EJ Sharland Esq
BANGKOK
Dear John,
BRITISH CONSULATE
RECEIVED IN
THEGGERVN CHIAM TRY NO. 14 30 January, 1975 STEL 375
AKI(19/1
#7: Fri all
Would you please refer to FCOtelegram no. 127 of 10 October, 1974, to Rangoon about Adrian Cowell's television film "Opium Warlords". May I offer some comments on points
in the telegram?
2. A CBS camera team have recently been in Northern Thailand trying to get a similar film. Apparently Cowell wanted 700,000 US dollars for a showing of his film in the United
States and the American networks thought this excessive.
The CBS team, who accompanied Congressman Lester Woolf on a visit to Chiang Mai, received "special facilities" from the US Embassy in Bangkok and aimed their effort at
General Li of the KMT, another protagonist in the opium war. The cameramen got some film of General Li all right, by courtesy of the Embassy, but were then asked by a US Embassy official(Counsellor Karl Mailert) not to use it as it would embarrass the Thais (and the US). This is of course a guarantee that the film will be used and it will almost certainly embarrass all concerned.
3. The Americans I accompanied to Mae Hong Sorn on 24 January(see separate letter of 29 January), have heurd the sound truck of Cowell's film(although they have not seen the film) and are very impressed with it. They thought it hud been well researched and wondered how the CBS team could hope to do in a few days what it took Cowell 18 months to achieve. It cannot have occurred to them that CBS might simply rewrite Cowell's script to new film.
4. Incidentally, the Americans, who are well informed about the arca, also expressed the view that Lo Hsing Han's trial is not going forward very rapidly because he is able to counter Burmese accusations by dropping the names of Burmese officials who were implicated in Lo's activities. Indeed, it is generally thought here that
Nir. Lires
M. Fall
Timons
Mr. Mr. E
to see
Hemp. 2.
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