West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Thursday 31 July 1952, page 1


Macao Portuguese Fire Over Border HONG KONG, Wed.—Portuguese gunboats and light artillery are reported by the United Press to have fired on Communist positions today in renewed clashes along the Macao-Chinese border.

Two hour-long skirmishes with machine guns and rifles occurred yesterday morning, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Communist Chinese newspapers reacted by demanding that the Communist army should throw the Portuguese out of Macao colony and "liberate the oppressed Chinese people" now living there. Reuters says that according to unconfirmed reports one Portuguese gunboat, the Goncalo Velbo, opened fire early today from Macao harbour when frontier fighting broke out again between Portuguese colonial and Chinese troops. Telephone messages from Macao—the tiny Portuguese colony 40 miles south-west of Hong Kong—said that Portuguese and Chinese troops exchanged fire for 1¾ hours last night after a lull of nearly three days in border incidents. Another clash began shortly after three o'clock this morning and lasted about half an hour. Shells were fired for the first time in this clash from both a Portuguese gunboat in the inner harbour and the Portuguese fort near the border. Shells burst in Chinese territory. Reinforcements China was again reported to be rushing reinforcements to her garrisons on Lapa Island, about a mile east of Macao, and at Pak Shan Liang, about 15 miles north of the frontier. Guia lighthouse, which commands Macao harbour, was turned out last night, apparently indicating that the Portuguese had again closed the colony to shipping from China. Clashes on the frontier began last Friday night when East African colonial troops from Portuguese Mozambique quarrelled with Chinese guards over a barbed-wire barricade and the Chinese opened fire. Reports reaching Hong Kong said that Macao's population of 350,000 was in a state of "near panic" this morning. The Macao guards suffered one killed and a dozen injured in the weekend incidents, reports the American Associated Press. The Communists said that they suffered more than 100 casualties and demanded 88.000 dollars (about £39.200) indemnity. ity.