575
Cypher/Cat A
RECEIVE
SECRET
ARCH
24 OCTBG7
(DTD)
LIWA
23 October 1967
IMMEDIATE HONG KONG TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Telno 1574
SECRET
Addressed to Commonwealth Office telegram No. 1574 of
23 October.
Repeated for information to PA Singapore, Washington and Canberra.
For Commonwealth Office and Cabinet Office for JIC. Following from LIC.
follows:-
Weekly assessment of the situation as at 23 October 0600 hours
The principal features of the Communist confrontation during the period have been:-
(a) The continuation of bomb incidents on a somewhat reduced scale but marked by more frequent disruption of traffic, through planting of real or 'hoax' bombs at main road intersections and an increase in activity prior to Lord Shepherd's departure. 115 genuine and 236 'hoax' bombs were reported. 4 exploded on impact or prior to the arrival of bomb teams and 1 wrecked the engine room of a police launch moored at Cheung Chau Island. 1 civilian was slightly injured by the blast of a device detonated by a bomb team and a student of the Communist controlled Chung Wah Middle School was badly wounded by his own bomb. Following this latter incident, police raided the premises of this school and a number of arrests were made for obstructing police. No evidence was found of bomb manufacturing. 14 persons have been arrested for planting bombs, 3 of them due to action by members of the public. The majority are students of Communist controlled schools and Union members.
(b) A return to comparative calm in the border area, broken only by sporadic attempts by civilians in C.T. to stone the barrier on the Man Kam To Bridge. The C.C.A. has dispersed stone throwers. The bridge remains closed. The C.C.A. has dug a new trench line round the bend of the river east of Man Kam To which would give them improved fields of fire. On 18 October a militant resident of Lo Fung (CT) was arrested in B.T. in connection with an attack by villagers on 57 police/military patrol on 11 August (paragraph 3 of my telegram 1560
refers). Subsequently an oral protest about frontier policy was made in Peking to Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaireş,containing an assortment of demands and accompanied by propaganda statement in much more violent terms by N.C.N.A.
(c) Continued anti-British propaganda in the Communist Press. Bomb incidents were described as a welcome for Lord Shepherd and his visit was attacked as an escalation of Britain's anti-China policy. The C.P.G. protest Note concerning the closing of Man Kam To Bridge and protests by many Anti-Persecution Struggle Committees (APSCs)
at the raid on the Chung Wah Middle School were given wide publicity. At the end of the week statements by Union A.P.S.Cs concerning unemployment and social grievances were again receiving prominence.
SECRET
/(a) The
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