SCR 4/5571/62
230
December 19th, 1967.
229
With the granting of exit visas to the Blishens, the situation has changed a little bit since Michael ilford wrote his letter (1051/16) of 5th Deccriber to you about Chinese policy towards Bong Kong.
2.
After the conclusion of the border agreements Alan hiting of the American Consulate General made to me the same point about the difference between the line of the en ei ao and the Ta Kung iao. I was inclined to think there was someting in it; but we put it to at least two other people accustomed to reading the Chinese press and neither of the agreed that the line of the two papers differed significantly. It would not of course be surprising if militants here were reluctant to see any relaxation by reking of any form of pressure, direct or indirect, on Hong Kong. But the significant fact is surely that at the moment the C.F.G. itself is continually letting the militants down. According to a secret source widch we regard as relatively reliable, there ere many complaints among Bank of China officials here about the weakness of the Chinese protest of the 6th Deceber and the feet that it mode no specific "demands". Apparently a good deal of special briefing work had to be put in by leading local Communists. to persuade the rank and file that the line taken had been reasonable.
3.
Fersonally, I do not think that there is a very serious danger of the C.P.0. insisting on linking the release of our #ission in Teking to the meeting of all the demands they have made since "ay. If they had wanted to take this line they would surely have repeated the "demands" in their protest. Instead, they scem sim, ly to have said (in a tons rather more of sorrow than of anger) that if the Hong Kong Goverment carried on with certain lines of ection, Sino-British relations could get no better. Subsequently, they have themselves done a good deal to tone down the no e violent activities of their adherents in the fields about
hich they complained to us. The sec et source mentioned above
J. Murray, Esq., C.M.G., Far astern et..
Foreign Ofrice London, 5. .1.
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RECEIVED IN ARCH.63
- 1 JAN 1968
HWB3/2