CO129-590-23 Situation in Hong Kong 25-4-1905 - 25-4-1905 — Page 38

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The police guards are changed every four hours from 0600 hours - The guard on the Consular staff in the former Preparatory School number 6 per tour of duty. The attached map will be of assistance.

Paragraph 34 - Stanley villagers and contacts.

I urge the greatest caution in dealing with the Chinese living in Stanley Village It is largely deserted but contacts are unreliable under constant fear of detection and charging high prices for anything they smuggle into the Camp It is I believe necessary to obtain a permit to visit Stanley.

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Any contact which it may be possible to effect with the Camp must have no business dealings with persons in the Camp. So great is the demand for tobacco and other articles which they may be able to bring in that it is hopelessly impossible to maintain secrecy over any trading contact People swamp him with orders and his activities are rapidly discovered and interrupted by the Chinese supervisors. Any reliable contact must be kept for communication with important persons in the Camp only. The man with the greatest access to the Camp is the daily newspaper seller He has steadily refused to do any other business dealings with internees - "I will break in herewith the remarks that I found this newspaper seller very friendly and he on more than one occasion gave me the impression that he would have been prepared to do or get something for me - "Thompson goes on to say:

If he is friendly disposed towards the cause of Free China he is the most valuable medium- On the other hand the possibility of having him replaced is worth consideration, Individual Cantonese Police have from time to time brought cigarettes into the Camp The attitude of these men has not been unsympathetic The possibility of a contact through an individual policeman is also worth investigating Approach must be from the outside.

are sympathetic

G

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I place no trust in the Sikh Police though some

They frequently have supplies of Chinese wine given to them by the Japanese and are in any case closely watching each other I suspect that any communication with internees on the part of these men is reported and the suspect removed.