CO129-580-3 Sino-Japanese War- anti-Japanese activities in Hong Kong 23-8-1939 - 30-12-1939 — Page 33

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5.

of the late Liao Chung Kai who work in the interests

of the Communist armies.

(e) There is no legal Seamens Union in Hong Kong.

9.

The

Chinese Seamen's Union was proscribed in

in 1927 and was again suppressed in 1938 following

the revival in the previous year. Its objects are

mainly political and its suppression in 1938 was

directly due to its advocacy of an anti-Japanese

boycott and similar activities. The Hong Kong

Government has recently appointed a Labour Officer

with the object of encouraging the development of

labour associations on genuine trade union lines.

The movement has been greatly hampered in the past

and much trouble has been occasioned by the

intrusion of Chinese politics into trade unionism.

General Wu's representatives are known to have attended

meetings of Labour Unions. The notorious Tu Yueh

Sang (1) late of Shanghai is also

interesting himself in labour matters and it is

reported that he is working with Wu in this matter.

This is however far from certain. It is more likely

that a number of groups are competing for the

support of Hong Kong Labour, of which General Wu's

roup is only one.

This memorandum has been confined as far as

possible to known facts and speculation has been excluded.

For example, the nature of the propaganda to be conducted

is not explicitly stated beyond that the training of

propagandists is to be "similar to that of the Party and Political Training class of the Central Training Corps".

Presumably therefore it will be anti-Japanese. The measures

to be used to prevent the establishment of pro-Wang Ching Wei newspapers are not specified, neither are the activities

of the Inquiry and Statistical Bureau.

General Wu has disclaimed any intention of organizing any