TNAG-0035-FCO40-71-Relations-with-Macao-1968 — Page 232

SECRET

INWARD TELEGRAM

TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

(The Secretary of State)

FROM HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)

LAST

REF.

NEXT

NF.

119

Cypher

D. 14th January 1967 R. 14th

#1

11

11.48 hrs.

FLASH SECRET

No.55

#1

Lisbon No.M.32

"Washington No.11

Addressed to Commonwealth Office

Repeated

紫薯

1! Peking No.22

(Please pass FLASH to Lisbon

ROUTINE to other two)

AW13/3

Macau.

The Portuguese Consul-General today asked, on instructions from his Government, whether Hong Kong Government would be able to provide facilities in the form of transportation from Macau and temporary accommodation in Hong Kong for Macau residents in the event of some measure of evacuation of Macau becoming necessary.

2. Consul-General said that this request resulted from a sudden hardening in the Chinese attitude in their negotiations with the Governor of Macau. He was not fully informed of the circumstances but he believed that though the Chinese had not made any new demands they were still insisting on Portuguese acknowledgment that Macau Government had committed a 'crime'. This was unacceptable to the Portuguese Government.

30 Consul-General was asked to provide clarification of following points, on which he was also not fully informed:-

(a) numbers of those likely to come to Hong Kong;

(b) whether troops as well as civilians would be

involved;

(c) whether request was for facilities for Portuguese

nationals only.

4. He was told that a decision in principle on whether facilities could be provided would be a matter for H.M.G. to whom his request would be immediately reported. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Government would be prepared, subject to clarification of the points in paragraph 3 above, to investigate the physical possibilities. If a limited number of civilian refugees came here there might be the possibility of providing temporary accommodation in certain hutted camps as well as in Hong Kong hotels. As for transportation, it appeared that the only vessels that would be physically able to put into Macau would be the existing ferries. But many political problems would be involved and they would need most careful thought.

SECRET

15.