TNAG-0041-FCO40-77-Future-Sovereignty-of-Hong-Kong-Defence-Review-Working-Party-1967 — Page 32

CONFIDENTIAL

THE SITUATION IN MACAO

ANNEX

In January, under extreme pressure from the local communists and the Chinese authorities in Canton, the Portuguese authorities in Macao accepted a number of humiliating demands put forward by the local communists.

most important were:

(a) the dismissal and punishment of the Chief of Police and the

Military Commander;

The

(b) the payment of compensation (amounting to over £125,000) to the

victims of police action;

(c) the release of all those arrested during demonstrations in

Macao;

(a) a written and published apology by the Governor of Macao admitting

his "crimes".

In addition, the Portuguese accepted an extra demand by the Canton Bureau of Foreign Affairs that "Chiang Kai-shek's special agents", who had been arrested in 1963, should be returned to China and the Macao authorities should guarantee that no Nationalist activities would henceforth be allowed in Macao. This further demand was only put forward when the Portuguese showed signs of weakening on earlier demands.

2.

Today, although the administration of the Colony remains nominally in the hands of the Portuguese, it is clear that their authority to impose their will, at any rate on the local communists, has almost entirely

disappeared. Thus:

(a) they were unwilling to give any effective protection to the

British Consulate when it was besieged by demonstrators;

(b) they are unwilling to prevent the local commercial radio station

"Radio Vila Verde" from putting out extremely hostile anti-British

propaganda;

and

(c) the Governor apologised to the local communists to secure the

release of a Portuguese soldier who had been "arrested" for his alleged misbehaviour during an anti-British demonstration.

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CONFIDENTIAL