CO537-4999 — Page 145

INWARD TELEGRAM

TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES

Cypher (0.7. P.)

FROM HONG KONG Sir A. Grantham

D. 10th June, 1949. R. 10th #

12.30 brs.

N

RECEIVED 11 JUN 1949 COLONIAL OFFICE

No. 568

Secret

Addressed to 3. of s.

Repeated to Nanking No. M.

Ħ

#

#3

#

Shanghai No. 66.

Commissioner General Singapore No. 188.

(120) -

X

Y

(119)

696

Your secret telegram No. 196.

I was able to show Mr Alexander Nanking telegram -No. 789 and Shanghai telegrams referred to therein and to have a few minutes talk with him about them befoze he left for Singapore tonight. He asks me to say that he has throughout been very alive to the dangers of encouraging any jingoistic spirit to appear in British Press and Radio in relation to the present situation at Hong Kongo That there is such d anger in relation to some of the lees responsible papera there can be |no doubt, but with wartime consorship removed there is

very little that can be dome to curb the senastional papers, though Foreign Office Press Department might see what they can do to play down some of the wilder stories.

2.

In this context Mr Alexander drews attention to his careful handling of this very matter in the Press Conference he gave here yesterday. His words as recorded in Hong Kong Telegraph are

* Our policy is to maintain friendlines8

(? friendliest intended) possible relationship with whatever may be at given moment the Government of China".

He then referred specifically to what he had said in the House on 5th May. In the same vein in a farewell

message to the Garrison, Mr Alexander has said "Substantial reinforcements are moving towards Hong Kong, which, together with experienced forces already under your command will provide tangible evidence that H.M. Government are resolute in their attitude to your territory and staunch in pursuit of their announced policy of combining firmness with a sincere desire to establish and maintain neighbourly relations with the people of China", Mr. Alexander thinks you may care to arrange for as much prominence as possible to be given to these statements of bis to counteract tendency of which Chamber of Commerce complained. Cannot selected jounalists of main London papers be briefed by Foreign office to put this across?

130

121.

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