SECRET
BACKGROUND
General
9. As part of their long term campaign the local communists have kept up their criticisms of and attack on the Government, particularly in the spheres of public transport, crime, hawkers and resettlement schemes. But the local communist leadership are maintaining a generally firm control over their subordinates and have emphasised to them the long term nature of their struggle and the need to adapt communist attitudes to meet local conditions (recent May Day celebrations were in a notably low key). The lack of success so far achieved by the communists in their efforts to secure the reinstatement of workers dismissed by Government Departments and certain private companies for going on strike during the 1967 disturbances has had an adverse effect on communist morale; this has been acentuated by the fact that all communist trade unions have now ceased to issue strike pay to their members. There is at present no evidence that the communists are succeeding in winning public support for their cause; nor is there any indication that they are likely to cease in their efforts to this end. Indeed, our local covert contact' with the communists stated at the beginning of April that recently the more militant local cadres had begun talking about the possibility of starting up a poster campaign. The object of such a campaign would be political indoctrination but it would not be so violent as to be caught by the legislation dealing with inflammatory posters. Such a campaign might, we understand, present a problem.
The
requirement that the putting up of posters requires the authority of the Secretary of Home Affairs (formerly Chinese Affairs) has not been generally enforced, probably because it is, in the circumstances of Hong Kong today, unenforceable. But if Hong Kong is not to be plastered with the thoughts of Mao it will have to be enforced and on a non-discriminatory basis.
Detainees
10.
the last one was
All detainees have now been released: released on 12 May. Five of the detainees (including the last one) were released subject to Police Supervision Orders valid for six months. Under these Orders the released detainees may
/ be
SECRET
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.