CONFIDENTIAL
90
170
Cypher/Cat A
PRIORITY HONG KONG TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Telno
1775
CONFIDENTIAL
28 November 1967
16h Cokes an HWX 3/2
(P.T.D.)
Addressed to Commonwealth Office telegram No. 1775
of 28 November
Repeated for information to Peking and Rawalpindi
MWA3/2
My telegram 1755: Reuters.
On afternoon of 25 November Reuters were told by Bank of China that interview would not now take place. No reason was given; but in reply to enquiries, Reuters were told to 'ask the Hong Kong British Authorities' what the reason was.
2. My immediately following telegram (not to all) reports a Communist Press statement of 26 November protesting against a Supreme Court judgment of 25 November against the Wen Wei Pao and Ta Kung Pao for libelling a Government servant (A.W. Olivier). This is one of the civil cases instituted in July (my telegram 1058) to which further reference was made in my telegram 1202. Court has given an interim judgment against the papers but no application has yet been made to fix a date for assessment of damages. Present indications are that the paper will ignore whatever decision is reached. they do further action by way of distraint will inevitably follow.
If
3.
There seems little reason to doubt that the cancellation of Reuters interview is related to the judgment against the Wen Wei Pao and the Ta Kung Pao. The Communists have of course been aware for a long time of the progress of these civil actions but have made relatively little fuss about them. Interim judgments against the Ta Kung Pao for libelling an officer of Commerce and Industry Department was in fact given on 28 October and against the Ching Po in respect of two police officers on 4 November. (Again damages have not been assessed, but in the former case it is expected that they will be assessed before the end of the year). It is perhaps odd that in these circumstances Bank of China should have made the original arrangement to talk to Reuters. 4. Meanwhile, all this may have been overtaken by the information in paragraph 2 of Peking telegram 273.
Foreign Office please pass Priority to Peking 634 and Routine to Rawalpindi M 655.
Sir D. Trench
[Repetition to Peking referred for
departmental decision, repeated as requested to other post.]
DEPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION
C.0. Hong Kong Dept.
Int. & Genl. Dept.
Far East & Pacific Dept.
South Asia Dept.
News Dept.
J.I.R.D.
F.0. Far Eastern Dept.
Consular Dept.
J.R.D. News Dept.
RECEIVED
ARCHIVES N63 440/2 (150)
29 NOV 1967
HWB 14/32
CONFIDENTIAL
91
w