TNAG-0567-FCO40-700-Political-parties-in-Hong-Kong-1976 — Page 20

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Reference

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CONFIDENTIAL

Stewart DH- to issue

Mr S

HONG KONG: THE 'NEW LEFT"

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1. I attach a short draft reply to Mr Donald's letter of 6 August.

2. For what it is worth, when I called on the Deputy Director of Special Branch in Hong Kong on 29 June he made no mention of the activities of the "New Left".

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The "threat" to the internal security of Hong Kong took three forms: Chinese Communist directed United Front activities; attempted Soviet Bloc penetration; and KMT activities. Clearly, the activities of the "New Left" are a good deal less significant in the internal security context than these other activities but it is reassuring to learn from Mr Donald's letter that the Special Branch are evidently keeping tabs on the New Left.

3. The letter from Mr Frank Allaun MP, to which I have referred in the draft letter to Mr Donald, was about the alleged harsh treatment by the Hong Kong authorities of certain members of the Revolutionary Marxist League who had protested against Hong Kong being expected to meet a larger share of the costs of the Garrison during the visit last October by Mr Rodgers, the Minister of State for Defence. Hong Kong subsequently provided a perfectly reasonable explanation of what had happened.

D.F. Millin

DF Milton

Hong Kong Department

11 August 1976

CONFIDENTIAL