CO129-611-3 Weekly summaries of press reports and comments 24-12-1946 - 27-9-1947 — Page 61

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PRO/855/3.

2. Comments on Internal Events.

"Wah Kiu Yat Po", "Sing Tao Jih Pao" and the "National Times" of 19/4 welcome the broadened, more democratic Government of China, but "Hwa Shiang Pao" says that there is really no change, only a reshuffle and Kuomintang is as much in power as ever.

3. Comments on Colonial Matters.

(a) Hong Kong hawkers have petitioned Government for a decrease in the severity of the new regulations. The "Wah Kiu Yat Po" of 14/4 supports this plea, commenting that hawkers may be a nuisance but wealthy black marketeers are a menace and should be deported.

(b) Commenting on hawkers problem in Hong Kong "Hwa Shiang Pao" of 16/4 alleges wide-spread corruption among Hong Kong Police who levy "squeeze from hawkers on a recognised scale.

(c) "Kung Sheung Daily News" of 16/4 wishes Government to increase shipping facilities to increase import of food, especially rice, to bring down the cost of living, lower costs, and increase employment.

(a) Tightening up of Hong Kong foreign exchange control iş adversely commented on by "Sing Tao Jih Pao" of 17/4, as business will be affected. Merchants who cannot get exchange through Government "would certainly buy in the black market".

(e) Commenting on Britain's assistance to China in the recent War, the Hong Kong Chinese Chamber of Commerce has made a donation to the British Flood Relief Fund. (Wah Kiu Yat Po, 17/4).

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4.

Comments on International Matters.

(a) The outstanding local event has been the firing on, and hitting of, a British training aircraft by Chinese Troops a few yards from the China-Macao frontier when the aircraft was coming in to land at Macao at about 450 feet.

All local Chinese papers draw attention to the recent statement from Nanking that all foreign planes except American flying over Chinese territory would be shot down. They rather favour the shooting. (15/4).

The "National Times" of 18/4 publishes a very bellicose justification of the incident, and brings up the cases of the peanut hawker, the Shumchun shooting incident, the Luscombe shoot- ing accident, and the recent jailing of the two convicted members of the Peace Preservation Corps to discredit Hong Kong Government, but finishes by emphasising China's "good neighbour" policy.