SECRET
4.
Meanwhile, interim Supreme Court Judgments against three other pro-
Communist newspapers in Hong Kong had been obtained as a result of civil
actions for libel taken by Hong Kong Government servants. These interim
Judgments were delivered on 28 October (against the Ta Kung Pao), on ↳ November
(against the Ching Po) and on 25 November (against the Wen Wei Pao and
Ta Kung Pao C.P.G. owned newspapers). Damages have not as yet been assessed
in any of these cases but it is expected that they will be assessed on some
of them before the end of the year.
5.
Delivery of the interim Judgments on 25 November gave rise to immediate
and strongly worded protests by pro-Communist newspapers on the following day
and to statements that the Judgments would be ignored and that enforcement
resisted. Immediately following the lifting of the restrictions on the staff
of the British Mission in Peking on 29 November, the British Charge d'Affaires
had applied for exit visas for certain members of the Mission staff there.
However, he was informed by the Chinese authorities on 2 December that "Owing
to recent events in Hong Kong the Chinese Government had reason to doubt the
sincerity of the British Government's expressed wish to normalise relations".
In saying this the Chinese authorities specifically mentioned the libel action
against the Wen Wei Pao: they also referred to raids on certain Communist
controlled schools in Hong Kong which had recently been carried out by the
Hong Kong authorities. As a result of these raids a number of arrests were
made, including that of a headmaster whose school was closed down. The present
situation is that although police surveillance and movement restrictions on
the staff of the British Mission in Peking have been lifted, applications for
exit visas for some members of the staff have met with no success.
6.
There also seems little doubt that the same libel actions have been the
cause of cancellation by the Bank of China in Hong Kong of an interview which
had been arranged for 26 November between themselves and Reuter's '
representatives at which the latter had intended to broach the subject of Mr. Grey. Mr. Grey, who is Reuters'representative in Peking, has been under
house arrest there for more than three months.
7. As a result of these developments, our Charge d'Affaires in Peking
stated on 2 December (Peking telegram No.298) that it was essential from the
point of view of the British Mission there that punitive action in Hong Kong
should be kept to the minimum conducive with the maintenance of order.
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Ho
/also