CONFIDENTIAL
香港總督府
PERSONAL
4KK 382/16.
Tere John No. 25.912.
&
1.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE HONG KONG
19 November 1977
weaicin /we spoke.
Baulel
you
Let
me have this buch asap.
The dust has yet to settle on the police confrontation with Government over ICAC operations, which came to a head between October 25 and November 8. In due course and when the aftermath and follow-up action to be taken are clear we will be sending a formal despatch. But meanwhile, and after re-reading the sitrep telegrams which were sent by Security Branch, I think it would be useful if in a personal way, without clearance with others concerned, I put down on paper the considerations which affected my decisions on November 5 and 7.
2.
We had always known of the smoldering police resentment at ICAC operations its absence would have been inconceivable. But no one had foreseen that it might break out so suddenly and take the form of a refusal of duty. We now believe that ICAC investigations of a Kowloon police syndicate that touched some sensitive nerveends in CID, coupled with the sudden jump of arrests in September/October were what broke the dam. The organisers of the petitions, demonstrations and eventual confrontation and refusal of duty were the large pool of men under interdiction over 200 men with no duty, full pay, periodic interviews with ICAC and otherwise all the time in the world to complain and make trouble and little to lose by doing so. They operated from the police sports association club house in Kowloon, but also from married quarters and eventually police stations.
3. The affair started with a meeting and a petition to the Commissioner about ICAC methods. Itwas perfectly constitutional and was procedural in content. It seemed consistent with the resentment coupled with respect for discipline which we believed to exist. Even at the large gathering of about 3,000 on 27 October the tone was not out of line, and the Commissioner believed
CONFIDENTIAL
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