Mr. Baker
CONFIDENTIAL
Ma. Souter Av. Gammara.
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Communist Journ lists Imprisoned in Hong Kong
On my cubmission of 3 January, 1969 concerning
"r. nthony Grey, the Permanent Under secretary has minuted
"You will loce some tricks unless you call the 'patriotic
journalists' by the name of 'dynamitero serving sentences'
or whatever it is".
2.
"Patriotic journalista" or "patriotic news workers" are, of
course, the phrases used by the Chinese to describe the
journalists and othere connected with the newspaper trade
imprisoned in Hong Kong (now eleven in number) in whose fate they
have a direct interest. The phrases have on occasion been used
in our own submissions as a convenient shorthand. In our own
public utterances we have been most careful to make it clear
that the "nave workers" were not all real journalists; and
that they were all properly convicted before courte of law, for
serious offences. Ar. Goronwy Roberts explained the position
to the House of Commons on 16 December in the following terms:
*"here are seven Chinese journalists now serving prison
centences in Hong Kong. Five of these were convicted on
charges of uttering an inflammatory speech and of
inti:11 ting assembly. They each received a sentence of
three years izprisonment. The sixth was convicted on
charges of unlawful assembly;
1
possession of an instrument
CONFIDENTIAL