TNAG-0027-FCO40-63-Relations-with-China-1968 — Page 145

Mr. Hohler

2.U.S.

SECRET

148

RECEIVED IN

ARCHIVES No.63

29 SEPiyo/

HWA 3/2

Mr. Bolland'. Call on Monsieur Peve. French

Ambassador to China. on 21 September

agreed, I called on Monsieur Paye at the Quai

yesterday evening. I told him that we had hoped to arrange

for him to see either Mr. Rodgers or Mr. de la Mare and

explained why, unfortunately, this had not been possible.

Monsieur Paye took the whole blame on his own shoulders,

saying that had he been in Paris at the time he could have

seen them and that he much regretted that he had not been

able to do so. He was, however, clearly very pleased that

we had gone to the trouble of sending someone to Paris to

hear his story.

2.

Monsieur Paye began by giving me a detailed account of

the burning of our Office in Peking. This did not add sub-

stantially to the accounts we have already received from

Kr. Hepson himself and through Monsieur Paye. He emphasised

that the attack had obviously been carefully organised with

the intention of destroying the building and humiliating and

beating the staff, stopping short however of seriously wounding

or killing them. He shared Kr. Hopson's uncertainty as

whether the burning was planned from the outset or simply

resulted from the events as they developed. He spoke glowingly

in praise of Mr. Hopson and the other members of the staff.

SECRE

13.