TNAG-0072-FCO40-108-Annual-report-on-the-colony-s-affairs-for-1967-1968 — Page 27

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little affected and an adequate service was maintained throughout. A further

attack was launched in the middle of July by the Seamen's Union, which

declared a general boycott of the port. Goods from Chinese ports by-passed

Kong Kong and were re-routed through Singapore or through Japanese ports, while

goods already landed from China and awaiting transhipment in Hong Kong were

retained in the godowns. Communist organisations in Hong Kong declared that,

because of the boycott, the port was at a complete standstill and advised

leading shipping lines to tranship cargoes at other ports. This propaganda

had some effect, in that some cargoes were diverted to other ports and some

shipowners re-arranged their schedules to sail ships either to Hong Kong or

to China ports but not to both. The threat offered by the boycott in Hong Kong

itself was met by an intensive counter-propaganda campaign mounted by the Marine

Department to explain the facts and to answer queries from seamen and to counter

the intimidation, both veiled and direct, to which they had been subjected. As

a result 1,222 seamon reported for jobs at the Government Seamen's Recruiting

Office during the first ten days that the boycott was supposed to be in operation

and in only two cases (where there were other considerations) were ships delayed

for lack of a crow. ▲ small number of seamen signed off their ships but were

replaced, without difficulty, through the Seamen's Recruiting Office. Indeed

in many cases those who had signed off re-applied for employment after spendin;:

a day or two ashore having, no doubt, decided for themselves that all was well

in the Colony. Durin, the second week of September four ships arrived in the

port from China to discharge cargo consigned to Hong Kong, to mark the first

break in the boycott; and since then the tonnage of cargoes from China has

steadily increased.

These work stoppages, both in the port and elsewhere, were purely

political and that there is no substance in the suggestion that labour conditions

have been the underlying cause of confrontation in Hong Kong. The labour dispute

at the artificial flower works was discarded as soon as confrontation was under

way and the voluminous poster campaign and the endless propaganda that emanated

from communist sources during the summer made no mention at all of industrial

conditions.

While these events had been taking place in the urban areas the New

Territories had remained comparatively quiet. There had been some demonstrations

and a sporadic display of posters in the market towns and in the industrial

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