Cypher/Cat A
190
TOP COPY
SECRET
MMEDIATE HONG KONG TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Telno 1700
17 November, 1967
SECRET
(D.T.D.)RECEED IN
ARCUT Jo.63
2 0 NOV 1967
HWAY/I
Addressed to C.0. telegram No. 1700 of 17 November, Repeated for information to POLAD Singapore and Washington.
189)
For Galsworthy.
189) My telegram No. 1699:
My telegram No. 1699: Hong Kong Border.
Our
A further meeting was held this afternoon at Shumchun. representatives made a general statement of our view of the situation at the border and then replied in detail to the points raised by the Chinese on 15 November with the exception of the question of compensation of crops. A lengthy discussion followed with the aim of defining in mutually satisfactory terms 'guarantees' for the personal safety of Chinese farmers and workers who crossed the border into British territory and for their sacred right to study and propagate the thoughts of Mao. The difficulties here seemed to be almost entirely those of terminology and translation.
2. The Chinese side then replied to our general statement in very much stronger terms, accusing us of a lack of sincerity, of a very bad attitude to the discussions and of raising unreasonable demands. They also referred, briefly, for the first time in these discussions, to the general situation in Hong Kong, which they described in predictable terms. This tirade finished promptly at the time designated for the end of the meeting with a request that our representatives return tomorrow for a further meeting to discuss the concrete problems at issue.
3.
Our negotiators regard the tirade as a negotiating ploy and believe that it should be possible tomorrow to confine discussion to the modalities of an agreement provided that we can give a specific answer on the question of compensation. In the circumstances I propose to allow them to return, provided you have been able to give us Ministers' final views on question of compensation payments by
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