EN CLAIR
PRIORITY PEKING TO FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
TELO 10 5 JANUARY, 1970
LAST
NEF.
UNCLASSIFIED
NEXT
REF.
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RECEIVED IN
REGIETRY No.51
-7 JAN 1970
ADDRESSED TO FCO TELNO.10 OF 5 JANUARY REI HONG KONG
TANG CHUEN
HONG KONG TELEGRAM N0950: DEATH OF TANG CHUEN
I WAS SUMMONED THIS AFTERNOON BY ACTING HEAD OF WESTERN EUROPEAN DEPARTMENT ABOUT THE CASE,
HICK 1/12
T'ANG SAID THE MAN HAD BEEN UNREASONABLY ARRESTED BY THE BRITISH AUTHORITIES IN 1967 AND SUBJECTED TO ILL TREATMENT AND
SUFFERING.
HE FELL ILL IN NOVEMBER LAST BUT WAS NOT GIVEN TIMELY
TREATMENT.
AS A RESULT, HE HAD DIED ON 20 DECEMBER.
2
My
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T'ANG WENT ON TO SAY THAT THE BRITISH AUTHORITIES WERE STILL DETAINING IN GAOL 134 CHINESE COMPATRIOTS UNREASONABLY
ARRESTED, THEIR TREATMENT WAS VERY BAD,
THEY WERE SUBJECTED TO VARIOUS FORMS OF SUFFERING AND DISTRESS, THIS DEATH FOR WHICH THE BRITISH AUTHORITIES WERE RESPONSIBLE HAD NOW RESULTED FROM IT. THE CHINESE COMPATRIOTS IN HONG KONG WERE VERY INDIGNANT, AND THE CHINESE GOVERNEMENT WISHED TO
EXPRESS ITS GRAVE CONCERN.
THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT ALSO ASKED THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND THE BRITISH AUTHORITIES IN HONG KONG SPEEDILY TO RELEASE THE REMAINING CHINESE COMPATRIOTS, AND ALSO TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY WERE HELD,
3.
IN ORDER THAT SIMILAR INCIDENTS SHOULD NOT OCCUR.
UNDERTOOK TO CONVEY TO YOU WHAT T'ANG HAD SAID, I EXPRESSED MY PERSONAL REGRET AT THE DEATH AND THEN GAVE THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CIRCUMSTANCES REPORTED IN THE TELEGRAM UNDER
REFERENCE. BUT I ADDED I COULD NOT ACCEPT THE ALLEGATIONS
OF MISTREATMENT OF PRISONERS, FURTHERMORE THE IMPRISONED CHINESE MENTIONED BY T'ANG HAD ALL BEEN DULY TRIED IN COURTS
OF LAW, AND HAD NOT BEEN UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED.
4.
T'ANG REPLIED THAT THE INFORMATION I HAD GIVEN WAS UNSATIS
FACTORY.
/I SAID
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