active)
Dec. 1968 Dec. 1969 35 23 strikers/12 non-
300
strikers
70 (nd 40 very
Union/Membership Claimed/Paid up
No. of
Last
Next dismissed strikers Election Election
Composition of Committee
Members Still Empl.
1
Non-Active
Achive
Government Waterworks Union 750/350
280
SECRET
1
ני.
3160 G.F. 316
SECRET
Trong n
refernce to this in
PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL
Put
ཞན་་ོ་་
20
carson's commonsunications to Mr Jensen
пред
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Office of the Britis RECEIVED IN
wever attemptese a formal refly. 2. It was much in our minds in the prison turn of papers for our chocressing with the Sovemir in Normber. It has now he arrtaken
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d'Affaires
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REGISTRY Nɔ.51
31 DEC 1969
by our
26 August, 1969
HKK14/37
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3. Mr Wilfare agrees
that we may
new regard
16
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Dear Michael,
Melzzden.
An exchange of telegrams is in progress about the arrest of the Chairman of the Communist Gasworkers Union in Hong Kong, which rests with FCO Tel. No. 557 to Hong Kong of 21 August.
2.
I have not so far intervened though, needless to say,
I fully support what is said in the first paragraph of the telegram under reference and the remarks in the third paragraph about the need to strike a balance when deciding about the desirability and timing of arrests of this kind. As you may know, I have already drawn attention to an earlier case where certain waterworks officials were arrested and sent to prison for illegally holding office in their union. On that occasion I did not seek to contest the rightness of the action, though it struck me as strange when viewed in any context wider than Hong Kong, but I did ask that in future we should be given warning and con- sulted on timing. I was assured in Hong Kong telegram No. 149 of 31 July, that where a prosecution was "capable of being construed as being directed against the communist position", I should be given specific and appropriate warning, if at all possible. Hard on the heels of this, I learnt in the Local Intelligence Committee report of 11 August (repeated here saving) that the Chairman of the Gasworkers Union had been arrested for an alleged crime committed in 1967. Further details were given in Hong Kong tel. 658 of 20 August. This telegram stated that the person in question was "recently pin-pointed by special branch and arrested at home in the early hours of 9 August". This seems to indicate that he had been watched, at any rate for a period of days, and that a decision was then made, presumably by the police, to arrest him. In the circumstances, it should have been possible to give warning and to allow time for consideration tp be given to postponing action until after Grey's release. I fully accept the point made in FCO telegram under reference, that action may be essential in some cases, But at any rate we should be given the opportunity to weigh the pros and cons before it is taken.
3.
Another and more fundamental question which this case raises is the advisability of pursuing outstanding confrontation cases. From the point of view of Sino/British
K.M. Wilford, Esq., C.M.G.,
Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
/relations
PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL