TNAG-0029-FCO40-65-Relations-with-China-1968 — Page 179

Cypher/Cat A

CONFIDENTIAL

ORITY FROM PEKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE

Telno 177

CONFIDENTIAL

9 March, 1968

345

RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES No. 03/

₫ 2 MAR 1968

t/2lß 3/2

Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No. 177 of 9 March, repeated for information to Hong Kong.

(346x+)

My immediately preceding telegram.

In commenting in detail on Lo's statement, I rejected his accusa- tion that the Hong Kong Government had suppressed the Chinese inhabitants. The trouble had been caused by violence instigated by the Chinese. The Hong Kong Government had a right and a duty to maintain law and order. I welcomed Lo's statement that the Chinese Government had taken steps to relax tension in Hong Kong and pointed out that the Hong Kong Government had also taken steps in this direction, including allowing the suppressed newspaper to resume publication before the day they were legally able to do so, and offering amnesty on illegally held explosives and weapons. It had long been the Hong Kong Government's position that they had no objection to peaceful study of Chairman Mao's works.

2. Lo claimed that Hong Kong Government had still not stopped its persecution of Chinese inhabitants and referred to a recent incident in K'uan T'ang, Kowloon. He also claimed that Hong Kong Government had raised various objections to frustrate the proposals of Kwang tung authorities to distribute 5,000 tons of rice in Hong Kong and send 1,000 pieces of winter clothing to prisoners. I pointed out diet of 3,000 calories a day for prisoners was fully adequate and that most in fact gained weight in prison. I said that clothing issued to prisoners was sufficient for their needs and there could be no special privileges given to certain categories of prisoners. Any clothing sent to Hong Kong prisoners would be stored until they were released, but it must be addressed to individuals and not handed in, in bulk.

3. I emphasised that Hong Kong Government had told China Resources Company that rice could be brought in under quota system and offered to allow 300 tons to be imported outside quota. The application by China Resources Company for a licence to import the rice had been refused, because the language was so objectionable. The Hong Kong Government had subsequently offered to allow rice to be imported by registered rice stockholders, so that there would be no loss of import entitlement under quota system. The Hong Kong Government was still awaiting reply from China Resources Company.

40 In reply, Lo claimed that families who had visited prisoners in Hong Kong confirmed that prison diet was far from sufficient and that the little clothing and bedding given to prisoners made it "difficult to prevent getting cold in current weather conditions". He said that demands of Kwangtung authorities to send rice to their compatriots in

/ Hong Kong

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CONFIDENTIAL