TNAG-0039-FCO40-75-Border-incidents-with-China-1967 — Page 213

SECRET

109

Cypher/Cat.A.

HONG KONG TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (D.T.D.)

FLASH

Telno. 1582

SECRET

25 October, 1967.

LAST

1060

#..

Bab

Addressed to Commonwealth Office telegram No. 1582

of 25 October.

Repeated for information to Peking, POLAD Singapore, and Washington.

1106

My telegram No. 1576: Hong Kong Border.

NCNA representative (Poon) after 24 hours delay, this morning replied on behalf of border authorities that it had already been arranged that Man Kam To should be the place of meeting. We had agreed in Peking to talk with the border unit and this was the place unit had fixed. As for our other points it was understood that both sides would not bring correspondents, and that there would be no pictures, news releases, etc.

2. Poon was told that we did not believe that there had been any agreement to meet the border unit regardless of the place of meeting. Man Kam To was not acceptable from our point of view unless the Chinese agreed to a further meeting on our side. We would be prepared to attend a first meeting there on two conditions:-

(a) that a second meeting should be held in the immigration room on our side at Lo Wu:

:

(b) that the Chinese border authorities undertook to transport our representatives from Lo Wu/Shum Chun to Man Kam To and back. Poon agreed to pass this on to the border authorities. The point about (b) is, of course, that the barrier would have to be removed before our representatives could cross at Man Kam To, and this may be the reason for their insistence on this venue.

3

It looks as if we may now be approaching a deadlock about the meeting place. In my view it is essential to establish the principle that meetings should be held on alternate sides of the frontier. If we agree to meetings only in China it seems likely that every attempt will be made by the Chinese to suggest that we are going cap in hand to them. This would have a serious effect on confidence here, particularly in view of the example of Macao. We would, of course, do our best to set the public record straight by showing that the talks were solely about the border and had been arranged at the Chinese request, but it is doubtful how far we should be believed. Indeed, now that it seems increasingly likely that the Chinese are endeavouring to manoeuvre us into false positions, the dangers to local confidence in this exercise become increasingly severe.

SECRET

14.

ни

HWD 4D