ток SECRET
HONG KONG TELEGRAM NO. 440 TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
-
3 -
OF PARAGRAPH 4 OF MY TELEGRAM 344. CONTACT SAID THAT QUESTION OF
FILM STARS HAD NOT BEEN RAISED WITH HIM, BUT A POSSIBLE EXPLANATION
OF CHINESE ATTITUDE MIGHT BE FOUND IN THE TIMING OF THE EXERCISE
IT WAS ON 10TH MARCH THAT HE HAD FIRST PASSED ON TO HIS BRITISH
CON CTS INFORMATION OF THE CHINESE APPROACH. THEN, WHILE CHINESE
WERE WAITING FOR SOME SORT OF RESPONSE, FILM STAR EXERCISE HAD
BEEN MOUNTED. THE CHINESE MIGHT HAVE FELT THAT HONG KONG GOVERNMENT
WERE DELIBERATELY IGNORING THEIR APPROACH AND ATTEMPTING TO IMPOSE
THEIR OWN IDEAS. AS FOR THE RELEASE OF PRISONERS, CATER REITERATED
WHAT HE HAD SAID PREVIOUSLY (PAR GRAPH 401V) OF MY TELEGRAM UNDER
REFERENCE): THAT THE RELEASE OF PRISONERS IN HONG KONG BEFORE THE
EXPIRY OF THEIR SENTENCES WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE, BUT THERE MIGHT
BE ROOM FOR DISCUSSION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE RELEASE OF PRISON-
ERS TO CHINA. CONTACT CERTAINLY APPRECIATED THIS POINT, BUT MADE
NO COMMENT ON IT ON THIS OCCASION.
6.
AMONG OTHER POINTS RAISED IN DISCUSSIONS:
(1) CATER ASKED CONTACT WHAT HE THOUGHT OF RECENT REPORTS THAT
SOME EXTREMISTS WERE BEGINNING TO REGAIN POWER IN PEKING. CONTACT
2.
REPLIED THAT HE HAD NO DOUBT THAT CHOU WAS FIRMLY IN CONTROL,
THOUGH HE HAD TO ENSURE THAT CHIANG CHING AND KANG SHENG WERE
DEFEATED POLITICALLY BEFORE MATTERS COULD BE PROPERLY SETTLED.
CONTACT THOUGHT THERE WERE ALREADY WELCOME SIGNS THAT LIN PIAO
WAS HAVING TO RELY MORE AND MORE ON CHOU EN-LAI'S BACKING AGAINST
KANG SHENG.
(ID) CONTACT ALSO MENTIONED THAT CHENG WEN-CHUNG, AN EXTREMIST
SUB-MANAGER OF THE BANK OF CHINA HAD GIVEN A SPEECH TO LOCAL
COMMUNISTS ON APRIL 2ND TO EFFECT THAT THE LOCAL STRUGGLE MUST
***
CONTINUE. CONTACT WAS NOT SURE WHETHER THIS WAS A PERSONAL INITIATIVE
BY CHANG IN DEFIANCE OF LI'S INSTRUCTIONS CPARAGRAPH 3 ABOVE) OR
PART OF A DOUBLE CROSS, CHANG WOULD SPEAK AGAIN ON APRIL 220
SEMICOLON AND CONTACT WOULD ANALYSE WHAT HE HAD SAID VERY CARE-
FULLY, IF CONTENT WAS NOT VERY IMPORTANT HE MIGHT ASK
LI TO ''BRING CHANG INTO LINE'' SEMICOLON IF IT WAS IMPORTANT OR
TROUBLESOME CONTACT MIGHT HAVE TO TAKE UP MATTER WITH PEKING
''DIRECTLY''.
}
7. CONTACT
TOP 3 ECRET