En Clair
HONG KONG TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Tel. No. 1311
UNCLASSIFIED
(D.T.D.)
26 August, 1967
424
RECEIVED IN
ARCHIVES No, 63
1 SEP1967
TOP
Addressed to Commonwealth Office telegram No. 1311 of
26 August.
Repeated for information to POLAD Singapore, Canberra, Washington.
Sitrep as at 26 1000 border.
At Lo Wu Bridge on 24 August a group of farmers demonstrated outside the Immigration Office, angered perhaps in part by the presence of a group of visiting correspondents within.
2。 Six farmers succeeded in getting inside, seized a tape recorder, jostled and harangued those reporters who failed to get away and then returned to Chinese territory.
Shortly after a threatening crowd, some forty strong and including a number of women, assembled outside the wire compound: they were equipped with improvised masks and buckets to put over tear gas projectiles. Tear gas proving ineffective, the Army threw a white phosphorous smoke grenade. Three farmers were slightly burned on the legs and the crowd dispersed. During the incident C.C.A. were observed to be holding back a crowd of about 200 on the other side of the bridge. C.C.A. positions in the area wre manned.
3. During the afternoon, the C.C.A. twice intervened to prevent sizeable groups trying to cross into British territory. On the second occasion the crowd turned on and beat up one soldier and the C.C.A. group withdrew. A senior officer had toured the area earlier and it is possible that he had ordered that the civilians be given greater freedom of action.
In the early evening, there were three further incidents with groups of civilians armed with meat hooks, pitchforks and stones moving across the bridge against our positions.
Petrol bombs were thrown at the Immigration Office damaging the roof.
The crowds were dispersed with tear gas and smoke. Several short bursts of machine gun-fire were heard from Chinese territory. No fall of shot was seen.
4. On 25 August at 1145 the P.L.A. at Lo Wu broadcast a message that the Hong Kong Government must remove barriers and allow free movement otherwise the P.L.A. would take action. An immediate reply was broadcast to the effect that the bridge was, as always, open to peaceful workers. An hour later an
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