TNAG-0029-FCO40-65-Relations-with-China-1968 — Page 46

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5

め

the border at the road bridge at Man Kam To and other

At the end of September two police constables

places.

who had inadvertently crossed the border while off duty

were detained by the Chinese authorities.

In mid-October,

a Senior Police Inspector was seized by a group of villagers

near the border at Man Kam To and hustled across to Chinese

After this incident the bridge was closed.

territory.

This led to protests from the Chinese side which claimed that villagers had the right to cross at this point at any

time to cultivate their land on the British side.

7. At the suggestion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

in Peking, talks were held in November with Chinese border

officials. They dealt with the closure of the Man Kam To

bridge, the release of the policemen detained and other

border matters. After prolonged negotiation (10 meetings

over 25 days) it was agreed that the bridge would be

re-opened and an ex gratia award of some HK$ 75,000 paid

to Chinese farmers who had been unable to cultivate their

fields because of the closure; and that the three

policemen would be exchanged for five Chinese nationals who

熹

had been arrested for various offences in British territory.

The British Inspector had already escaped after being detained

for 36 days and succeeded in finding his way back to the

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/Colony.