CAB148-30-Defence and Oversea Policy Committee Meetings Relating to 1967 Disturbances-1967 — Page 254

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DEFENCE AND OVERSEA POLICY COMMITTEE

CONFIDENTIAL ANNEX

OPD(67) 28th Meeting, Item 8 (FRIDAY, 28th JULY 1967 at 9.45 a.m.)

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The Committee considered a memorandum by the Commonwealth Secretary (OPD(67) 61) covering a report by officials on the prospects of a

withdrawal from Hong Kong.

THE COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY said that, at a meeting of the Ministerial

Committee on Hong Kong earlier that week, it had been agreed that, in

view of the current situation in Hong Kong, a study should be put in

hand by officials of what contingency plans could be made for the

evacuation of British subjects and of others to whom we had direct

obligations should our position in Hong Kong become untenable and also

of what might be done to safeguard our financial interests there in

these circumstances. Although evacuation plans would be difficult to

make without the kind of information which could only be obtained

locally in Hong Kong, it was nevertheless essential that an examination

of the possibility of our enforced evacuation of the Colony was taking

place should be confined very narrowly and that it should in no

circumstances become known in Hong Kong to anyone but the Governor and

the Commander-in-Chief; otherwise there would be an immediate and

very serious decline in confidence in the Colony which might make it

impossible for us to rotain control. There had recently been an

improvement in the situation in Hong Kong and in particular on the border

with China where regular troops had taken over control, but fighting was

reported to be taking place in Canton and we could not be sure that the

Government in Peking would retain control of Kwangtung Province.

In

Hong Kong itself the Government had placed about forty people in detention

and it had taken powers to detain British subjects who were citizens of

liong Kong. The Ministerial Committee would keep the situation under

review and had called for further studies by officials.

In discussion doubt was expressed about the proposal to carry out

a study of contingency plans for evacuation from Hong Kong. We should

not take the risk that this would become known in Hong Kong when it was

already clear that no effective plans could be made beyond those already Page 254 of 350

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