They stayed the night waiting for a decision on their fellow villagers, but left the following night before any decision was reached on the fate of the family of illegal immigrants, who were released a day later and given permission to stay.

China's exports to Hong Kong dropped since the beginning of the year, as factories, banks and commercial undertakings became involved in the Cultural Revolution, trade sources said.

Official figures showed the value of imports from China in January amounted to $240 million, a drop of $47 million, compared with December.

The country's major exports to Hong Kong - light industrial products and foodstuffs - remained at a high level in the final quarter of 1965, but it was doubtful whether the supply could have been maintained after the summer when the stocks might have been greatly reduced, the sources said.

Hong Kong replaced the Soviet Union as China's number one customer in 1964.

Beijing city officials ordered nine 'revolutionary rebel' organisations to be disbanded for engaging in 'reactionary activities' and their leaders arrested.

The dissolution order came from the Beijing Military Control Committee, which controlled the police.

Japanese correspondents based in the Chinese capital said the directive was issued to eliminate extreme pro-Mao rebel groups in Beijing.

The groups were accused of spreading rumours, twisting information and propagating armed struggle.

The official Soviet news agency Tass described the situation in China as chaotic and said Mao Zedong's followers were quarrelling among themselves.

Tourism became the second most important industry in Hong Kong, with tourism receipts for the previous year reaching $900 million.

The Hong Kong Tourist Association said a total of 505,733 tourists visited in 1966.

A brochure put out by the association said Hong Kong spent $10 to attract a single tourist, who in turn spent an average of $1,450 during their stay.

A bitter attack on 'wealthy white officials and Chinese tycoons' in Hong Kong was launched in the House of Commons by Labour Member of Parliament James Johnson.

He said working conditions in the colony were 'so fantastic that they could not be reconciled with the principles on which the Labour government came to power'.

He claimed that women and children worked the maximum legal week of 60 hours - 10 hours a day. Some firms were even prosecuted for a breach of the maximum, he said.

Mr Johnson called for a 'more democratic Legislative Council', with elected minority members, to 'get a wind blowing' through the colony's administration.

The Governor, Sir David Trench, officially opened and handed over the John F. Kennedy Centre for spastic children in Sandy Bay to the Hong Kong branch of the British Red Cross Society.

The centre was one of two projects undertaken with funds set aside by the World Rehabilitation Fund in 1964 for the purpose of further developing rehabilitation services in the colony.

The standard of playing in the Senior Piano Duet section of the Schools Music Festival was 'so poor' that the adjudicator decided not to award points and instead to withhold the Parker Trophy.

Mr Lamar Crowson said: 'There are no marks for this class and no prizes.

'If I gave marks, I would have to pick out a best performer and the standard throughout this class has been too low for me to do that.'