the date of handover more precisely than contemplated
in my telegram under reference. But I.C.I. consider
and we agree that this is the course beat calculated
to close the matter as use to which money was put
was for project agreed by Chinese Government. Ir
you see objection, please telegraph flash to Hong
Kong.
101
RESTRICTED (1115)
D.C. Wilson, Esq., Far Eastern Department.
30
pw
With the compliments of
COMMERCIAL SECTION
(A. J. Hunter) RECEIVED IN
THE OFFICE OF
ARCHIVES No.31
27 JUN 1967
FC5/4
THE BRITISH CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRS
PEKING
20 June, 1967
(1115)
RESTRICTED
Office of the British
Charge d'Affaires,
PEKING.
20 June, 1967
22
Your telegram to the Foreign Office No. 1 of 12 June, repeated to us as
No. 330.
We have taken the action requested in para. 2. Would you kindly so
inform the person concerned?
I am copying this letter to David Wilson in the Foreign Office.
(A. J. Hunter)
First Secretary (Commercial)
I.A. Goodfellow, Esq., British Trade Commission,
HONG KONG.
I. Sherland
RESTRICTED
ра
30%
28h
FC5/4
Despatched
A. G.
16
5/6
C: NFIDENTIAL
FOREIGN OFFICE,
8.W.1.
15 June, 1967.
29
I enclose a copy of a letter from Johnston, the Shanghai Manager of the
Chartered Bank, which was sent by the safe" hand of the Air France
representative to the Rong Kong Manager of that Bank, together with a
copy of the telegram to the Governor which Self was compelled to sign by
the local employees of the foreign banks in Shanghai. Lane, the General
Kanager of the Chartered Bank here, sent copies of this correspondence
to Arthur de la Mare for our information.
2. I think you ought to have this correspondence so that you can see
Johnston's explanation of the circumstances in which he and Self were
compelled to send this telegram to the Governor. I leave it to you to
decide whether to show it to Sir David. Clearly, Johnston and Self were
in no position to hold out against the pressures being applied to them.
It is at least reassuring tỏ know that they seem to be standing up
oretty well in the extremely trying conditions in Shanghai.
I am sending copies of this letter, with enclosures, to Thee Peters in
Peking and Bunny Carter at the Commonwealth Office.
↑. A. K. Elliott, Esq.,
Hoad font.
(E. Bolland)
VIDENTIAL
GENERAL MANAGERS'
OFFICE
TELEPHONE
LONDON WALL 3688
Eut
28
RECEIVED ARCHIVES No. 5
In Bollas an
し
Dear de la Mare,
1 € JUN 1967
I
FC5/4
146
THE CHARTERED BANK
38, BISHOPSGATE
LONDON, E. C. 2
12th June 1967.
Further to my letter of the
8th June and to complete your file, I
enclose a copy of the message which the two bank managers in Shanghai
were persuaded to send to the Governor in Hong Kong.
helk
Mw.disk.
ма PA
If Elicht.
Yours sincerely,
R.A.S. Lane.
A.J. de la Mare, Esq., C.M.G.,
Foreign Office, London, S.W.1.
W.28
J
+
L
H.E. THE GOVERNOR
GOVERNMENT HOUSE HONG KONG
Owing to the reported bloody suppression of and Fascist atrocities
against Chinese people in Hong Kong from May sixth the whole staff of
the foreign banks in Shanghai unanimously lodge their strongest protest
against the Hong Kong Government and we request that such suppression
ceases forthwith (Stop) The protest states:-
Supreme instruction
All reactionaries are paper tigers (Stop) In appearance the
reactionaries are terrifying but in reality they are not so powerful
(Stop) From a long-term.point of view it is not the reactionaries but
the people who are really powerful (Stop)
Most Most Strong Protest
For the past days the British Authorities at Hong Kong mobilised groups
upon groups of soldiers and policemen wage bloody suppression and
ferocious persecution upon the patriotic compatriots at Hong Kong (Stop)
They even despatch spies and bullies to surround our Bank of China Hong
Kong Branch and wage armed attacks upon the staff of our Organizations
at Hong Kong making a large scale massacre (Stop) Our whole staff of the
foreign banks express our strongest and most violent anger towards these
Fascist outrages and lodge our most most strong protest (Stop)
The large scale bloody event created solely by the British Authorities
at Hong Kong is the long plotted organised and planned rabid provocation
of the British Imperialism towards the Chinese People (Stop) The British
Authorities at Hong Kong commit capital crime towards the Hong Keng
compatriota owe a new blood debt towards the 700 million Chinese people
(Stop)
Chairman Mao teaches us (quote) "Imperialism and all reactionaries are
paper tigers" (unquote) The Chinese people armed with the ever
victorious Mao Tse-tung's thought are not to be trifled with (Stop) The
blood debts owed to us by British Imperialism must be paid (Stop) The
British Imperialists who have committed capital crime against us cannot
escape from the verdict of the Chinese people (Stop)
We the staff and workers of the foreign banks firmly support our
compatriots in Hong Kong in their heroic and just struggle (Stop) We vow
to join the 700 million Chinese people to act as the strong back to them
(exclamation) We sternly warn the John Bulls should you still not hold
yourselves in check and dare to continue your atrocities we will take
further revolutionary actions and struggle against you to the end (Stop)
You are held responsible for all consequences resulting there- from
(exclamation)
+
1
--
1
-
+
J
- 2
2.
+
Firmly support the solemn statement of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs
(exclamation)
Most most strongly protest against the bloody outrage of the British
Authorities at Hong Kong (exclamation)
Firmly support the righteous struggle of the Hong Kong patriotic
compatriots (exclamation)
Down with British Imperialism (exclamation) Down with U.S. Imperialism
(exclamation)
Down with Soviet modern Revisionism (exclamation) Long live the
ever-victorious Mao Tse-tung's thinking (exclamation)
Long live our most most respected and beloved great leader Chairman Mao
(exclamation) (exclamation)
Long Live Chairman Mao Long long life to him (exclamation) end a
The whole staff of the foreign banks
Hongkong Bank Maneger
D.N.H. Self.
+
E
L
+
+
I
i
I
•
+
t
4
F25/4.
13 June, 1967.
a copy of If I may
Many thanks for sending me Johnston's interesting letter. say so, he
seems to be at unding up very well indeed to the extremely trying
circumstances in shanghai.
We are already in touch with the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank about the
"crises" they are alleged to have committed in China. I would be very
interested to hear
ny details of the "crimes" being attributed to your Bank by the Chinese,
in case we can help.
+
(A.J. de la Mare)
R.A.3. Lane, Esq.,
The Chartered Bank,
38 Bishopsgate,
E.C.2.
27
1
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry
THE GAME
F254.
DRAFT
Type 1 +
27
Top Secret Secre
Confidential
Restricted.
Unckssified.
To:-
R.A.S. Lane, Esq., The Chartered Bank, 38 Bishopsgate, London, E.C.2.
From
A. J. de la Mare
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
Many thanks for sending me
Johnston's interesting letter.
a copy of
If I may say
so, he seems to be standing up very well
indeed to the extremely trying circumstances
in Shanghai.
We are already in touch with the Hong
Kong and Shanghai Bank about the "crimes"
they are alleged to have committed in China.
I would be very interested to hear any
details of the "crimes" being attributed to
I chat we cam
your Bank by the Chinese, so that we can
date help.
L
916
Enliv!
26
GENERAL MANAGERS'
OFFICE
TELEPHONE
INDON WALL 3680
RECEIVED ARCHIV..
16 JUN 1967
FCS/4
THE CHARTERED BANK
38. BISHOPSGATE
LONDON, E. O. 2
8th June 1967.
Dear de la Mare,
Afr de la fore
I enclose a copy of a handwritten letter from Johnston, our Shanghai
manager, sent to our Hong Kong manager by the safe hand of the Air
France representative, which you may find of interest.
Our Hong Kong manager tells us that he has since heard that Johnston and
Self (Hongkong Bank) have now been asked to admit their "crimes" or the
"crimes" of the banks since 1950.
attach a
With kind regards,
to get off stroghlangt opp have. I
might then W. Mr. Ellicht
Hist
heure a
draft
ack.
with
you my
Yours sincerely,
6th Gour
Maury
R.A.S. Lane.
copy of the emet. in
Ishow, at his dearchin,
confidenc
- see marked A.J. de la Mare, Esq., C.M.G.,
Foreign Office, London, S.W.1.
passage
h
page
свой
See so
6.
Phane's Well of 12 Jun
COPY
Dear Peter,
w.26
c/o The Chartered Bank, P.0. Box 2135,
Shanghai.
29th May 1967.
This letter will reach you through the
good offices of Paul Mathias, the Shanghai manager of Air France.
As our mail is obviously read before being despatched I have so far not
written to Head Office concerning the happenings of last week in
Shanghai. You will no doubt have learned of the sacking of the British
consulate here a week last Tuesday, all of which I was able to watch
from our office window. It was a shocking business. The extremist
elements among the 300/400 Red Guards who stormed the place were
apparently out for blood. Fortunately Joyce Hewitt and her little girl
and baby twin girls were forewarned by one of the more moderate elements
and they were led away and locked in a bathroom at the back of the
house. The house was entirely ransacked and even their clothing and
children's toys were destroyed. Peter Hewitt had bad time being marched
up and down in the grounds for four hours having his head pushed forward
and being pinched and shoved. After the Red Guards left that evening
there were no further attempts to break in and we were able to visit the
Hewitts who had moved into another house in the compound.
These events naturally made us wonder what our own fate would be, but
fortunately so far we have suffered no interference. Last Friday,
however, I and Derrick Self, the Hongkong Bank manager, were summoned to
a meeting of "All the Employees of the Foreign Banks in Shanghai"..
After listening to a reading from the works of Chairman Mao we were
handed a strongly worded protest concerning the bloody
/suppression
- 2 -
suppression and fascist atrocities perpetrated by the Hong Kong
Government again their patriotic
compatriots as they termed it. After reading out the protest in both
English and Chinese we were then asked to convey it to the Hong Kong
Government on their behalf by telegram. This we agreed to do and typed
out the lengthy telegram. After typing it was taken upstairs again for
approval by the meeting. After a two hours wait Derrick and I were again
called and told that we had not stated our own views. We then of course
argued that we were here as bankers and entirely non-political and
should not be asked to give our own views. I then pointed out that no
details of the fascist atrocities had even been given by the Chinese
authorities to my knowledge and we told the meeting that so far as we
knew nobody had been killed by the police and that on the first day only
two rioters had been injured.
In any case if we were to be subjected to political interference they
should close us down as we could not carry on in such conditions. After
this the meeting became more amicable. However
However, we could see no way out of the impasse other than complying
with their wishes to some extent. So we reworded the introduction of the
telegram to the Governor by referring to our protest against the bloody
suppression and fascist atrocities and requesting him to put a stop to
it. What they thought of the telegram in Hong Kong heaven only knows,
but to me it was ridiculous. No doubt you must have been told about it
and I only hope that it was realised that we did not send the telegram
of our own free will. We are now wondering what the next step will be.
What we expect to happen is that they will slowly make life more and
more difficult for us so that we are forced to apply for closure. This
of course is not the thing to do, since if the application comes from us
we shall be in the wrong and the closure itself will be long drawn out
and difficult. We were surprised when they order the consulate to close
and gave the Hewitts
/48 hours
- 3 -
48 hours to leave Shanghai. I don't think the Bank of China will wish us
to close as we do useful work by discounting their bills, but political
considerations here overrule everything.
We get the news through the BBC and London airmail Times but we have had
no Hong Kong papers for a fortnight. At the moment we are all right and
the staff have not let the meeting make any difference to their usual
friendly behaviour towards me. The sending of the telegram was obviously
directed from above and of course they have to do as they are told.
During the week of anti British demonstrations no animosity whatever was
directed at us apart from having posters with slogans pasted over my
office wall and windows. Although the consulate had no diplomatic power
we feel all the more defenceless now that it is closed, although of
course we can telephone Peking. We all have a feeling of insecurity
which started last June with the commencement of the Cultural
Revolution.
I have reported the sacking of the consulate to Head Office but not the
meeting on Friday so I leave it to your discretion as to what to do in
this respect.
Mme. Nien Cheng whom I think you know has not been heard of since last
July. A similar fate has been meted out to our Chinese friends with whom
we used to mix so frequently. We just don't know where they are. Nien we
believe tried to commit suicide but failed.
We know that you all have been having a
very trying time in Hong Kong and hope that
circumstances will return to normal in the not too
distant future. Internally here things are very confused and the
pro-Maoists are fighting amongst themselves.
/The
4
The Revolution is not going well and this may be the reason for all the
external diversions.
I trust you are all well.
Sincerely yours,
David Johnston.
CONFIDENTIAL
CYPHER/CAT A
FOREIGN OFFICE TO PEKING
IMEDIATE
TELNO. 483
13 JUNE, 1967
(FED)
FCS/4
25
CONFIDENTIAL.
ADDRESSED TO PEKING TELEGRAM NUMBER 483 OF 13 JUNE REPTD FOR
INFMN TO HONG KONG.
YOUR TELEGRAM NUMBER 667 AND HONG KONG TELEGRAM NUMBER 829 TO C.0.
1.C.1. MONEY:
21
WE AGREE THAT DATES SHOULD BE LEFT VAGUE AND NO, REPEAT NO, NAMES
MENTIONED. WE DO NOT KNOW EXACTLY WHAT CHINESE KNOW, AND REFERENCE TO
WILFORD MAY WELL BE USELESS, IN ANY CASE WE PREFER THAT RESPONSIBILIT
SHOULD NOT REPEAT NOT BE SHOULDERED BY ANY INDIVIDUAL MEMBER OF YOUR
STAFF, PAST OR PRESENT.
2. AS SELF HAS RECEIVED INSTRUCTIONS DIRECT FROM THE BANK IN HONG
KONG THERE IS NO, REPEAT NO, NEED FOR YOU TO ADVISE HIM.
3. 1.C.I. RECEIPTS MAY BE DESTROYED AS REQUESTED BY KENDALL IF YOU
SEE NO OBJECTION.
SOSFA
DEPARTHENTAL DISTRIBUTION
F.0.
F.E.D.
0.0. D.T.D.
SENT 11442 13 JUNE
CONFIDENTIAL
*
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry No. F.E.D.
DEPARTMENT
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
PRIORITY MARKINGS
(Date).
13/6
Top Stret Secpt
Bestellled
1144
Ummediate
Confidensial Restricted
Pri
Ungfassified
• Date and time (G.M.T.) telegram should
reach addressee(s)
25
7
➖➖➖➖.JLI
In Confidence
"Security classification] CONFIDENTIAL
PRIVACY MARKING
[Sect
[
En Clair. Code Cypher
Draft Telegram to:-
PEKING
(Date)
And to:-
11-23
if any
Privacy marking ]
-if any
[Codeword-if any].
Addressed to
telegram No.
And to..
"PEKING.
... "
....
.....(date)
repeated for information to
➖➖..........¶----‒‒‒‒JI ■. ➖➖-----...
-dumanı. HAARENA-HwałamuTIOIELLON-AN
... HONG KONG
BILLI
Saving to.......
MILLI
Repeat to:
HONG/KONG
со
Your telegram No. 667 and Hong Kong telegram
No. 829 to 0.0. 433
I.C.I. Money.
Paking
та
Saving to:-
Distribution:-
F.E.D.
C.O. Dependent
Territories
Copies to:-
We agree that dates should be left vague and
We do not- no, repeat no, names should mentioned.
Chinon know land
Chinese know exactly what/
Wilford
well be useles
bushless
bewert
oned, reference to
In any case we prefer not repeat not
that responsibility shouldị bé shouldered by your
2.
apy
inciviayal morober of your
steff, part of pitzent.
As Self has received instructions direct from
the bank in Hong Kong there is no, repeat no, need
for you to advise him.
3. 1.0.1. receipts may be destroyed as requested
by Kendall if you see no objection.
а 13/6
CONFIDENTIAL
ה
BA. (3746)
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential,
Resincled. EJS Unclassified. 12/6
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
Flag B
WAL
CONFIDENTIAL
DRAFT
Submission
Type 1
To:-
Mr. de la Mare
24 (28
From
E. Bolland
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
Beking Telegram No. 667
21
Problem
-Responsibility for handing over I.C.I.'s
money
Regommendation
2. We should give Mr. Hopson authority to say
that the responsibility was Mr. Wilford's, but
only as a last resort.
Argument
3. I feel that it should be possible for our
Office in Peking to claim that I.C.I.'s money
was held in safe custody for I.C.I. at the request
of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
and that our Office had no option but to disburse
the money inside China at the owner's request.
This was a perfectly reasonable action on their
part, since there was no attempt to evade Chinese
currency regulations by taking the money out of
the country. If the action, in the eyes of the
Chinese, merits blame, it is the responsibility
of the Office as such, and not of any individual.
In their present mood, however, the Chinese
may not listen to reason, so that I think Mr.
Hopson should be given direction, as a last resort
/to
ONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
to lay the blame upon an officer already safely
out of China.
5. I have consulted Personnel Department who
J
say that it would be very undesirable, if Mr. Wile
should not be al
to-Chine, from his
to take any
action which
night prevent
Tịch
Mur.
# them from