whether the supply from China would be reintroduced on 1st October and as a precautionary measure the supply was again cut to four hours a day from the 26th of September. In fact the Chinese authorities resumed the supply on the due date.
159. With Chinese water, nearly 16,000 million gallons in the old reservoirs and access to the partially saline water of Plover Cove Reservoir, it was possible to revert to 24 hours supply, and this was continued till the end of the year. The water delivered to consumers had a salty taste and the communist press again seized the opportunity, to proclaim that it was injurious to health and that this 'adulteration' must stop. This campaign had some effect although the water did not in fact exceed a salinity of 900 parts per million, that is it is within. the limit of 990 p.p.m. recommended by the World Health Organiza- tion, and the proportions were carefully controlled by Government chemists to ensure that this limit was not exceeded. Salinity at Plover Cove which was 1,250 p.p.m. on October 1st had risen to 1,625 p.p.m. by the end of December and was expected to increase steadily through- out the dry season. However, a substantial reduction was expected with the onset of the 1968 rains and as a result the salt content of the water delivered to the public would be well below the W.H.O. limit.
CHAPTER 12
COMMUNIST PROPAGANDA
160. In accordance with its tradition of liberalism and free speech Hong Kong has a press that represents almost all shades of opinion. But whereas from the start of confrontation the communist newspapers at once slavishly followed the party line, the remainder, which included a number of vigorous and by no means sycophantic publications, pre- served their independence. They have continued to criticize the Govern- ment when they thought criticism was justified but none of them at any time expressed any agreement with the objects and method of the communists confrontation in spite of the volume of propaganda they produced.
161. In May the communists had under their control all the machinery required for a full-scale propaganda campaign. Their three newspapers, the Ta Kung Pao, the Wen Wai Pao and the New Evening Post, were well established and had a good circulation; and they were
48
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.