GRS 600
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO DESKBY 16090OZ FCO
TELNO 188
OF 16062OZ JANUARY 87
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
CONFIDENTIAL
16
P COPY Q DIST ?
MKK Han 04011
RECEIVED IN REGISTHY
14 JAN 1987
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
PA
ADARY
Actz Aken
YOUR TELNO 112: KOWLOON WALLED CITY
::.་
1. PARA 3 OF TUR CAUSES US DIFFICULTIES. WE REPORTED IN OUR TELNO 157 THAT NCNA HAD EXPRESSED CONCERN ABOUT A NEWS REPORT ALLEGING ( INACCURATELY) THAT JOHN CHAN HAD SAID THAT ''AS FROM TODAY HONG KONG LAW WILL APPLY IN THE KOWLOON WALLED CITY. MANY NEWSPAPERS CARRIED THIS MISQUOTE ON 15 JANUARY (BUT NOT TA KUNG PAO, WHO GOT IT RIGHT). LI RUOHE TACKLED BOTH PA AND PEIRCE, SEPARATELY AND AT LENGTH, ON THIS. QIAO ZONGHUAI SPOKE TO JOHN CHAN. THEY SAID THAT THEY ACCEPTED THAT CHAN HAD NOT SAID THIS, BUT WERE MOST CONCERNED THAT PEOPLE WOULD BELIEVE THAT HE HAD. THIS COULD CAUSE TWO PROBLEMS:
(A) UNLICENSED DENTISTS, ETC. IN THE WALLED CITY MIGHT TAKE FRIGHT, WHICH COULD COMPLICATE THE CLEARANCE:
(B) NCNA MIGHT BE PRESSED TO COMMENT ON THE ALLEGED REMARK AND - WOULD BE PUT IN AN AWKWARD POSITION.
2. WE HAVE TOLD NCNA THAT, TO DEAL WITH 1(A) ABOVE, WE WILL DISCREETLY LET IT BE KNOWN IN THE WALLED CITY THAT UNLICENSED DENTISTS, ETC, WILL NOT BE STRIPPED OF THEIR BUSINESSES AND ARRESTED FORTHWITH. AND THAT THEIR CASES WILL BE HANDLED FAIRLY AND IN DUE COURSE (SEE ALSO PARAGRAPH 3 OF OUR TELNO 117).
3. ON POINT 1(B) WE HAVE RESISTED NCNA SUGGESTIONS THAT WE SHOULD SEEK TO PUT THE RECORD STRAIGHT EITHER OVERTLY OR BEHIND THE SCENES. TO DO SO WOULD PROBABLY CAUSE JOURNALISTS TO FOCUS ON A POINT THAT MIGHT OTHERWISE FADE AWAY QUIETLY. NCNA SEEM TO HAVE ACCEPTED THIS (AND TODAY'S PAPERS SUPPORT OUR POSITION) BUT THEY HAVE MADE IT FAIRLY CLEAR THAT IF THERE ARE MORE REMARKS OF THIS SORT OR DISTORTED REPORTS, THEIR RESTRAINT COULD WELL BREAK. WE SUSPECT THAT THEY MAY ALREADY HAVE FACED SOME PRESSURE FROM ABOVE (IN PEKING OR HERE).
CONFIDENTIAL
14
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