TNAG-0035-FCO40-71-Relations-with-Macao-1968 — Page 229

{

تر

SECRET

INWARD TELEGRAM

TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (The Secretary of State)

FROM HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)

Cypher

D. 14th January 1967 ». R. 14th

11

12.30 hrs.

RECEIVED IN

ARCHIVES No.63 16 JAN/967

HWB 3/3

IMMEDIATE

SECRET

No.57

LAST

**F.

NEM

REF.

11

Addressed to Commonwealth Office Repeated

Lisbon No.M. 34

ft

Washington No.13

#1

Peking No.24

TION

(Please pass IMMEDIATE to Lisbon

ROUTINE to other two)

My immediately preceding telegram.

Macau.

On substance of Portuguese requests:-

(a) it would be impossible on humanitarian grounds alone

to refuse entry to Portuguese civilian refugees in transit to Portugal. Though much would depend on circumstances of the evacuation, it does not seem likely that Chinese could sustain objections to their transit through Hong Kong. Admission of large numbers of Portuguese nationals (e.g. of Chinese origin) who did not wish to go to Europe and of Chinese without Portuguese nationality, would of course raise much greater difficulties. Because of the assistance Macau provided at considerable risk to British nationals at the time of the fall of Hong Kong, refusal to help the Portuguese now would be much criticised locally.

(b) It seems essential in any negotiations with the

Portuguese to distinguish troops from civilians. At this stage I should consider it undesirable to give any open-ended undertaking to admit Portuguese troops. If they attempted to come here after putting up an unsuccessful resistance to the Chinese, the political complications for Hong Kong could of course be serious.

(c) We have already done some planning for this contingery.

As far as accommodation is concerned there are two ex-Army hutted camps in the New Territories that could be used to house about 1,000 people for a short time and that could be occupied at once. There is at least one other camp in Kowloon that could be used for a similar purpose, and possibly other ex-service accommodation could be made available. In choosing sites for camps, however, it would be preferable to avoid urban areas in order to reduce the possibility of hostile demonstrations by left-wing Chinese.

/(a)

SECRET