ENG-1952 — Page 19

HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1952

arrive in Hong Kong on 1st March, and extensive pre- parations to welcome the mission were made by left-wing organizations in the Colony. On the morning of the 1st March, those organizations received information from Canton that the mission's visit had been post- poned, but considerable crowds which had assembled at the Kowloon Railway Station were not given this information until the afternoon, when a welcoming party which had earlier left to meet the mission at the border returned to Hong Kong. The crowds at first began to disperse peaceably, but a series of incidents subsequently occurred and developed into large-scale rioting, possibly owing to false rumours being spread that the mission had in fact arrived but was being held up in the border area. Thanks to the prompt and efficient action of the police, who displayed commend- able restraint in very difficult circumstances, order was restored after about two hours and casualties amounted to no more than 30, mostly with minor injuries. One Chinese demonstrator, however, died some weeks later. The incident was treated with exaggeration and mis- representation in the mainland press, but the ultimate effort of the firmness displayed by the Government and the restrained but efficient handling of the situation by the Police Force have been beneficial to the maintenance of law and order.

Further disastrous fires occurred in the squatter settled areas during the course of 1952, notably in April, when the homes of some ten thousand people were destroyed, and in November. In all there were seven serious fires in these areas during the year, as a result of which some fifteen thousand people lost their homes. These squatter areas are inhabited largely by Chinese

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