0003160 G.F. 316
SECRET
PRESENT SITUATION
9.
In the Border Area, the Chinese Authorities, in keeping with the general trend of the Cultural Revolution, have formed revolutionary committees. These committees all have strong military representation which virtually places control of the communes and their production brigades in the hands of the disciplined C. C, A, There is every indication that this increased level of control will be maintained in the immediate future. There has been no major change in the deployment of C. C. A. forces facing British Territory and one Border Defence Regiment remains responsible for the security of the immediate area.
10.
The C. T. farmers with land in B. T. and the labourers handling cargo in the Man Kam To lairage area, who featured prominently in border incidents during the height of confrontation, while still continuing to display an unfriendly attitude have, apart from the Lo Wu incident (paragraph 3 above), accepted the general policy of avoiding any open clash with Security Forces or any excessively provocative behaviour. In the latter context MAO study sessions are now almost exclusively limited to the offices of the Man Luen Transportation Company, which controls the coolies at Man Kam To, the lairage area and C. T.
11.
At Sha Tau Kok nearly all those persons who sought refuge in C. T. following the serious incidents in the village in June and July 1967 have left the area. One was arrested in B. T. on 6th December and convicted of his offences. It is believed that the majority of these persons have returned to B. T. and "lost" themselves in the more densely populated urban areas of the Colony.
GENERAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE EXTERNAL THREAT,
12.
In the Colony itself the broad policy directive from China, in December 1967, called a halt to violence and for the initiation of a long term political struggle against the Hong Kong Government based on the intensified study of MA's works; it was implemented quickly. The united front campaign,which has been underway in Hong Kong since the early part of 1968 and spread into the New Territories, has not as yet, been carried into the border zone. However, the line laid down in the directive for a non-violent struggle appears to be accepted even by the more militant cadres on the Chinese side of the border.
13.
The most recent C. P. G. directive to local Communists was issued at the end of September. This stressed that, while the struggle against the Hong Kong Government should continue,it must not stand in the way of Sino/British relations and reiterated that it should take the form of a non-violent political campaign to win the broad support of the public of the Colony. It seems probable that military commanders in Po On County and senior commune officials in the border area are aware of the general terms of this directive and will ensure that their policy and activities follow the same line.
SECRET
/ 14.
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