TNAG-0038-FCO40-74-Border-incidents-with-China-1967 — Page 227

CONFIDENTIAL

2.

:

Flag D

recognises that it might be necessary to make representations

The various courses of action he might take are

in Peking.

set out in paragraph 6 of his telegram.

Recommendation

3. I recommend that we advise the Governor of Hong Kong to

continue to try to settle the matter locally and, if necessary,

to use firmer measures against the demonstrators, and that

we should make no representations in Peking unless the Governor

considers that the situation has worsened to an extent where

this is essential. I submit a draft telegram in which the

Commonwealth Office concur.

Argument

Mr. Hopson

We can, I think, accept Mr. Hopson's view that news of

the incidents and of the Governor's messages will have got

through to Peking, There is therefore no reason on this

account for Mr. Hopson to take up the matter there.

makes the sound point that if he now took the initiative in

making representations on these incidents in Peking, this

might well provoke the Chinese into protesting about the visit

of the Americen nuclear-powered escort carrier "Enterprise" to

Hong Kong. In his telegram No. 298, Mr. Hopson reports that

the "People's Daily" of 17 March has already published an

article taking us to task for allowing the "Enterprise" to

visit the Colony.

5. The Governor, Mr. Hopson and we are all agreed that we

should try to settle this incident locally and not involve the

Central Government, which might thus oblige them to take up

a formal position. It seems likely that this and an earlier

/incident

CONFIDENTIAL