Sir D. Allen
CONFIDENT IAL
PRISON VISITS
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Flags A, B
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Peking telegrams nos. 239 and 240 reporting a meeting
between the Chargé d'Affaires and an official of the Chinese
Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicate that there has been a
misunderstanding about the categories of prisoners to be included
as "patriotic journalists" in the context of additional prison
visits in Hong Kong. N.C.N.A. in Hong Kong had presented a
list of 21 persons which, beside the 2 N.C.N.A. correspondents
and 12 journalists, included 5 labourers and 2 newspaper sellers
employed by a communist newspaper in Hong Kong (Hong Kong
workers".
390
telegram No. 363). The Chinese argue that the term translated
as "journalist" in fact means literally in Chinese "newspaper
We should therefore agree to grant additional visits
to all the 21 persons listed. The Chinese have also supported
a request of N.C.N.A. in Hong Kong for the number of visitors
to each prisoner to be no less than three, not two as we had
proposed. We have to decide whether to agree to what the
Chinese ask.
Recommendation
2. I recommend that subject to the views of the Governor of
Hong Kong, we agree that visite should be allowed to all the
persons listed by N.C.N.A. and that three visitors be allowed
to each prisoner. I submit a draft telegram on these lines
drafted by the Commonwealth Office.
CONFIDENTIAL
/Background