TNAG-0186-FCO40-222-Special-branch-reports-on-Communist-activities-1969 — Page 2

former members of a communist guerilla unit, the East

River Column which had been active in South China during

the war. A communist newspaper the Wa Sheung Po also

commenced publication and, in early 1948, a local office

of the Ta Kung Pao was reopened (a branch is known to

have been in existence in Hong Kong between 1938 and

1941). The Wen Wei Pao moved its headquarters to the

Colony later the same year following its closure in

Shanghai by the Kuomintang (K.M.T.). At this stage

both the Ta Kung Pao and the Wen Wei Pao were still under

the control of breakaway groups of the K.M.T. party

the former being controlled by the Political Science

Clique while the latter was run by the Revolutionary

Committee of the K.M.T.

3.

In 1949 the Ta Kung Pao made an abortive

effort to publish an evening edition under the title

'Ho Siu Sik Evening News'; a few months later another

attempt was made and the New Evening Post, which is

still with us today, made its appearance.

4.

With the establishment of the Chinese People's

Government (C.P.G.) the Wa Sheung Po moved to Canton and

the Ta Kung Pao, the Wen Wei Pao and the New Evening Post

became the centre-piece of the local communist press

media, a position they have retained to this day. Until

the mid 1950's they retained a certain degree of autonomy

but since then they have come increasingly under the

control of the local branch of the N.C.N.A. office which

dictates the policy line. To ensure that instructions

are rigidly followed, N.C.N.A. staff-members have been

transferred to the newspapers. In short these chronicles

now have no freedom of editorial comment whatsoever.

/5......

CONFIDENTIAL