Cypher/Cat A
IMMEDIATE
CONFIDENTIAL
PEKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE
Telno. 297 16 March, 1967
CONFIDENTIAL
Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No. 297 of 16 March. Repeated for information to: Hong Kong (Immediate)
(5)
Hong Kong telegram No. 338 to Commonwealth Office: Laufau Shan Incident.
In general I agree with the Governor that these local questions are normally much better dealt with informally with the N.C.N.A. contact in Hong Kong where the Chinese may not feel obliged to adopt rigid official attitudes.
2.
I rather doubt whether official communications between Canton and Peking will have been much affected by the present con- fusion, though communications within the Province, i.e. between Canton and the commune in question, might well have been disrupted. It seems to me probable therefore that the Governor's message will have got through to Canton and Peking though I have of course no knowledge of how these communications are dealt with by the Chinese.
3. I think that it is improbable in present circumstances the Chinese would wish a major incident to take place on the frontier. They presumably have enough to cope with in the Province as things are, though according to most recent information there has been a military take-over there recently and control may therefore be improving. One factor to be borne in mind is that the Canton Fair which will be more important than ever for Chinese economy this year, is due to open on 15 April. The last thing the Chinese would want would be a serious incident which would get into the Press and might discourage visitors to the Fair.
4. As I have said in other correspondence, I think that another Chinese protest about the use of Hong Kong by American warships may well be in the pipeline in the context of the present visit of "Enterprise" and "Bainbridge". If I were to ask for an interview with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about Hong Kong (subject has to be declared beforehand) this might provoke a broadside which I am not particularly anxious to do. On the other hand if I am summoned to receive a protest on this subject, which I think is quite likely, I could if the occasion seemed suitable, mention the Laufau Shan incident on that occasion.
5. If there were any discussion with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1 would try to confine it on our side to informing them briefly of the incident and expressing disquiet at the possibility of friction which would not be in the interest of either side. I
incerely hope that we shall not get into a detailed argument here about Hong Kong's treatment of illegal immigrants about which our knowledge here is rather vague. I could of course refuse to discuss this aspect in the first instance but it would be more satisfactory if I could have a clear statement from Hong Kong of what their rules
are.
CONFIDENTIAL
16.
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