Cypher
IMMEDIATE SECRET
No.78
CO
SECRET
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
(The Secretary of State)
FROM HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)
D. 19th January 1967 R. 19th
ft
GATION
25
11
09.30 hrs.
LAST
REF.
24
REXI
REF.
Your, telegram No.117.
Macao.
5
RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES No. 63
19 JAN1967
HWA
%
Portuguese Consul-General was given reply on lines of your telegram No.108 on morning of 18th January. He thanked us for our help and got down to discussing details of arrangements in the camps. He made none of the critical points raised by the Portuguese Ambassador in London.
2. 770 Portuguese nationals and about 500 Chinese residents of Macao, as well as something like 4,300 Chinese with H.K. documents who were temporarily staying in Macao, have arrived here during the last three days, making their own arrangements for accommodation. This obviously diminishes the size of the problem to be faced in looking after Portuguese who come out as a result of an official instruction to evacuate. In the circumstances, I could probably deal with press enquiries on general lines suggested by the Ambassador (sixth sentence of first paragraph of your telegram under reference) though I would need to make it clear that Portuguese were themselves paying for accommodation and overt physical preparations as opposed to planning would still have to be very restricted.
3. On the question of transport, it seems the Ambassador does not understand the local circumstances. Only vessels of shallow draught can put into Macao harbour because it is silted. The four ferries on the regular service are much the largest vessels that can put in there. Their total passenger capacity in normal circumstances is 4,307, quite sufficient to deal with the number of evacuees suggested by the Ambassador. The Hong Kong Government has no vessels currently at its disposal except for small launches which would add little to the carrying capacity of the ferries. If the Portuguese Government are convinced that additional ships are necessary, the obvious course would be for them to charter another suitable vessel here, if there were any available: we would of course be ready to help them with this. A possible alternative would be to send the "TIMOR" (which has now returned to Hong Kong) to Macao. Her capacity is 443 passengers on a long voyage, but no doubt she could take many more than that on her decks to Hong Kong. She would have to lie off in C.P.G. waters and be loaded (as is her normal practice when calling in there) by lighter or launch: but if, as the Portuguese believe, the Chinese would not wish to interfere with their departure, this need not present insuperable difficulties.
SECRET
140
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