TNAG-0012-FCO40-48-Kowloon-disturbances-1967 — Page 88

they billed us for only part of the amount and we said

1

and they said

H

we owe you more;

sorry, we forget that.

QUESTION: Is it automatically

renewed, this

contract?

SIR DAVID TRENCH: It runs for five years in the

first instance, of which I think this is the second year.

QUESTION:, Sir David, there appears to be a new

development in that a strike is due in support of the

transport workers and that the food importers appear to be

Border joining the strikers, food reaching Hong Kong Harbour.

SIR DAVID TRENCH: There has been of course

food interruption from Shanghai and to a lesser extent

I think of fruit and vegetables, and the distribution and

sale of the food has been to some extent affected by

withdrawals of labour in the transport field and by

intimidation of the distributors and sellers. There is

no evidence of co-ordination in this because there is no

evidence that food supplies from China are being

deliberately withheld. In fact the stuff is piling up

at the border. The compatriots in Hong Kong are letting

it rot at the border so there appears to be some misunder-

standing there. The difficulty has really arisen from the

transport workers who refuse to handle the stuff arriving

at the frontier.

F

QUESTION: What do you think, Sir David, is

the real object of these five demands made on the

15th May, and repeated?

1

9-