TNAG-2290-FCO40-3296-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-Macau-1991 — Page 20

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CODE 18-77

Consul General

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Reference

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KE LIN'S DEATH

1.

I attach a cutting from SCMP 1 October on the death of

Ke Lin.

2.

Ke Lin was known and respected in Macau as the long time head of the Chinese (Kiang Wu) Hospital. He was also a close friend of Li Peng's father and well known to Li Peng. His younger brother, usually known by the Cantonese romanisation, is or Qingping (Or and Ke are different pronunciations of the same character). Or was head of the Nam Kwong trading group in Macau for many years and as such the unofficial representative of mainland China during the long postwar period when there was no NCNA in Macau. (The Portuguese did not emulate us with a charge d'affaires in Peking from the mid 1950's.)

3. Or was therefore implicitly involved in the harassment that led to the exit of our Consul General (and the closure of the Consulate General) in 1966-67. So too, to his partial embarrassment, was Ho Yin, the intermediary most trusted by Macau's governors and the only ethnic Chinese to be awarded the freedom of the city of Macau.

4.

It is interesting therefore that 2 of today's players in the drama that is forever Macau are Edmund Ho (Vice President BLDC and Legislative Assembly and Ho Yin's son) and Ke Xiaogang (NCNA Vice Director for Foreign Affairs, Ke Lin's son and or Qingping's nephew).

Or himself, incidentally, was alive and well when I last saw him at the Governor's Camoes (National Day) reception. He is still an adviser to the NCNA.

5.

3 October 1991

Mand pham

Richard Graham

CC

DPA, HKG

FED, FCO

RG/sd

HKD, FCO

Ms Janet Rogan, Peking Chancery Lisbon

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