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not particularly provocative, but its presentation in this country makes it so.

4. My impression is that the dangers of being provocative are much better realised in Hong Kong than out of it (c. f. the Hong Kong reaction to Mr. Evatt's recent unauthorised statement that it was not proposed to recognise the Chinese Communist Government until they guaranteed their neighbours' frontiers in particular Hong Kong's frontier; or, again, the careful way in which our troops have been kept back from the frontier during the recent ticklish period of the Communist take-over across the frontier. The Hong Kong authorities seem to have done everything as quietly as they could.) Hong Kong are far too keen to trade with China to want to provoke its new victorious Government.

It is true that there are occasional

slip-ups - e. g. the Hong Kong Government official who was recently quoted as expressing rather lurid apprehensions about the dangers of Communist- inspired strikes in the Colony there was a telegram from Nanking deprecating this kind of talk. But I imagine that if the Governor needed to be impressed any more with the importance of being non-provocative, he will have received, and be still receiving, such impressions from Sir Ralph Stevenson.

5. As Mr. Radford says in paragraph 3 of his minute, we shall probably have to write again to the Governor. But before a draft is put up, Mr. Paskin may care to speak with Mr.Dening on the points raised in paragraphs 1 to 4 above.

31.10.49.

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