TNAG-0218-FCO40-254-Incidents-in-Kowloon-Walled-City-1970 — Page 11

CONFIDENTIAL

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4. THE SAME EVENING NCNA WAS REPRESENTED AT A MEETING HELD BY THE

WALLED CITY KAIFONG WHERE THE LEFT-WING LINE ON JURISDICTION WAS

RESTATED AND A DECISION TAKEN TO PREVENT REMOVAL OF THE GUNS. THERE

WAS NO MENTION OF VIOLENCE. IT WAS STATED THAT A DIRECTIVE WOULD

APPEAR IN TODAY'S 'TA KUNG PAO''.

S IN FACT THE MAIN COMMUNIST PAPERS HAVE TREATED THE SUBJECT LESS

CONTROVERSIALLY THAN THEY MIGHT HAVE DONE. ALTHOUGH PHOTOGRAPHS HAD

BEEN TAKEN AT THE SCENE THE ONLY ONES PUBLISHED WERE OF THE INSCRIP-

TIONS ON THE GUNS. ALTHOUGH A MINOR PAPER SAID THAT THE GUNS SHOULD

NOT BE REMOVED FROM THE WALLED CITY THE EMPHASIS WAS ON REACTION BY

WALLED CITY RESIDENTS RATHER THAN ON JURISDICTION.

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6. OUR AIM IN ISSUING THE PRESS RELEASE (M.1.P.T.) WAS TO RELIEVE

PRESSURE BOTH ON AND FROM THE NONA AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IN THE ·

COURSE OF HIS NORMAL DUTY OF ASSESSING PUBLIC OPINION ON ANY MATTER

OF PUBLIC INTEREST THE CDO WILL ALSO SPEAK TO THE WALLED CITY

KAIFONG ON THE SAME LINES AND WILL SEEK TO DISCOVER WHETHER THEY

HAVE ANY CONCRETE PROPOSALS. WE ARE ARRANGING FOR A CONSIDERED

ANTIQUARIAN OPINION TO BE OBTAINED ON THE INTEREST AND VALUE OF THE GUNS.

7. WE HAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT NONA HAVE NOT YET RECEIVED INSTRUC-

TIONS FROM PEKING WHICH HAS LEFT US A BREATHING SPACE. WE ARE NOT

REPLYING DIRECTLY TO THEIR MESSAGE IN ORDER TO AVOID AND TO PLAY

DOWN THE SUBJECT OF JURISDICTION. OUR PRESS RELEASE SHOULD HELP

THEM TO CURB OVER-ENTHUSIASM. THEY DO NOT SEEM TO HAVE WELCOMED

THESE OCCURRENCES, AND THERE IS SO FAR NO INDICATION THAT THE FULL

POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE SITUATION WILL BE ALLOWED TO DEVELOP.

FCO PLEASE PASS IMMEDIATE PEKING.

SIR D. TRENCH

[REPEATED AS REQUESTED]

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CONFIDENTIAL