SECRET
INWARD TELEGRAM
TO THE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
(The Secretary of State)
FROM HONG KONG (Sir D. Trench)
3 June 1967.
•
Cypher
Do Ro
3
IMMEDIATE SECRET
No. 768.
0745Z
Addressed to Commonwealth Office.
Repeated
"Peking No. 300.
#1
"
" POLAD Singapore No. "Washington No. 162.
155.
2 G
(S. of S. please
pass to all).
LAST
RF.
My telegram No. 744.
NE
E. f.
ZH
20
Disturbances.
Action against buses, ferries, etc. still exhibiting inflammatory posters will be taken tonight (3 June) while vehicles or vessels are at depots or wharves, if the companies themselves are unsuccessfuly in getting the posters off by then. Any immediate stoppages will then come on a Sunday when pressure on transport services is not quite so heavy.
2. We can certainly expect some difficulty in getting these posters down, but there is little firm indication yet of how militant the reaction will be.
3. Once the posters are reasonably under control, some action against the Communist press for its continued gross scurrilities cannot be too much longer avoided. Public opinion will start to become even more critical if nothing is done. Direct action against the newspapers and printing works using emergency regulations would be the simplest course, but the time is not right for this and I am still considering other weapons which might be used.
40 One such weapon might be either:
(i)
(ii)
5.
to refuse to allow selected N.C.N.A. and newspaper officials now in China (there are at present three such) to return;
or
to refuse to renew the visas of some of those here when they run out.
These two courses of action could be used also against other selected extremist Communists in suitable circumstances.
6 To act in either of these ways would be a quite different and much less criticizable a course from deportation, although it could have the same effect. All the senior N.C.N.A. staff are considered as C.P.G. officials and have service passports
SECRET
/(except
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.