Cypher/Cal, A
IMMEDIATE
CONFIDENTIAL
161
TOP COPY
HN KONG
ΤΟ
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (BUT,D,)
5 November 1967
3
ino. 1645
CONFIDENTIAL
Addressed Commonwealth Office telegram No. 1645 of 5 November Repeated for information to Peking, POLAD Singapore and Washington.
9) Your telegram No. 2255: Hong Kong Border.
I agree that it would be useful for Hopson to report the various additional matters in your paragraph 2. In addition to points mentioned in paragraph 2 of my telegram No.1640, following points stressed by our side could be included:-
(a) Ex gratia payment to villagers would be made on under- standing that "Chinese recognized abduction of Knight to
[? grp.omitted] illegal and that no payment would be made to any of his abductors",
(b) We objected to the defacing (by painting of slogans and posters) of our shunting engine working across the border and asked that the practice should cease.
(c) The villager (Iu Man Hua: 1202/7456/0336) abducted at Ta Ku Ling on 11 October should be returned.
2. On point (c) above Chinese took rigid line, saying that (unlike others obtained) he was in "the hands of the people" "under inspection" as a "Chiang bandit". (He is known to have condemned Mao in a teashop on the border just before his abduction). Our negotiators got the strong impression that Chinese were unable to produce him now and that he might be seriously injured or dead. In accordance with their instructions our negotiators did not make the matter a breaking point.
3. Though abduction of villager was deplorable, he was a Chinese national and not in our employ. We had to consider whether insistence on his return should be maintained at expense of return of our three policemen and possible opening of a new period of stability on border. Our conclusion (reached before the second round of negotiations) was in the negative.
4.
Remarkably, nothing of all this has appeared in local Press. 5. Since drafting the above, NCNA have passed a message to invite us to a further meeting on 6 November in order to discuss "the original points raised at the second meeting in order to fix them up properly for a clear settlement". They asked for an answer this evening or tomorrow morning and were told that they could expect nothing this evening but conceivably a reply could be given tomorrow.
16. I would like a
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