1.
Visit of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence,
Mr Ivor Richard, to Hong Kong
May, 1970
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POLITICAL AND INTERNAL SECURITY SITUATION
It is now more than two years since the end of the Commun- ist campaign of violence against the Hong Kong authorities. During this period there has been no organised violence in the Colony; there have been sporadic incidents involving violence on a minor scale but such incidents are believed to have been entirely spontaneous in origin and to have received no instig- ation or encouragement from the Communist authorities in Peking. Hong Kong Communists are, in fact, under firm instructions from Peking to act within the law and to direct their activities to building a broader political base in the Colony, and there have been recent indications that the local communist leadership are succeeding in convincing their more militant cadres of the des- irability of this policy.
2. As part of their campaign they seek every opportunity of criticising the authorities on the ground of real or alleged deficiencies in the administration of the Colony's affairs. They have been particularly critical in the spheres of public transport, crime, labour disputes, hawkers and resettlement schemes: but they do not hesitate to seize upon any opport- unity which presents itself of furthering their ultimate ob-
jective of undermining the authority of the Government. There is no evidence to suggest that they are achieving any success in their campaign (except possibly in the sphere of education where they are making persistent efforts to increase the num- ber of communist controlled schools); nor is there any reason whatever to suppose that they have any intention of abandoning their efforts to attain their ultimate aims.
Recent Incidents and Current Situation
3. Minor incidents along the border with China have continued to occur though these are now less frequent than a few months ago. They have involved such activities as small raids on border villages or adjacent islands to abduct refugees and others who have crossed into British territory; throwing stones and firing rockets at police posts and the detention of fishing junks intercepted in coastal waters.
Hong Kong Department,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
7 May, 1970.
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