TNAG-0003-FCO40-39-Commission-of-Enquiry-into-the-Kowloon-disturbances-addition-1968 — Page 134

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PART VI CONCLUSIONS

companion to improving conditions, when some relaxation in the struggle for existence makes more time and energy available for voicing protest against what has not yet markedly improved or has not improved rapidly enough.

416. The main ground, however, for discounting discontent as the direct cause of the riots lies in the evidence of the participants themselves, which em- phasized curiosity and excitement as the principal motives for their participation rather than any strong 'cause'. Moreover the disturbances were restricted to a comparatively few participants, to a comparatively small area of the Colony and to a comparatively short period of time, which would not, we think, have been the case if discontent had been as widespread and serious as alleged. There was also some evidence that the police received spontaneous gestures of support for their efforts in quelling the riots from people living in and adjacent to the trouble areas both during the disturbances and immediately afterwards. The absence of any specific target for the violence which occurred was significant and so was the fact that damage to shops and private property exceeded the damage to Government buildings.

417. The absence of older persons from the disturbances suggests that the degree of discontent of the population at large has been exaggerated in certain quarters, as also has been the part played by such discontent in the causation of the riots. The fact that the participants were virtually confined to the younger age groups would seem to point in the same direction.

418. Nevertheless, we agree with the view that the demonstrations would have attracted less support from the general public if there had not been some underlying social and economic dissatisfaction in the community. The importance of analysing potential and actual causes of discontent, which might be contribu- tory factors in future disturbances, has led us to list in Chapter 2 of this Part a number of those which were mentioned in evidence before us.

419. The theory of a police plot. The theory suggested by Mrs. ELLIOTT that the riots were fomented by the Police with the aim of blaming her for the consequences would, under ordinary circumstances, be too fantastic and juvenile to warrant consideration but, in view of the disproportionate prominence achieved, during our inquiry, by the so-called 'Mongkok ploť', we have dealt very fully with this in Chapter 1 of Part V and rejected it.

Our findings: demonstrations that got out of hand

420. The evidence before us, therefore, rules out the likelihood of the riots having been caused by one single factor or organized with premeditation to achieve any specific social or political objective. Furthermore, observers and commentators appear to agree on the spontaneity of the outburst, which leads us to the con- clusion that, although the early demonstrations showed signs of elementary