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Mac 2×3/1
35
046374
MDHIAN 2692
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FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 1729
OF 111055Z NOVEMBER 1993
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1. NUT 1993
INDEX
Juker
31
2.
TOP COPY Q DIST?
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG, WASHINGTON
Our telno 1540: Han Dongfang
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1 Han Dongfang tries to board Dragonair flight to Peking. Under pressure from the NCNA, Dragonair turn him away. No further incident this time, but Han's campaign could be entering a more active phase.
DETAIL
2. Han Dongfang arrived at Kai Tak airport this afternoon (11 November) with a ticket for the Dragonair flight to Peking. Airline staff checked him in and he passed uneventfully through immigration. Dragonair officials then approached him in the transit area and told him he would be refused access to the aircraft, on the grounds that his travel document was not valid. Han refuted this, but accepted the decision. After a while, he allowed Dragonair officials to escort him back to landside.
3.
Before Leaving the airport, Han gave a brief press conference describing these events. he said that, in refusing to let him board, Dragonair had told him they were acting on the basis of a fax from the NCNA confirming that his passport was invalid.
COMMENT
4.
We believe that Dragonair were indeed acting under pressure from the NCNA, whose advise they had sought. The NCNA made clear to them that if he arrived in Peking, Han would not be allowed to Land. Under their conditions of carriage, this enabled them to refuse Han permission to board. At our suggestion Dragonair have issued a statement explaining their decision: this should deflect some of the media pressure away from us. We propose to respond to press enquiries by confirming the facts (including that this episode does not affect Han's permission to stay in Hong Kong) but declining to comment on the Dragonair decision.
5. Han has presumably become frustrated by the failure so far of his legal action in Peking. He is awaiting the outcome of his appeal against the initial court decision to reject his petition
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