LAST
REF.
Cypher
10
MAR
COPY FOR REGISTRATION
CONFIDENTIAL
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (The Secretary of State)
FROM HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)
D. 9th March, 1967.
Bo
9th
RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES No. 63 10 MART70/
10.38 hrs.
HAB 4/11
4
IMMEDIATE
CONFIDENTIAL No.316
Addressed to Commonwealth Office
##
Repeated Peking No.107 (please pass)
You should be aware that on 27th February
a party of eight Chinese arrived by sampan at Lau Fau Shan on the British side of Deep Bay from Sze Hau commune
on the Chinese side of the Bay. They made their way to the house of the husband of one of the women in the party. They were pursued by other commune members, some of whom surrounded the house, while others went to the local police station to report the matter and request assistance in effecting the return of the illegal immigrants to China. They were given the standard reply that the matter would be investigated and that if it was decided to repatriate the party to China, they would be sent via Lowu. Some of the commune members stayed in British territory overnight but left on 28th February after being allowed to speak with the escapees.
2.
Investigations showed that seven of the eight had close relatives in the Colony. In view of this and the extensive publicity given to the matter (except in the left wing press), it was decided to let all eight stay.
3.
We were concerned at the way in which the commune had handled the matter, particularly as the incident occurred in the area which had been unsettled by the disputes over the oyster beds. Special Branch therefore expressed our concern to their contact" with the New China News Agency. The latter undertook to pass on our representations but said that we must expect such action by communes in this sort of case where a sampan had been
11
stolen.
4.
Today (9th March) 11 members of the commune returned to Lau Fau Shan police station and demanded the return of the escapees. They were informed that they had been released on 2nd March and allowed to remain in Hong Kong. The commune members refused to accept this and claimed to believe that the escapees were (a) still in police custody; (b) in Taiwan or the U.K., or (c) murdered and their bodies disposed of. They were informed that the matter was now out of the hands of the police and that any further representations should be made at Government level through the normal channels. The commune members, who were more militant than during their original visit, reiterated
/their
CONFIDENTIAL
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