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it seemed that Peking felt compelled to offer at least its vocal support. The situation of "confrontation"in
Hong Kong was touched off by a local labour dispute in Hay 1967
but tension had been built up over several months through accusations in the left-wing liong Kong press that the long
Kong Government provided facilities for United States navel
craft, not only for use by the United States for warlike activities in Vietnam (the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had delivered three Notes on this subject to the British Chargé d' Affaires at Peking on 1 September 1965, 1 February 1966 and 21 March 1967), but also for developing her encirclement policy of China Rioting and violence was eventually quelled by the Royal cr.s Kong Police who made a number of arrests. However, on 15 May the British Charge in Peking, ir Donald Hopson, was summoned to be handed a copy of a Statement of Protest by the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs. In this, the Chinese Government made a
number of Criticisms of the way in which the Hong Kong Governmen
had handled the situation and demanded that the British Govern-
ment exercise stricter control over the Hong Kong authorities. The demands were rejected as unacceptable to HMG. Nevertheless, the Statement was followed on 26 June by a further meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when the Chinese Vice-Minister, Luo Guibo (Lo Kuei-po), tendered a formal protest Note which Mr Hopson declined to accept.
29.
The summer of 1967 marked the lowest ebb in relations between the CPG and the Government of Hong Kong since 1949. Although the disturbances were almost certainly not premeditated by the Chinese Government, the chauvinism generated by the Cultural Revolution had made it difficult for them to ignore the situation in Hong Kong. The strongly-worded Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 15 May was tantamount to a direct interference in the affairs of Hong Kong and served to encourage the extremists there to further violence. The hostility of the sentiment and the seriousness of
the challenge to the authority of the Hong Kong Government was most vividly conveyed in the mainland Chinese media. Jone articles in the Chinese press, besides reiterating the Government's demands, also referred to llong Kong as a part of China. In ne account of the disturbances, People's Daily on 24 May referred to Chinese bloed spilled on the "territory of the Kotherland". Un 20 August Feople's Jaily published a "Commentator" article which made the explicit assertion "Jong Kong is Chinese Territory":-
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