TNAG-0110-FCO40-146-Detainees-and-prisoners-following-19671968-disturbances-1968 — Page 6

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IMMEDIATE HONG KONG,

TELEGRAM NUMBER 2277,

CONFIDENTIAL

TO FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE.

19 DECEMBER 1968.

CONFIDENTIAL

ADDRESSED FCO TELEGRAM NO. 2277 OF 19TH DECEMBER REPEATED PEKING.

101

PEKING TELEGRAM NO. 1118.

I MADE NO SUCH ANNOUNCEMENT AND NO REFERENCE WHATEVER TO CONVICTED

PRISONERS WHEN I SPOKE TO THE PRESS ON MY RETURN.

2. RECENT RELEASES OF CONVICTED CONFRONTATION PRISONERS HAVE BEEN 18 ON 9TH DECEMBER, 7 ON 12TH, 2 ON 14TH, AND 7 03 16TH (THE DAY CF MY RETURN). ALL HAVE BEEN IN THE NORMAL COURSE ON EXPIRATION

OF SENTENCE WITH FULL REMISSION.

3. # REPLY TO PRESS QUESTIONS ON DETAINEES I SAID THAT EMERGENCY

REGULATION NO. 31 WOULD HAVE TO REMAIN IN FORCE UNTIL THE LAST

DETAINEES WERE RELEASED AND THAT THIS WOULD BE AS SOON AS THEY

COULD CEASE TO BE REGARDED AS A. RISK TO SECURITY, WHICH I HOPED

WOULD NOT BE TOO LONG, THIS MAY BE THE ORIGIN OF THE B.B.C.

REPORT, ALTHOUGH THE FIGURE GIVEN OF 22, IF MEANT TO REFER TO THE NUMBER OF DETAINEES REMAINING IN CUSTODY, WAS A WEEK OUT

OF DATE. THE PRESENT FIGURE IS 16.

FCO PLEASE PASS IMEDIATE PEKING.

SIR D. TRENCH

FILES

TONG CONG D. FAR EAST. D. NEWS D.

MR. MORETON

RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES No.31 20 DEC 1968

HILIL 1/2

[REPEATED AS REQUESTED]

ADVANCE COPIES SENT:

LAST

REF.

101

CONFIDENTIAL

RI