ground the buildings of the British Consulate General and Branch office of the British Ministry of Information and destroyed part of the buildings of the Butterfield and Swire Company, and the Hong Kong Airline Company. In the distrubance slight injuries were sustained by two British nationals, several Chinese gendarmes and policemen and one reporter According to Chinese residents nearby property and staff members of the British Consulate were removed last, night and this morning. At noon, over 30,000 persons congregated at the square out- side the Sun Yat-Sen memorial hall and heard an eye-witness account of the forcible action taken by the Hong Kong Government in Kowloon made by Lu Chang, representative of the Chinese community in Kowloon. Lu's report was interrupted several times by highly indignant shouts of "down with British imperialism" from the audience. At 12.15 p.a. led by mr. Lin Yi-Chung, chairman of the City Council, the demonstration formation started on its way and was disbanded after one and half hours parade in the city's thoroughfares. Part of the demonstration left the formation and proceeded to the British Consulate General in Shameen milling before the building, the crowd shouted slogans and feeling was mounting and the situation tense. Violence and distrubances broke out when policemen posted there beforehand tried to

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