· 3-
sent to me and a place at the official tables would be reserved for me if I should agree to attend.
8.
On reflection, Tang had in fact been paving the way for this eventual meeting of the pro-China camp and the London Office. On several occasions when we met during the last year or so, he tried to impress upon me that I should be proud of the achievements of the London Office because his friends in the pro-China camp had found our non-partisan stand and the useful work we had been doing for the Chinese community admirable. No doubt, the dis- pleasure we indicated quite recently to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce when they received a Taiwan donation towards their school project had been interpreted by the pro-China camp as an inclination on our part to be more friendly with them and therefore the time was ripe for them to initiate the promotion of better relations which would be in keeping with China's general policy.
9.
Deputy Commissioner was consulted and it was agreed that I should accept the invitation but that I should avoid direct contacts with staff of the Chinese Embassy. I then informed Mr. TANG Tak-yan that I would attend and that I would not wish to be seated at one of the top tables reserved for guests.
10.
The reception was so arranged that all invited guests would be shown into a room where they would meet each other and have a drink before the commencement of the event. Invited guests included staff of the Chinese Embassy, a number of Europeans and heads of various Chinese organisations in the provinces. CHEUNG Kam-chuen, President of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and MAN Siu-kuen, Chairman of the recently established China Town Chinese Association, were invited guests. raying participants (£15 per head and special rate of £5 for students) were asked to find a seat in the main dining hall. There were altogether 50 tables of 10 each, a Capacity crowd at the China Town Town Restaurant.
11.
My arrival preceded that of the Chinese Ambassador by seconds. Although both MAN Leung-sang and TANG Tak-yan invited me to join the other guests in the special room, they had to rush to the entrance downstairs to greet the Ambassador, I simply went and found myself a seat at the far end of the dining hall among people I knew. During dinner much later on,
/two lesser
CORFIDENTIAL
1