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PRIORITY HONG KONG TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (D.T.D.)
Telno 1807 2 December, 1967
UNCLASSIFIED
(235)
238
للتا
My telegram No. 1803.
Under pressure from newspaper questions we have made the following release today Saturday.
Begins.
We have been asked to comment on a report in an evening newspaper purporting to state the sum of money paid by the Hong Kong Government in connection with the discussions on local border matters including the release of the two constables.
The sum of dollars 500,000 alleged to have been disclosed by the Bank of China is absolute nonsense. As we have already said the Chinese officials with whom these discussions took place asked us not to reveal such details. However in view of this alleged disclosure we are obliged to state that the only compensation' was JMP 1,680 in respect of graves; this was calculated in the usual manner. The other sum was in fact dollars 70,000 before devaluation i.e. JMP 29,400. This sum of JMP 29,400 has now been transferred.
The Bank of China official is also quoted in the same newspaper as questioning the genuineness of Inspector Knight's escape. This too is nonsense. As has already been made clear, Inspector Knight escaped exactly as he described to a Press conference.
Ends.
Sir D. Trench
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ANG
5.12.67.
RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES 1,63 "F1967
HWB 4/1
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