249
En Clair
HONG KONG
10
Telno 125
UNCLASSIFIED
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
27 January 1968
му
TOP COPY
Addressed to Peking telegram No. 38 of 27 January, repeated for information to Commonwealth Office.
248
My telegram No. 29: Shunting Engine.
Shunting Engine. HK 97
The engine was again cleaned.
When it returned to China
on 24 January, railway workers on the Chinese side painted on more slogans and threatened that if they were obliterated again the engine would not be allowed to cross the border. This was taken to mean that the engine would be detained in China.
2
A message was therefore sent via N.C.N.A. to the Shumchun border authorities referring to the fact that we had recently agreed to open the immigration control point at Lowu one hour earlier every day during the New Year period in order to facilitate the movement of the many residents of Hong Kong wishing to visit China, emphasising our wish to ensure as far as possible that there was no interference with traditional authorized traffic across the border, and complaining of the action of the railway workers which had incidentally cause us considerable expense in cleaning up the engine.
3. It now appears that the threat may have been to prevent the engine from entering Chinese territory if the engine was again cleaned. We have therefore passed another message through N.C.N.A. asking for urgent clarification of the matter and pointing out that if the threat were carried out it would disrupt rail traffic across the border.
Sir D. Trench
DEPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION
C.O.
H.K. Dept. I. & G.D.
F.0.
NNNNN
News Dept.
F.E.D.
J.I.P.G.D.
J.I.R.D.
O.L.A. O.P.A.
DIS MOD
PA.
RECEIVED KI ARCUPTON.03 29 JAN984
HED 3/21/1
2.y
250
5.2.68.