En Clair
No.351
COPY FOR RESISTRATION
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
(The Secretary of State)
FROM HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)
D. 17th March 1967 R. 17th
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MAR 196-
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Addressed to Commonwealth Office Repeated
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Peking No.119
Washington (by saving) No. M.42. (C.O. please pass to Washington)
The Hong Kong left-wing press this morning (17th March) gives front page prominence to a New China News Agency report datelined Hong Kong 16th March, with the headline 'U.S. steps up its use of Hong Kong as a base what sort of role does Britain think it is playing?' The report says that with the support and acquiescence of the British Government, U.S. imperialism is greatly increasing its use of Hong Kong as an operational base and engaging in war provocations aimed at the Chinese people. Up to the first ten days of March, 79 U.S. ships had visited Hong Kong compared with 69 in the same period last year. Since the visits of Admiral Hyland and the Chief of the Defence Staff, Britain has provided its naval base in Hong Kong for use by the U.S. as an anchorage and military supplies provisioning point. People are greatly indignant at the way in which the British authorities have ignored the warnings of the C.P.G. and have become accomplices of the U.S. What role does the British Government wish to play in Vietnam · does it wish to adopt an attitude of hostility to the Chinese people, the Vietnamese people and the people of the whole world? The people point out that if the British Government and the British authorities in Hong Kong continue to act as accomplices of the U.S. aggressors they cannot but come to a sad end.
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A separate front page item expands on the allegations about the U.S. provision of a guard on H.M.S. TAMAR.
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