TNAG-0003-FCO40-39-Commission-of-Enquiry-into-the-Kowloon-disturbances-addition-1968 — Page 135

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PART VI CONCLUSIONS

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planning, the later and more violent phases were hastily devised and based on pretext rather than the attainment of an objective; consequently, we believe that the riots were simply an unpremeditated outcome of the early demonstrations which got out of hand.

421. The validity of this conclusion can we think be demonstrated by tracing the sequence of events leading up to the outbreak of violence; by looking at the environment of time and place which provided their framework; by examining the type of people who took part in the demonstrations and subsequent riots; and finally by looking at the political, economic and social conditions, which formed the background of these events; in doing so, however, it is important to distinguish between factors which operated directly on the participants and events, so as to constitute a direct cause, and those which merely contributed to a general climate of opinion or 'groundswell of discontent."

The Events

422. The main events in the chronological sequence described in Parts II and III fall into five stages, which can be expressed in the following manner.

(a) The build-up of public opposition to proposed increases in Star Ferry fares

423. This has already been fully dealt with. At this point we would allude to the difficulty of assessing whether press comment or Mrs. ELLIOTT's opposition played a greater part in stimulating public interest and concern in the Star Ferry issue, since the two were inextricably interwoven. The evidence indicates that she only started her campaign after a considerable amount of press comment had appeared but that, thereafter, she became the focus of the opposition, particularly in the period following the publication of the T.A.C. report. A sense of urgency was imparted by the publicity given on April 3rd to her alleged exhortation 'too late if you do not hurry'. Indeed it was a paper with this heading that was brandished to attract attention by the original demonstrator SO Sau Chung.

(b) 'The hunger strike' of SO Sau Chung

424. The alleged hunger strike attracted considerable public attention and publicity in the press owing to the location chosen, the unusual nature of the demonstration, at least in Hong Kong's experience, and the dramatic appearance of the demonstrator. From witnesses' descriptions of their reactions to the appear- ance of SO Sau Chung, from the events which followed his arrest and from public comment generally, it is evident that he made a strong appeal to a section of youth and quickly found supporters and imitators. But SO was not typical of the average demonstrator and his contribution to the later events seems to lie in:

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