we think that we should not put this point to
the Portuguese.
Background
1098.
This situation arose out of rioting which
developed in Macao at the beginning of December
after the Portuguese authorities had forcibly
intervened to prevent unauthorised structural
changes being made to a building housing a
communist-owned school. The intervention of
the Security Forces resulted in casualites,xut
including some deaths.
Communist controlled organisations in
Macao, supported by the provincial authorities
in Kwantung Province and by the local and
national press, made a number of demands with the
usual Chinese threat that unless they were met
in full the Chinese authorities would not be
responsible for the conse uences. The
principal demands were for compensation, for the
punishment and/or dismissal of a number of
Macao officials; for the surrender of seven
K.M.T. agents etai ed by the authorities in
Macao and the suppression of all K.M.T.
antivities; and for a public declaration by
the Macao authorities apologising for their
"crimes" and accepting these terms.
10. By early January, negotiations between the
Governor of Macao and delegates of the Kwangtung
authorities on the form of the public
declaration had reached an advanced stage.
At
this point the Portuguese Government told the
Governor that the terms of the declaration were
unacceptable.
In particular they could not
accept the word "crimes" to describe the actions
of the Security Forces. The Governor
urging
/that