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U.K. EYES ONLY
dangors might be reduced if evacuation were to be offected by night but
they would still be appreciablo,
9. At such time it is likely that airlines would havo coasod to
oporate through Hong Kong. It is also possible that bombardment, sabotago
or even human obstruction might put Kai Tak Airport out of commission and
provent its uso. Merchant shipping would avoid Hong Kong and ships in
port would not romain longer than was absolutely necessary.
Plan
Operation "DIGIT"
| 10.
A schone was prepared in Hong Kong in the carly 1950s for tho
cvacuation of 16,500 non-Chinese women, children and elderly non; its
oxistence is known only to the Governor, the C.B.F. and a small group of
Hong Kong Government officors. Apart from the fact that it is now out-of-
dato, it has the defect that no proparations whatsoever have been made on
the ground. It consists of sots of instructions to be issued to designated
officers on the day evacuation is ordored; most of those officers would
have no prior knowledge of what they would be expected to do.
11. The secret of this plan has been woll kept in Hong Kong although its
cxistonco has boon knowm to a number of government officers.
It is
arguable, therefore, that we might safely extend the knowledge of any plan
within Hong Kong a little wider than the limits now laid down. We think
this risk might be worth taking if, by doing so, we could produce an
effective plan. But our conclusion is that no plan can be produced that
has any chance of offcctive implementation unless it includes detailed
proparation on the ground and advance knowledge on the part of all those who aro concornod in carrying it out. And, for thermont gwen in para do not think that spanjer for lank scale cremation could the effort wides
Conclusions
12. (a)
(b)
(c)
+
Consistent with the security requirements laid down, only
an outline plan can be prepared for vacuation, whother of large or small numbers.
An outline plan for largo-scale ovacuation might succeed
in circumstances of negotiated withdrawal, in which timo
was available to improvise detailed arrangements whon
ovacuation was ordered. It could not be successful in
conditions of enforced withdrawal.
In the case of an enforced withdrawal, a limitod
cvacuation of very vulnerable people (with their familios)
by such Service transport as was availablo at the time, would
probably be possible. But, subject to detailed study, it
/would
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