2. 13 JOURNALIST PRISONERS, INCLUDING 2 N CN A, ARE INCLUDED IN THE LIST
IN PARAGRAPH 2 OF OUR TELEGRAM 520. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE EARLIEST AND
LATEST DATES OF RELEASE OF THE REMAINING 11 JOURNALIST PRISONERS IN
STANLEY, PLUS 2 FEMALES IN LAICHIKOK
PRISON.
HUI WAN-CHING 9 OCTOBER 1968 9 JUNE 1969.
L
WONG CHAK
F WONG LING
WONG YAT-LOU
CHAN TSE-FUNG
SHUM KA1-LAM
LEE SIU-HUNG
NG TSOI-SHING
EU TAI CHỐN
POON WAI-WEI
F CHAN YIM-KUEN
2 FEBRUARY 1971-3 OCTOBER 1972
12 SEPTEMBER 1969 12 SEPTEMBER 1970
12 SEPTEMBER 1969 12 SEPTENDER 1970
12 SEPTEMBER 1969 - 12 SEPTENBER 1970
4 JANUARY 1969-4 SEPTEMBER 1970
6 SEPTEMBER 1969 ·
1969 - 6 SEPTEMBER 1970
12 SEPTEMBER 1959
12 SEPTEMBER 1970
3 SEPTEMBER 1969 3 SEPTEMBER 1970
6 SEPTEMBER 1969 - 6 SEPTEMBER 1970
5 SEPTEMBER 1969
-
7 SEPTEMBER 1970
CHAK LUEN-FAI 6 SEPTEMBER 1969 - 6 SEPTEMBER 1970
CHENG FOOK-MING 28 DECEMBER 1968 ·
-
29 JULY 1969.
FO PLEASE PASS IMMEDIATE PEKING 186.
SIR D. TRE.CH
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TELNO 721 25 APRIL, 1968
(FVB.3/2)
114
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30 APR 1968
તુ
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YOUR TELEGRAM NO. 522. GREY.
WE ARE PASSING TO REUTERS HEAD OFFICE HERE RELEVANT DETAILS ABOUT
THE TWO N CNA MEN AND WILL TELL THEM THAT SIMILAR DETAILS IN RESPECT OF
OTHER NEWSPAPER EMPLOYEES CONCERNED ARE NOT YET AVAILABLE. WE UNDERSTAND
THAT IN ANY EVENT REUTERS DO NOT INTEND PUBLISHING THE INFORMATION.
2. WE ASSUME THAT ALL THESE EMPLOYEES WERE SENTENCED IN COURT TO TERMS
OF IMPRISONMENT (SINCE OTHERWISE QUESTIONS OF LENGTH OF SENTENCE AND
REMISSION PERIODS WOULD NOT ARISE) AND THAT THEY ARE INCLUDED IN FIGURES
GIVEN IN PARAGRAPH 2 OF YOUR TELEGRAM NO. 186 TO PEKING. GRATEFUL FOR
CONFIRMATION OF THIS IN VIEW OF USE OF
WORD QUOTE DETAINEES UNQUOTE IN LAST SENTENCE OF YOUR TELEGRAM UNDER
REFERENCE. WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL TO HAVE THE RELEVANT PARTICULARS IN
RESPECT OF THEM, WHETHER OR NOT WE PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO REUTERS,
SINCE IT WILL BE USEFUL TO US HERE IN CONSIDERING ANY FURTHER DEMANDS
FROM CHINESE IN ANY POSSIBLE FUTURE NEGOTIATIONS OVER GREY.
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¡ARCHIVES No.31
Telegram No. 520
25 April, 1968
1/5
30 APR 1968
CONFIDENTIAL
501378
Addressed to Peking telegram No. 186 of 25 April, "Repeated for
information to Commonwealth office.
Your telegram No. 245.
Earliest and latest dates of release (dependent on remission serned) for
2 N.G.N.A. prisoners are:
Sit Ping
Lo Yuk Wo
17 November 1968 - 18 July 1969
12 September 1969-12 September 1970.
So far, both are eligible for full remission, which is one-third of
sentence.
2. Approximate release dates of other Stanley prisoners are
1968
422
1969
147
1970
30
1971
27
1972
5
1973
20
1974
4
3. Letter follows by next bag.
F.O. Please pass Immediate Peking 186.
Kr. Gass
[Repeated as requested)
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PEKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE
Telno 347
CONFIDENTIAL
24 April 1968
112
IVED IN ..VES No.31
GO APR 1968
FD138
Addressed to Hong Kong telegram No. 245 of 24 April Repeated for
information to Foreign Office
Political Adviser.
Grateful for an early reply to Cradock's letter PER/3 of 25 March. In
particular grateful if you could telegraph details concerning two NCNA
prisoners and possible information on other Communist prisoners in
summarized form.
Foreign Office please pass Hong Kong
Sir D. Hopson
[Repeated as requested]
FILES
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IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
TO
COMMON WEALTH OFFICE
Telno 498
20 April 1968
CONFIDENTI AL
20 April,
Addressed to Commonwealth Office telegram No. 498 of
Repeated for information to Peking.
Your telegram No. 678: Prision Visits,
I agree that we should avoid being drawn into discussions, which might
well prove interminable. On the other hand, I would not favour a meeting
at which our representative merely listened to Communist complaints and
made no reply: for that would suggest that we were finding difficulty in
answering and would also give NCNA good grounds for blaming us for
procrastination. My preference would be to give NCNA a short and sharp
reply to their points by telephone. If they persisted in trying to argue
thereafter we could advise them to address their complaints in writing
to the Commissioner of Prisons.
2.
Reports from the warders present during the visitors' conversations with
prisoners show that the NCNA have embroidered a good deal on what the
visitors were told. Most of the prisoners complained about having to
stay in their cells for long periods, but they also made it clear that
they were all allowed an hour's exercise a day. Some of the prisoners
complained about the quantity of food, but these complaints were not
universal: and although one prisoner said there was send in the rice (as
NCNA have alleged to us) another denied it. None of them to our
knowledge complained of bad health.
3.
lines:-
Our proposed reply by telephone would take the following
(a) No prisoners are in "strict isolated confinement".
220
of the confrontation prisoners work for a considerable period each day
outside their cells. Others have refused to work and remain in their
cells during normal working periods, but all of these get daily exercise
in groups for an hour.
(b) The incident at Laichikok Prison was in fact provoked by
foolish behaviour by the Communist prisoners. Two of them as a result
received light bruises, but they were immediately given as much medical
attention as they required in the prison hospital.
(c) The prisoners' food supply is fixed at 3,000 calories a
day. And it can be supplemented on medical advice. The food is prepared
by the prisoners themselves and they are hardly likely to put sand in
their own rice.
CONFIDENTIAL
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(a) Full medical attention is available at all times to
those who need it. Allegations of insufficient nourishment hardly square
with the fact that most prisoners referred to have gained weight (some
up to 10 pounds) since they were admitted to prison,
Foreign Office please pass Immediate Peking 178.
Sir D. Trench
[Repetition to Peking referred for Departmental
decision]
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110
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IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
TO
Telno 491
CONFIDENTIAL
18 April,
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
18 April 1968
ED N ES
FS NG 31
52013/8
Addressed to Commonwealth Office telegram No. 491 of
Repeated for information to Peking.
N.C.N.A. contacted P.A.'s office today requesting meeting tomorrow to
"raise several points arising after the official visits to Stanley and
Laichikok". In reply to our request for clarific- ation, they produced
the following four demands:
(a) Patriotic prisoners at Stanley had been in "strict
isolated confinement" for 5 months. This must cease.
(b) Women compatriots at Laichikok had recently been beaten up and
"seriously wounded" by other prisoners belonging to TRIAD 3ocieties. The
prison authorities must prevent such incidents and give immediate and
effective medical treatment to the injured. (See our telegram No. 471).
(c) Food at Stanley is inadequate and irregular. Steps
must be taken to improve the supply of food.
(a) Compatriots' health has been "seriously affected" because
of isolated confinement and inadequate nutrition. must be given
effective medical treatment.
They
ļ
2.
We said we would consider N.C.N.A.'s request for a meeting but gave no
undertaking to see them tomorrow.
No. 172.
Foreign Office please pass Immediate Peking as my telegram
Sir D. Trench
[Repetition to Peking referred for Departmental
decision"]
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IMMEDIATE PEKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE
Telno 258 30 March 1968
CONFIDENTIAL
F013/8
Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No. 258 of 30 March Repeated for
information to Hong Kong
Your telegram No. 570 to Hong Kong: Prison Visită,
I agree and would propose to pass message (as suggested in paragraph 5
of Hong Kong telegram No. 395) to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs by telephone if possible in order to avoid giving them
opportunity of raking over the whole subject again.
I should be grateful therefore if Hong Kong would inform me when they
intend to make contact with NCNA so that we may pass our message more or
less simultaneously.
Sir D. Hopson
DEPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION
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108):
107
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CONFIDENTI AL
Jupalts
IMMEDIATE HONG KONG TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
Telno 395
CONFIDENTIAL
29 March 1968
RCEIVED IN
Είναι ARCHIVES N. &*
EC APR 1968
F91378
Addressed to Commonwealth Office telegram No. 395 of 29 Karch
Repeated for information to Peking.
Your telegram No. 558: Prison Visits.
I
I accept that eligibility for visits is strictly speaking a matter for
discussion in Peking, but seriously doubt if there is anything to be
gained by referring the matter back to the K.F.A. again at this stage.
This could provide the opportunity for them to raise new points; and
would certainly result in delay if we allowed sufficient time for a
report of the Peking discussion to get back to N.C.N.A. before
approaching them here. If however, it is thought that the need to keep
matters of principle to discussions in Peking is of over riding
importance, then this principle could be preserved by a simultaneous
approach: Peking being on rather more abbreviated lines.
that in
2. If we were to retun to the charge with N.C.N.A. I should prefer to
deal first with the number of persons to be visited. We could say that
we had learnt from Peking that there had been a genuine misunderstanding
due to translation difficulties. Our acceptance of visits to bona fide
journalists had been expanded in translation to newspaper employees: and
while we were not pleased at this mistake on their part, we accepted it
was a genuine misunderstanding and would extend our agreement to include
genuine newspaper workers. We would then say that on further
consideration we might perhaps be prepared to agree to three visitors,
on the understanding that they included two newspaper representatives
and one N.C.Ñ.A. wan only in each case, (This is of some importance for
practical reasons they have only named two N.Č.N.A. visitors and we were
hoping to arrange for one to be in each of the two visiting rooms
simultaneously. We do not want to increase the N.C.N.A. presence by
having two in each room if it can be avoided).
3.
Thereafter we would argue that the two newspaper boys were not genuine
newspaper workers: and would attempt to bargain three visitors against
visits to these two boys, conceding both points if necessary once we
were sure that neither the thoughts of Kao nor any new issues were being
raised by them. We would then present a suggested programme on the basis
of whatever was agreed.
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2.
4. This may all sound complicated, but the principal object would be to
avoid making our concessions until we were pretty sure of some
reciprocity from the Chinese side, particularly in relation to the
thoughts of kao.
5. Peking, I suggest, should confine their approach to saying we accept
the misunderstanding over 'bona fide journalists', but that the number
of genuine newspaper workers will remain to be agreed in Hong Kong, as
would the number of visitors on which there had been no
misunderstanding.
6. You will realise that I go this far with some reluctance at having to
accept yet more concessions: nor can I really agree that we are on any
weaker ground over the misinterpretation than are the Chinese.
Foreign Office please pass Immediate Peking 135.
Sir D. Trench
(Repetition to Peking referred for
Departmental decision]
H
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IMMEDIATE COMMONWEALTH OFFICE TO HONG KONG
Jupa 15
#
107
ES No 3:
TELNO 558
27 MARCH, 1968 (F)
FD13/8
CONFIDENTIAL.
ADDRESSED TO HONG KONG TELEGRAM NUMBER 558 OF 27 MARCH REPEATED FOR
INFORMATION TO PEKING,
PEKING TELEGRAMS NOS. 239 AND 240: PRISON VISITS.
SINCE THERE DOES SEEM TO HAVE BEEN GENUINE MISUNDERSTANDING ABOUT EXACT
MEANING OF QUOTE JOURNALISTS UNQUOTE (THE POSSIBILITY OF WHICH YOU NOTED
IN YOUR TELEGRAM NUMBER 366), WE THINK THAT, UNLESS YOU SEE OBJECTION,
TALKS WITH N.C.N.A, MIGHT PROCEED ON THE BASIS THAT THEIR LIST OF 21
PRISONERS IS ACCEPTED. THIS MIGHT BE FOLLOWED AFTER SUITABLE SHOW OF
HESITATION BY COMPROMISE ON
THREE VISITORS TO EACH PRISONER.
2. WE ARE NEVERTHELESS ANXIOUS NOT TO COMPROMISE ON POINT THAT CATEGORY
OF PRISONERS ELIGIBLE FOR SPECIAL VISITS IS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE TO BE
DECIDED IN PEKING. SUBJECT TO YOUR AND HOP SON'S VIEWS, WE SUGGEST
THEREFORE THAT, SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH (IF NOT PRIOR TO) RESUMPTION OF YOUR
TALKS WITH N.C.N.A., HOPSON SHOULD INFORM CHINESE OF DECISION TO ACCEPT
THEIR INTERPRETATION ON THIS POINT, REPRESENTING IT ON LINES INDICATED
IN PARAGRAPH 2(D) OF PEKING TELEGRAM NUMBER 240.
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INMEDIATE PEKING TO FOREIGN OFFICE
Telno. 240
CONFIDENTIAL
26 March 1968
Jum 15
Addressed to F.0. telegram No. 240 of 26 March Repeated for information
to:
Hong Kong.
Ky immediately preceding telegram: Prison Visits.
513/8
We now face the question whether we should concede the two points, first
the inclusion of seven other employees of Wen Hui Pao and second
proposed increase in numbers,
2.
Although it is unpalatable to have to give further ground I consider
that in the circumstances we should be prepared to make concession on
the first point for the following reasons:
3.
(a) there has been an element of genuine misunderstanding. The Chinese
term "newspaper worker" seems to have been regularly trans- lated into
English by the Chinese interpreters in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
as "journalist". Equally our references to "bona fide journalists" have
probably been translated the same way. therefore on weak ground for
arguing that the Chinese are seeking to misinterpret original agreement.
We are
(b) The degree of discrimination in favour of a certain group of
political prisoners will be no greater than if we include the seven. We
shall still be within the category of newspaper workers, if not of
reporters and journalists in the English sense of the word.
(c) We seem to be within sight of agreement on prison visits, N.C.N.A.
Hong Kong have dropped dangerous demand of meetings in groups. Hsueh
reiterated that if Hong Kong meetings were arranged Chinese would
consider a visit to Grey and the argument for getting access to Grey is
to my mind a very strong one. My strong impression is that Peking wishes
to settle on the question of prison visits, but that they wish to leave
details in the hands of NCNA Hong Kong.
(d) We might present this as evidence of our readiness to take concrete
steps to improve relations in Hong Kong as suggested by Vice Minister
for Foreign Affairs' statement of 8 March.
Kong
As regards second print (the number of visitors), I think we could agree
to three and stick at that point. At the conclusion of interview Hsueh
said "not less than three" but I think NCNA Hong Kong might well settle
for three if we grant them the point in paragraph 2 above.
F.0. pass Immediate Hong Kong 167.
Sir D. Hopson
[Repeated as requested)
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