Ed (4206)
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Hu Wilson
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2. I have sidelined in (E/) all Lassages
referring to Peking
shown in square
Chinke
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brackets there passages
which Hong Kong
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replace
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29.
1.
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Page
Cypher/Cat A
CONFIDENT IAL
IMMEDIATE HONG KONG TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Telno 135 29 January, 1968
CONFIDENTIAL
Addressed to Commonwealth Office telegram No.135 of 29 January
Repeated for information to Peking.
3
Peking telegram No.77 to you.
Hong Kong Annual Report.
Way.
RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES Mɔ,63
29 JAR968
MWA P/29
The report must be published on 28 February and the time available does not permit the major revision suggested. The attitude taken by Peking is well known in Hong Kong and elsewhere and the omission of reference to protests and state- ments made would certainly be commented upon. It is difficult to understand the reference to Peking being obliged to reply to what are statements of fact.
2.
However I am prepared to meet Chargé d'Affaires' wishes by deleting references to Peking's insistence that the demands made by the Communist Union in Hong Kong be accepted.
Flas B
That is :-
(a)
Page 4 second paragraph to read:-
'On 15 May the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Peking issued a statement protesting against the action taken by the British authorities against Chinese residents in Hong Kong. This statement possibly reflected etc.
*
Flag B (b) In this paragraph the sentence "the statement
continued by pledging support Hong Kong" to be omitted.
Flag & (0)
had been published in
I am reluctant to agree to the reference at page 11 to the protest of 26 June being omitted, but I would accept the omission of the last sentence in this paragraph 'in a Note to the British Chargé d'Affaires .... and again insisted that the demands made in May must be accepted.'
3. Omission of the reference to the articles in Peoples Daily could not, I suggest, be justified. The point has been made that these articles made it plain that there would be no active support for confrontation from Peking.
4. Further amendments would also affect pagination of the whole report and printing is about to begin.
5. Grateful for immediate reply.
3
XT
Foreign Office please pass Priority Peking 43.
16
Sir D.Trench.
[Repetition to Peking referred for Departmental decision].
DEPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION
C.O. H.K.D.
F.0. F.E.D. J.I.P.G.D.
ADVANCE COPIES SENT
88888
Page
J.I.R.D.
CONFIDENTIAL
age 9
age 9
Page
Cypher/Cat A
Page To
CONFIDENTIAL
R.318.
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I understand that Hang Kong have already telegrafand
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sun it.
25 January 1968 have not yet seam
I
PRIORITY
PEKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE
Telno 77
CONFIDENTIAL
Av.63.
29
2
how united
Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No. 77 of 25 January
Repeated for information to Hong Kong
Elliott's letter of 10 January to Carter and your telegram No. 153 to Hong Kong: Hong Kong Annual Report.
I agree the Draft is an admirable account of troubles and Hong Kong Government's response. I am afraid however that its appearance as an official publication particularly at the early date proposed would as seen from this post be extremely untimely and in some respects provocative.
20 This will be Hong Kong Government's first official public account of origins and course of confrontation. Peking will naturally attach importance to it and may well feel obliged to reply. The restatement in the Report of demands made in Hong Kong and of Peking statements calling for immediate and un- conditional acceptance of these demands, also Peking statement during summary stirring up fires in Hong Kong will in particular put Peking on the spot and make it harder for them to draw a veil as they may well wish to do over what has happened and to ease themselves quietly out of confrontation. It is also unfortunate that the report may appear at a time when as Elliott pointed out Peking's current reassessment of policy towards Hong Kong is not concluded,
3. I accept that there is a (group undec] that the Annual Report includes a chapter reviewing the year's events. But in the present political situation this ought not to be decisive factor. If a proposal had been for a Hong Kong Government statement on the history of troubles outside context of the Annual Report there would I am sure have been general agreement against making it at present time. The fact that it appears in the Annual Report will make it no less provocative to other side. As has been stressed in recent Hong Kong correspondence we are not out of the wood yet. Great discretion is needed in public official statements until we are.
4. I must therefore ask that the account of the troubles if it must appear should be made much more generalised and less detailed historically. In particular i must press for
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CONFIDENTIAL
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