CONFIDENTIAL
3. Morale is high,
The Governor, Sir David Trench,
is coping admirably with the situation and the Emergency
has given many Civil Servants the opportunity to escape
from what might be termed the Secretariat strait-jacket
and to use initiative to a degree which would have been
frowned upon hitherto. (See paragraph 13 below.)
The police have also been stimulated by the challenge they
are facing and the acting Commissioner of Police, Mr. Eates,
(shortly to be confirmed in the substantive rank) is a
tower of strength. They are doing a first-class job; SO
too are the auxiliaries an additional 1,500 of whom have
enrolled since the outbreak of the disturbances in May.
Several policemen have been killed or injured as a result
of bomb explosions. But it should be noted that, in general,
the victims have not been the ordinary "on the beat" police-
men or those engaged in traffic control. Only those engaged
against the trouble makers (e.g. in riot or bomb disposal
squads) have beer direct targets.
4. The needs and weaknesses revealed by the Kowloon riots
last year and emphasised by this year's disturbances, have
given rise to considerable thought in Hong Kong. Everywhere
I went there was talk of the need to revise attitudes to
take account of recent developments. The emphasis was not on
unconstructive criticism of the past but about the needs of the
future, There is a strong desire for reform in Hong Kong
which simply must be harnessed. There will, I am sure, be a
tremendous amount of support and indeed enthusiasm for this
if people are given a lead. Conversely, I believe there
will be a disastrous reaction among all these people if there is
any attempt "to get back to normal".
5. I confess that I was dismayed by the failure of many
members of the Hong Kong Administration and many business men
CAM
DENTIAL
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