ENG-1967 — Page 25

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Review

CONFRONTATION

SINCE May 1967, communist organizations in Hong Kong have sought to impose their will on the government and the people by intimidating workers, fomenting work stoppages, by demonstra- tions and rioting, and by indiscriminate violence. It has been a testing time for the people of Hong Kong.

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But these events must be seen in their proper perspective. The communist-initiated confrontation, between themselves and the Hong Kong Government is in no sense a popular movement; indeed it does not have the support of any significant section of the people, much less of the people as a whole. Those who have taken part represent a very small fraction of the population, and they have had no success in their attempts, either by persuasion or by intimi- dation, to gain support for their cause. The overwhelming majority of the people have shown clearly that they support the government and the maintenance of law and order.

Moreover, despite the claims made by the communist press, and despite the impression that might have been given by the world wide press coverage given to the disturbances, the ordinary life of the Colony has not been disrupted. The rioting that has taken place has been limited in area and in scope and has been contained. The stoppages that were called have had little effect on the Colony's economy. Throughout the summer, when the effects of confronta- tion were at their height, the ordinary man in the street was able to go about his work, not quite as usual and not without con- siderable inconvenience at times, but sufficiently easily to keep the business of the Colony operating efficiently.

The origins of confrontation stem directly from the cultural revolution in China, which has inculcated among its adherents a fervent patriotism and an intense adulation of Chairman Mao Tse Tung and his teachings. The dedicated Maoist has come to believe