CONFIDENTIAL
On behalf of the Hong Kong Government or whether it is because
the local communists have played their cards badly, If,
for example, the communists had kept their activities confined
to the exploitation of industrial grievances the situation
might have been very different. But whatever the reasons
the important thing is to retain public opinion on the side
of the Hong Kong Government. Unless this is done, dissatis-
faction, not necessarily communist inspired in the first
place, may break out and be exploited by the communists.
calls for a more positive attitude on the part of the
Administration.
1
This
10. The Hong Kong Government provides an enormous range of
services in the fields of housing, medical care, education
and welfare; its police and fire services operate at a much higher level of efficiency than their counterparts in other
Asian cities; and the sophistication and efficiency of the civil service is very high. But how much is appreciated by the man-in-the-street in Hong Kong?
11.
Within the colony the most frequently voiced criticism
of the Hong Kong Government is of its failure in the field of
public relations the failure of communication, the remoteness
of administration and the gap between the Government and the
people. The Hong Kong Government cannot take it for granted
that people will see for themselves the virtues of its policies
and will accept the need for what can be proposed.
12.
It seems to me that a situation has now been reached
in which Government must become more political and explain
itself and defend its policies if it is to forestall
communist attempts to exploit grievances in the social fields,
The key men are the Heads of Departments. They are of
course Civil Servants and not politicians.
CONTINENTIAL
There is, however,
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