ENG-1967 — Page 27

REVIEW

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The tactics employed were identical in each case. Workers were intimidated and threatened with physical violence. Attempts to settle the disputes were deliberately frustrated by the injection of political issues, expressed in the form of demands which were required to be accepted 'unconditionally'. These demands were followed by a succession of rowdy demonstrations, designed to intimidate the management, in which slogans and extracts from The Thoughts of Mao Tse Tung were chanted in unison. The attitude of the unions became increasingly truculent. A press photographer taking pictures of a typical demonstration was attacked and a demand was made that his camera be confiscated. Offers made by the Labour Department to mediate in disputes were dismissed as 'unwelcome meddling'. It became clear that the extremist elements among the communists might provoke a major clash at any moment.

The opportunity was provided on May 6. A group of dismissed workers from the Hong Kong Artificial Flower Works at San Po Kong were picketing the factory premises and, ignoring repeated warnings from the police, they persisted in illegally trying to prevent the removal of goods by the management. The police finally intervened and arrested 21 men. It was a minor incident; there was little or no violence and no one was seriously injured. It was, how- ever, enough to provoke an immediate reaction; headlines appeared in the communist newspapers denouncing the government and accusing the police, in the most violent terms, of persecution and of brutally attacking unarmed workers. The Hong Kong and Kowloon Rubber and Plastics Workers Union, whose chairman was among those arrested, published four demands:

The Hong Kong Government must cease its brutality immediately and ensure that it is not repeated; All the arrested people must be released immediately; Compensa- tion must be paid by the government for all injuries and damage and those responsible must be punished; There must be no government interference in labour disputes.

These demands were endorsed by the Hong Kong and Kowloon Federation of Trade Unions. Meetings were held in pro-communist organizations in support of the arrested workers and posters began to appear attacking the government and protesting against police brutality.