TNAG-0038-FCO40-74-Border-incidents-with-China-1967 — Page 96

En Clair

PRIORITY PEKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE

Telno. 1038

9 August 1967

Л

55

UNCLASSIFIED

Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No. 1038 of

9 August Repeated for information to Hong Kong, POLAD Singapore and Washington.

'People's Daily' of 9 August carries NCNA article from Canton dated 7 August which gives an account of incident in which transport workers from Wan Chin Tu (2429-6939-3256) village of Pao An crossed the border.

2. Article says that when 27 workers crossed at 8 a.m. on 5 August they discovered that 40-oad posters they had put up on the previous day had been defaced by the Hong Kong border authorities. They protested vehemently and refused to yield to attempts to threaten them by surrounding them with "mercenary" troops, taking two weapons from the authorities. A "high ranking British official" tried to say that it was the law that no big character posters should be pasted up. When the Chinese rejected this he said that it was only permitted to paste up ten posters and in the appointed places. The Chinese workers pointed out that they accepted no such restrictions from the British authorities and in the end the official was compelled to acknowledge his guilt and sign a statement which guaranteed:

(a) that posters would be preserved in future;

(c)

the personal safety of workers from Wan Chin Tu;

(c) no interference in the spreading of Mao's thought

or the study of Mao's works by workers from Wan Chin Tu.

If there was any infringement of these guarantees all the consequences would be the responsibility of the British authorities. The British signed this statement in Chinese and English and read it to the workers, who then

vi ctoriously returned to their own side.

3.

Second item reports an article in the Hong Kong

paotton

Ta Kung Pao' of 7 August which reports that Hong Kong is to ask to be included in the "American Aid Plan" and attributes this to the economic crises for Hong Kong produced by the strike.

Third item gives an account of bombs placed by compatriots" in Hong Kong and difficulties encountered by British authorities in dealing with them (NCNA Item No. 080525).

Mr.Hopson

Sent 04352/9 August 1967 Recd 08002/9 August 1967

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News Dept., F.E.

J.I.R.D.,

J.I.P.G.D., S.E.A.D.

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