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2
CONFIDENTIAL
In outlining the circumstances leading to the taking
of Mr. Grey as a hostage in China, Lord Shepherd took as
the starting point the disturbances in Hong Kong in 1967.
He said it was probable that the disturbances there were
a part of an attempt to bring about a Macao type of
situation in the colony. Whether this had been tried on
by the local communists on their own initiative or on
instructions from Peking was not clear. The political
situation in China, where a struggle for power is going on,
is extremely confused. Obviously firm action had to be
taken by the Hong Kong authorities to maintain law and
order. They had to move quickly and decisively to
prevent the situation getting out of hand. This they
did, and many arrests were necessary. The Chinese had
given conflicting reasons for the confinement in China of
Mr. Grey. Originally they maintained that it was because of the persecution of patriotic Chinese journalists in
Hong Kong. Now they say it is because of the arrest and con- tinued detention of the journalists.
5.
Lord Shepherd said that the Hong Kong Government had
taken a number of measures to bring about de-escalation.
There were now only six detainees out of the original 54 still
being held. Two of the 13 journalists had been released
recently and that the number of convicted prisoners in
gaol was falling.
There had been no serious troubles in
Hong Kong over the past twelve months. Communist schools
were re-opening. Yet despite this the Chinese have said
CONFIDENTIAL
/they
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