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LIULIZI kula
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Dearning Serase
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25SEB
FDB1
With the compliments of
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Hong Kong Deht
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25/9
Jazsza
24 Schlenker 1908
rack
LONDON, S.W.1.
HWB 3/2
Commonwealth Offic
S.W.1.
13
24 September, 1968.
You may be interested to see the
enclosed copy of a "Letter of Protest" which was received by the
secretary of State in his constituency mail.
2. I am sending a copy of this letter and enclosure to John Boyd in the
Far Eastern Department of the Foreign Office.
(K. Á. SMITH)
Hong Kong Department
R. J. T. cLaren, Esq.,
Assistant Political Adviser,
TUNG KUNG
· RECEIVED I ARCHIVES No.31
25SEP 1968
FDB15
AD
L
A Letter of Protest
by relatives of patriotic Chinese unreasonably detained in the Mount
Davis concentration camp by the Hongkong British authorities
In Gaminawa to se Realds/s
Constituency mail
We, all of us relatives of the patriotic Chinese who are being
unjustifi- ably detained in the Mount Davis concentration camp, boiling
with rage, accuse the Hongkong British authorities of persecuting our
relatives with
fascist measures.
Our relatives were all illegally kidnapped by police and special agents
sent by the Hongkong British authorities after the outbreak of the May
Upheaval and have since been unreasonably kept under detention and sub-
jected to political persecution. They consistently love our motherland,
love our great
leader Chairman Mao. At their different posts, they have worked and made
their contributions to the community. But the vicious Hongkong Eritish
authorities persecuted them just the same. When our relatives were
abducted, some of them were working as usual at their places of work,
others were resting or sleeping in their homes or walking in the street.
Is it guilty to work, to rest, to sleep or to walk in the street? Though
the Hongkong British authorities have kidnapped our relatives and held
them in détention for a long period, they have failed even to conjure up
a single charge against them. Take the following example to illustrate
the lawlessness of the Hongkong British authorities. Liu San, Chairman
of the Stone-cutters' Union, was abducted from his home in the middle of
the night by the Hong- kong British police and special agents.
Trumped-up charges were brought up against him in the 'court'. But as
the judge could not convict him, he had to have him released. But no
sooner had Liu San come out of the 'court' than he was seized by agents
of the 'special branch' and thrown into the con- centration camp. Thus
one who had been acquitted and released by the 'court' was abducted by
the 'special branch'. This fact brought to light, to the full, that the
laws of the Hongkong British authorities are all devices to deceive the
people. They had long ago become odious, but now the last fig-leaf was
torn off them by none other than the Hongkong British authorities
themselves.
Another well-known incident happened on March 14 this year when, to
persecute Fu Chi and Shih Hui, the Hongkong British authorities deported
them in a vain attempt to create a precedent. With the support of the
Government and people of the motherland and the support of the four
million Chinese compatriots in Hongkong and Kowloon, the couple waged a
gallant fight setting their feet firmly on the Lowu Bridge. This not
only foiled the *deportation' plot of the Hongkong British authorities
but also landed them in à fix. At that time, the Hongkong British
authorities were forced to declare through a loudspeaker that Fu and
Shih were 'released'. But on March 15, just as the patriotic film couple
were on their way home, they were abducted for the second time by
Hongkong British police and special agents at Sheungshui and were again
put in the concentration camp. This fact showed that the 'laws' as well
as the words from the mouth of the Hongkong British authorities were
nothing more than lies.
a
This is how our relatives were thrown by the savage Hongkong British
What
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authoritic in the dark concentration camp where they have been detained
for long period and subjected to shocking maltreatments and
tribulations.
First of all, we accuse the Hongkong British authorities of launching
political persecution against our relatives.
All our relatives are workers or Chinese from all walks of life who
ferently love our motherland and our great leader Chairman Mao. To
jatriotic mered right which is inviolable. Yet the Hongkong British
authorities have gone so far as to deprive our relatives of their
freedom of reading the brilliant writings of our great leader Chairman
Mao. We have repeatedly lodged protest against this and we have demanded
that the camp authorities should hand over Chairman Mao's writings, and
'Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung' to our relatives. But this has
been refused. Further- more, patriotic newspapers, rasgazines and 1,6ks
are also banned in the camp. European officers and agents inside the
concentration camp often deliberately cursed and insulted our great
socialist motherland and our great leader Chairman Mao. They frenziedly
attack the patriotic workers and our patriotic compatriots. By Aagrantly
showing hostility towards our great motherland, its 700 million people
and the four million Hongkong com- patriots, the Hongkong British
authorities have belied also their talks about the Sino-British
relationship and casing the Hongkong situation. Their real intention, on
the contrary, is to worsen the Sino-British relationship and intensity
the tension in Hongkong. All this has fully exposed the reactionary
nature of the Hongkong British authorities.
Following our great leader Chairman Mao's instruction: 'We must not show
the slightest timidity before a wild beast', our relatives have waged a
tie- for-tat struggle against the enemy. Under the most difficult
conditions, they persist in studying Mao Tse-tung's thought. Although
they are in the dark prisons, they cherish in their hearts their
motherland and keep in their mind the whole world. They are immensely
confident that we shall win and the Hongkong British authorities will be
defeated. In fact, the Hongkong British authorities' plot of political
persecution has since long been bankrupt.
The tortures imposed on our relatives mentally and physically by the
Hongkong British authorities will stir the blood of anyone who so much
as hears about them. What we make public here is only a fraction of
these atrocities. But they are enough to lay bare the Hongkong British
authorities" fascist nature.
The concentration camp is located at Mt Davis on Victoria Road in the
West Point of Hongkong Island. From outside, you may not know that
inside it is like a dark hell. The inmates are imprisoned separately in
Block B and C in the compound. There are twelve what are called 'sealed
rooms' in Block B. Each of the cells, a few feet square, has only a
small hole which is closed all the time except when food is brought in,
and a noisy ventilation fan which keeps roaring around the clock. For a
long period the cells were each lighted day and night by a roo
candle-power lamp. Two patriots are detained in such small cells. There
they do not know whether it is day or night, rain or shine. In these
'sealed rooms', our relatives are subjected to the roaring of the fan
and the irritating light from the bulb. More air being drawn our than
let in, the cells are so suffocating that our relatives have to lie on
the floor to get the fresh air filtering through the door gaps. Under
such living conditions deliberately brought about, it is difficult for
our relatives to have proper rest and they suffer from insomnia. They
said that they were able to withstand all this only because Mao Tse-
tung's thought had given them the will to fight. Otherwise it would have
only been a matter of days for them to crack under the strain. The
[
3
vours once said that no one could live in such cells for more than three
meaths. So they have to acknowledge that it is a miracle for some of our
relatives who have now been detained there for nearly a year. In fact,
this is no miracle. It is the strong power of Mao Tse-tung's thought.
The interrogation under tortures which our inmates were subjected to in
the concentration camp is hardly conceivable for those who have not gone
through them. Let us cite a few examples. One of our relatives was
stripped and interrogated day and night for a few days. Others were
baubat up time and again at the interrogation till they fainted. Then
they
sed with cold water and interrogation was resumed when they themselves.
Yet others were interrogated continuously for nearly 20 days without
sleep. Some of them were forced to stand up after they dosed off for
only half an hour. During the winter, some of our relatives, with no
warm clothing, were interrogated in air-cooled rooms. Others were taken
around the camp blind-folded in a deliberate attempt to terrorize them.
Last winter our relatives were made to take cold showers at five o'clock
each morning, and many of them became ill.... Having been beaten up,
quite a number of our relatives were wounded but were given no medical
care. Similar examples on maltreatment are too numerous to
Hist.
As far as living conditions are concerned, the agents never let go any
chance to persecute the inmates. For a long time they were not given
enough to eat. Their meals consisted of rice mixed with sand, sprouted
potatoes and sometimes stale fish. Many of our relatives contracted
disease because of malnutrition. When they fell sick, a European doctor
in the camp nicknamed 'miracle doctor' would attend them. He was so
nick- named because a single glance is enough for him to know whether
one is ill or not, or what kind of disease one is suffering from. In
most cases, he would prescribe nothing. One of our relatives was
examined by the "doctor" for more than ten times. But he was never given
a single pill. When at times the doctor does prescribe, what he gives is
almost always limited to the sume two kinds of pills no matter what the
patient is sufier- ing from. Thus some of our relatives have become
weaker and weaker.
Going to the lavatory, taking a bath, or having a wash-all provides
opportunities for the warders to torment our relatives. When one wants
to go to the lavatory one has to ask the warders to let one out. The
warders often take their time to make the inmate suffer. Or he sets a
strict time limit when he does let the inmate out. Even in hot weather,
the inmates are sometimes not allowed to bathe or wash themselves.
The camp authorities have concocted all sorts of devices to humiliate or
torture our detained relatives. Those in Block C, for example, were
handcuffed when they were brought out of their cells to walk through an
open space to meet their visitors. This was said to be done for
security's sake'. "What sophistry! The camp is guarded by troops,
police, secret agents, Ghurkas, police dogs, plus high walls and wired
barriers. And there are a total of nine locked doors between Block C and
the entrance of the camp. Isn't there enough 'security'? Or is it that
our relatives could By or disappear through the ground? This in one way
also illustrates the Hongkong British authorities' cowardice and lack of
confidence. Standing by our relatives, we have waged resolute struggle
against the handcuffing of our relatives. But up till now, the camp
authorities, pleading 'regula- tions', have not yet discontinued this
practice.
All the above-mentioned is only a few instances of the fascist
atrocities which the camp authorities have imposed on our relatives.
They are too
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many to put all on paper. But we keep an account of all the outrages and
will certainly settle the account with the Hongkong British authorities.
They will not be allowed to deny these sinful deeds they have committed
and they can never escape the responsibility for having committed them.
Why do the Hongkong British authorities persecute, maltreat and tor-
ture our relatives in this way? It is only because they love our
motherland. love our great leader Chairman Mao, oppose to the national
oppression and political persecution launched by the Hongkong British
authorities. In order to safeguard our national dignity and defend Mao
Tse-tung's thought, our detained relatives keep rentinding themselves of
Chairman Mao's instruc- tion: This army has an indomitable spirit and is
determined to vanquish all enemies and never to yield. No matter what
the difficulties and hard- ships, so long as a single man remains, he
will fight on. Knowing well that wherever there is struggle there is
sacrifice', they look death in the face. Taking the heroes in the novel
Red Cliff' as their models, they brave death, suffering and tortures and
withstand one after another the frenzied attacks mounted by the enemy.
They have smashed to smithereens the Hongkong British authorities' evil
designs. We are proud of having such relatives! They are the fine sons
and daughters of the Chinese nation. "Their spirit encourages us to
courageously stand up and carry on our struggle against the Hongkong
British authorities.
However, our relatives, and all those Chinese patriots illegally
arrested and thrown into the dark prisons by the Hongkong British
authorities, are still suffering. This is what we and all patriotic
Chinese cannot acquiesce in. Time and again we have talked with the
departments concerned of the Hong- kong British authorities. We have
lodged protests with them and put demands to them. But up to now, the
Hongkong British authorities have been trying to put the matter off and
refuse to settle the problems promptly.
We, relatives of the patriotic Chinese unjustifiably detained in the
con- centration camp, appeal to all Chinese patriots and all those who
have a sense of justice to join us in denouncing and condemning the
serious fascist atrocities committed by the Hongkong British authorities
in violating human rights, undermining the normal work and life of the
community, and impair-- ing the running of patriotic establishments and
normal business concerns and carrying out political persecution. This
illegal persecution launched by the Hongkong British authorities have
prevented our relatives from performing their normal work. Many of our
relatives are executives or staff members of trade unions, societies or
schools. By depriving them of their liberty, the Hongkong British
authorities have caused the organisations concerned enor mous losses.
Some of our relatives have their own businesses to look after. The
detention of Tang Ping-ta, for one example, has brought great losses to
his business. Our families have been placed under abnormal conditions.
Children fail to see their parents; wives and husbands have been
separated. Who has given the Hongkong British authorities such right to
do whatever they please? We appeal to the Chinese patriots and to people
with a sense of justice to support the following demands we put forward:
1. Release all the patriotic compatriots unjustifiably detained in the
concentra-
tion camp and the dark prisons;
2. Compensate them for their losses suffered mentally and physically and
in
their work or their businesses;
3. Give proper medical care to those who have been wounded and who have
become invalid because of assaults and maltreatments administered by the
Hongkong British authorities.
4. Immediately stop maitreatments and safeguard personal safety.
:
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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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Piece... 213....
Following document(s) transferred to PRO Safe Room
Folio 12
"1
い
d = 0
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mun 26.7.68 ти
letter eReport 29.68
ти 18.12.67
Put in place
8/5/07
and closed until..
2009.
Chopina 30.7.98
сепорта
DIN M. J. Mehray.
S 0,31
19 SEP 1968
Enter
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When moving with the mat about Pching. H.K,
Discussing a but
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FD315
CONFIDENTIAL
Wilkinson
The Ames.
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поку
want to take these
consiductions with account The argumento Item
вы
HOPSON'S CASE the brand by die D. Hofmon.
The
Following our conversation with the P.U.S., last week,
I submit a note, written without papers, as an heretical
contribution to the debate about Peking/Hong Kong.
I recognise how distasteful it is to contemplate
a transaction with murderers etc., but I believe that it is
necessary, as a human problem, to do something to get the
Peking staff out. It also seems to me quite likely to turn
into a political problem sooner or later. My thesis is that
these problems are soluble, without incurring the disastrous
consequences which the C. O. and the Governor of Hong Kong
foresee.
Having been for three years out of this game, I have
without doubt committed many errors of fact and judgement
which you will castigate, and the suggestions for possible
action may be very wide of the mark. My main point is that
we have got a hand to play if we can be brought to play it.
1. GANGY
(T.W. Garvey)
26 July, 1968.
سة
Copies: Mr. Baker
Mr. J. Murray
CONFIDENTIAL
But The missim and
and and The you, has conceded molning
Jme
་་་་་
pr. 2079
CONFIDENTIAL
PEKING/HONG KONG
Assumption and Problem
The British staff in Peking are held there as security
against the release of the Chinese held by the Hong Kong
Government, and as a means of pressure to induce British
good behaviour in Hong Kong. Is it possible, on
tolerable terms, to procure the release of the British staff
in Peking?
Negotiating positions
2.
China derives about one-third (say £200 m.) of all her
foreign currency receipts from supplying Hong Kong with food
and raw materials. She depends on this income for financing
her imports of wheat, to feed the populations of the Easter
cities, and for buying industrial equipment from the West,
on which her economic development depends. The net effect
for China's external payments of the reincorporation of Hong
Kong into the Chinese motherland would be that supplies
sent to Hong Kong would be paid for no longer in sterling
but in yuan. This would inflict a crippling blow on China's
economy. It is the reason why for 19 years the Chinese
Communists have put up with the British in Hong Kong and
why they still need us there.
3. When I last looked at the figures (during the January
"cuta" exercise), the U.K. was in deficit with Hong Kong on
visible trade, the visible deficit being about offset by
/invisibles
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
invisibles and i.p.d. In balance of payments terms, departure
from Hong Kong would not hurt us and might on balance benefit
us. It would cause trouble in certain specific
directions e.g.
civil aviation (where we bargain rights at Hong Kong in
But exchange for the U.K.'s own needs) and sterling balances. the
resultant damage to China would be far more widespread and
lasting than the harm to ourselves.
The optimum objective for the Chinese Government would
separate from China and forming
be a Macao-style Hong Kong:
part of another currency area, but Chinese-dominated.
This
would be quite unacceptable to the U.K., which would gain
nothing at all from such an arrangement.
Our reaction in
1967 has made it clear that we will not have it.
Cultural Revolution
5. The Chinese administrators (meaning people like Chou En-ki, Li
Hsien-nien and Ch'en Yi) know perfectly well on which side their bread
is buttered. They put up with Khrushchev's sneers about Western
colonialism (a "stinking privy") on China's
doorstep. They have intimated to us over the years that provided there
is no nonsense about self-govemment or "dominion
status", a basis for coexistence exists.
Since the cultural revolution the administrators have
had their ups and downs: at times their control at the centre has been
greatly weakened, and the centre has lost control of
In these parts of the periphery, including Kwangtung.
conditions, the classic policy based on Chinese interest has been
periodically at risk from wild men temporarily in
the saddle in Peking or wild men off the leash in Canton.
CONFIDENTIAL
/But
CONFIDENTIAL
But it is noteworthy that the administrators have stayed
They are the people who have run China since
in the game.
1949 and are quite likely the only ones who can still do the job.
These uncertainties complicate the problem, most notably
in their effect on timing, but do not invalidate the
underlying bargaining position.
Tactics
6.
Possessing a strategic negotiating position of some
strength vis-à-vis the Chinese, we have much better prospects
than we sometimes imagine of employing tactical flexibility for
specific ends. The Government of Hong Kong has been doing
a number of things which the Chinese Government resents. It
has imprisoned (in some cases by judicial process, in others
by executive action) perhaps 200 "patriotic Chinese". It
permits regular visits from U.S. warships. It has deregistered
a Chinese Communist school. It is open to us, if we wish, to
make temporary and tactical concessions to the Chinese on
these matters, from a position of underlying strength.
7 As I understand it the Governor takes the view that the
Communists in Hong Kong have behaved like a lot of Yahoos
(his word) and that any indication of readiness to show
flexibility towards them will be seen by them and the Chinese
Government as proof of weakness. It will lead directly or
indirectly to a Chinese take over of Hong Kong and the trust
in us of the Chinese who have taken refuge in the colony from
Communist misrule will be betrayed. I am the first to recognise
the need for Governors to govern, but this position seems to
CONFIIENTIAL
/me
COLFIDENTIAL
It
me to be altogether too absolute, to misconceive the
underlying power-relationship, and to over-insure.
attracts scepticism from two points of view. First,
nothing in Hong Kong is black and white.
-
There are some
very opaque patches indeed the border (notably Sha Tau Kok and Deep
Bay), the "square boundary" (maritime frontier),
the Kowloon "walled city" (over which Sir R. Black gave in
gracefully in 1963 · I was on the opposite side) to name a
-
few. If either side wanted to take an all-or-nothing view
it would be almost impossible for Hong Kong and China to
Secondly, co-exist, or for the British to "run" Hong Kong.
having half-apprehended the oriental concept of "face"
The Chinese, we tend to draw the wrong inferences from it.
both in Hong Kong and the mainland, are more sophisticated than
we sometimes give them credit for. The Hong Kong Chinese
will see well enough that the British will have to make
The
If value is received, Bome concession in exchange for value.
they will regard the deal as a natural one, and will give
us credit for pursuing our own interests intelligently.
Chinese Government, after their experiences last year (this
is where Sir D. Trench's rock-like attitude then pays off)
will start from the assumption that they are not going to
get their "optimum" solution. They may or may not be
immediately prepared to do business; but they will not
conclude, if we make a proposition to them, that the
Governor has thrown in his hand. My conclusion is that we
need not fear that Britain will somehow lose virtue, or lose
control, by being willing to transact with the Chinese.
CONFIDENTIAL
/A
CONFIDENTIAL
A possible negotiation
8. How then could we set about negotiating? Having no
direct knowledge of recent events, I can only advance a few
haphazard thoughts:
(a) The first requisite for change is to get rid of the
(b)
psychological stop, in our minds and the Governor's,
on doing a deal with the Chinese. Perhaps the chief
obstacle is the notion that any flexibility on the U.K.'s part will
imperil the freedom of 334 million "refugees"
from Chine. It won't
Since we need a valid interlocutor, we should have to
pick our moment carefully. We shall not get what we
want if matters are brought to a head at a moment when
the "wild men" are on top in Peking. But this does not
prevent us from preparing the ground now. Given the
uncertainties of the political see-saw in Peking we need
to be ready to act far more quickly than we have so far
shown ourselves able to.
(c) It is worth considering an attempt to get a message
across, if possible to Chou En-lai. The essential element
of such a message, however expressed, would be that the
maintenance of the status quo in Hong Kong is losing its
attraction to us; and that, in the absence of a
normalisation of Anglo-Chinese relations we should see
little point in carrying on.
(d) For such a message, and for any other exchanges, we would
need a channel.
Fractically no one in third countries is
CONFIDENTIAL
/both
CONFIDENTIAL
both sufficiently persona grata and has the guts to do a
Job for us, Three years ago President Ayub Khan would
have been a possibility. I do not know whether he still
is. Failing a satisfactory foreign intermediary we
should need to get into business ourselves. Hong Kong
would be the place to set up. I saw a recent telegram
(on a banking subject) which suggested that there is a
channel which appears to work. But we should have to
show the colour of our money. Two individuals who would
be taken by the Chinese as serious and representative are
Mr. Malcolm KacDonald and Lord Trevelyan.
(e) An alternative to the direct approach is to show "signs".
We are fortunate in having a great many more Chinese
pawns in our hands than they have of ours. It would
surely pay us to use them freely, both on the "china egg"