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JY.

[This telegram is of particular secrecy and should be retained by the authorised recipient and not passed on}

Cypher/OTP

DIPLOMATIC DISTRIBUTION

FROM NANKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE

Sir R. Stevenson No. 817

13th June, 1949

D. 1.15 p.m. 13th June, 1949 R. 2.40 p.m. 13th June, 1949

PRIORITY SECRET

Addressed to Hong Kong telegram No. 207 of June 13th repeated for information to Foreign Office and Singapore.

Your telegram No. 87: New China news agency.

I regret that we are not (repeat not) in a position to supply specific confirmatory information required. All we can confidently say is that this agency is and has been for a long time generally regarded as the official Press organ of Chinese Communist party in same way as Kuomin News Agency was definitely considered to be the mouthpiece of the Kuomintang. An analogy with relationship between Tass agency and Soviet Government might be equally appropriate. It is at least a justifiable assumption that New China agency is financed by Chinese Communist party funds and mainly staffed by members of that party. There is no question that it voices only directives of Chinese Communist propaganda machine.

2. Whatever the exact status of this agency it would seem to me infinitely preferable that as suggested in paragraph 2 of my telegram to Foreign Office No. 736 any repressive action which may be considered essential should not (repeat not) be based upon its affiliation with Chinese Communist party (even were this relatively easy to establish) but rather upon a specific subversive article for which prosecution would be presumably practicable under Defence Regulations or other existing legislation.

3. Such a policy would have advantage of being less open to charges of interference with freedom of Press and less likely to prejudice position of Reuter and North China Daily News which are still being allowed to operate at Shanghai. Moreover as it is anyhow impossible in practice to exclude Communist news

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