CONFIDENTIAL
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (The Secretary of State)
FROM HONG KONG (0.A.G.)
Cypher
Do
26 June, 1967. R. 26 #1
0900Z
IMMEDIATE
CONFIDENTIAL
No. 912.
27
10
9
$1
JUN
1986//
262
COPY FOR MOIRATION
Addressed to Commonwealth Office (D.T.D.).
Repeated
"Peking No. 359. " POLAD Singapore No. Washington No. 201.
197.
(Please pass PRIORITY
to Singapore and
Peking and ROUTINE to Washington).
RECEIVED IN
ARCHIVES No. 63]
27 JUN 1967
#t
нювил
261
M telegram No. 908.
Confrontation in Hong Kong.
Water supply from China ceased at midday on 25 June as soon as Chinese authorities had completed supply of full amount of 15,000 million gallons provided for under the agreement for the nine-month period ending 30 June plus the additional 1,800 million gallons provided under a supplementary arrangement of November, 1966.
2. No answer to request made on 23 May for an additional 2,000 million gallons during July 1967 has yet been given by Chinese.
30 Local new China News Agency official through whom request mentioned in paragraph 2 above was channelled told Director of Water Supplies today that he was "still awaiting instructions" about answer.
40 Intention, subject to consultation with Executive Council, is to announce tomorrow that as from 29 June it will be necessary to go on to a four-hour supply every alternate day.
5. There is still a possibility that Chinese may be sticking to letter of the original agreement and will resume supply at end of nine-month period on 1 July. We do not intend to refer to this possibility in any public statement; nor at this stage to make any propaganda capital out of Chinese failure to reply to our request, since to do so might prejudice chance of resumption of supply.
6.
Grateful if you would ensure that any guidance to press in London deals simply with facts of situation as given in paragraphs 1 and 2 above, and adds no more than that further restrictions of supply may prove necessary.
LAST
.3
261
(Passed as requested)
(Advance copies passed to D.S.A.0. for Private Office for
Commonwealth Secretary, Messrs. de la Mare, Bolland and Wilson)
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