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Virginia Maher

From the pages of the South China Morning Post this week in 1967

Three Hong Kong Chinese policemen were being mysteriously detained by the Chinese authorities.

Two disappeared across a border bridge, followed nine days later by a third off-duty constable who was abducted in Sha Tau Kok.

The latest incident happened when Constable Tsang Koon-mui was attacked in San Lau Street. He was in civilian clothes at the time.

There was a struggle and he was dragged forcibly over the border where he was set upon by a larger crowd.

He was then taken away - out of sight of watchers on the Hong Kong side.

His widowed mother spent the day on the Chinese side of the border town in a fruitless attempt to negotiate her son's release.

The other two constables crossed the border at Man Kam To bridge on a motorcycle.

A government spokesman said they were also dressed in civilian clothes,  were unfamiliar with the area and crossed by accident after missing the turn-off towards Lok Ma Chau through Sheung Shui.

They were on an outing in the New Territories with 10 other constables and friends.

Constable Tsang was released on the evening of the following day after his captors became convinced that he was a plain constable and not a CID officer.

General Sir Michael Carver, Commander-in-Chief, Far East Command, said a wrong decision on the Hong Kong-Chinese border could cause acute embarrassment to both Britain and China, and could cause an international crisis to flare up.

If, for instance, a low-ranking officer made a wrong decision or a soldier lost his head, awkward results could follow.

'That is why we give clear orders to the soldiers as to what they can and cannot do,' Sir Michael said.

He added the armed services did not make political decisions, but ill-timed actions could bring serious consequences to a delicate situation.

He was speaking after touring the border area on his first official visit to Hong Kong since he became commander-in-chief, early in the year.

A trail of five suspected bombs stretching for half-a-mile along Queen's Road Central forced busy lunch-time traffic to grind to a halt.

Five other fake bombs were found on the island that same night.

All were detonated without causing any damage.

Queues of packed buses and trams blocked Queen's Road Central from its junction with Pedder Street to near Western Market.

They were detonated by an army ammunitions expert, clad in blast goggles and padded jackets after he sandbagged them.

The Reverend Father Francis Hsu Cheng-ping, formerly executive director of the Catholic Centre, made history as the first Chinese in the Roman Catholic Church to be consecrated in Hong Kong.

In a colourful ceremony held at the Catholic Cathedral, Father Hsu was consecrated Titular Bishop of  Orrea  and Auxiliary Bishop of Hong Kong.

The Most Reverend Joseph Caprio, Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to India and formerly Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to China, presided over the ceremony.

The appointment was made because of  the enormous increase in the Catholic population in Hong Kong in the previous decade, making it necessary for Bishop Lawrence Bianchi, Roman Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong, to have an assistant.

Father Hsu was ordained in Rome in 1959.

Sixteen Hong Kong-made dresses and accessories, including beaded handbags, were featured in a bridal fashion show in a number of American cities.

The dresses were described as the essential part of the bride's trousseau and included going-away dresses, cocktail gowns and casual knitwear for the honeymoon.

More than 11/2  months before the Macau Grand Prix, organisers were advising enthusiasts that all hotels were booked solid for the occasion and that accommodation for Hong Kong residents would be 'considerably limited'.



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