TNAG-0111-FCO40-147-Detainees-and-prisoners-following-19671968-disturbances-1969 — Page 112

Mr. Baker

CONFIDENTIAL

Ma. Souter Av. Gammara.

131

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Communist Journ lists Imprisoned in Hong Kong

On my cubmission of 3 January, 1969 concerning

"r. nthony Grey, the Permanent Under secretary has minuted

"You will loce some tricks unless you call the 'patriotic

journalists' by the name of 'dynamitero serving sentences'

or whatever it is".

2.

"Patriotic journalista" or "patriotic news workers" are, of

course, the phrases used by the Chinese to describe the

journalists and othere connected with the newspaper trade

imprisoned in Hong Kong (now eleven in number) in whose fate they

have a direct interest. The phrases have on occasion been used

in our own submissions as a convenient shorthand. In our own

public utterances we have been most careful to make it clear

that the "nave workers" were not all real journalists; and

that they were all properly convicted before courte of law, for

serious offences. Ar. Goronwy Roberts explained the position

to the House of Commons on 16 December in the following terms:

*"here are seven Chinese journalists now serving prison

centences in Hong Kong. Five of these were convicted on

charges of uttering an inflammatory speech and of

inti:11 ting assembly. They each received a sentence of

three years izprisonment. The sixth was convicted on

charges of unlawful assembly;

1

possession of an instrument

CONFIDENTIAL