TNAG-0012-FCO40-48-Kowloon-disturbances-1967 — Page 104

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QUESTION:

And it seems to me what you are saying

here is, because of their rather poor tactics over this

1

period they are limited to their hard core-support at the

moment?

or, bribe.

SIR DAVID TRENCH: And the people they can intimidate

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QUESTION: of this hard core support, are they

mostly aliens or natives?

SIR DAVID TRENCH: I do not think we have ever done

a run-down on the nationality of these people but I would

think, mostly alien.

QUESTION:

Hong Kong

What roughly is the population of

what?

SIR DAVID TRENCH: Roughly 3.8 million.

QUESTION: And the left-wing trade unions would be

SIR DAVID TRENCH: The figure of paid up membership

that runs through my head is 170,000. That figure can be

looked up.

QUESTION: Is there a problem in the sense, when

you said half these people are aliens, is there a feeling

and this must turn up with the problem of participation in

elections have you a feeling a large part of the population

is wobbly, not basically loyal to a concept of a separate

Hong Kong?

Ja

SIR DAVID TRENCH: I do not know that I quite

understood your question. I think you could say the basic

Hong Kong feeling is, it wants Hong Kong to stay as it has

been exactly for the last twenty years, standards rising,

cost of living kept down, that sort of thing, and mostly they

say we must stand firm, we have nowhere else to go, this is

the end of the line.

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