fco-21-80-uk-consideration-of-actions-to-be-taken-against-chinese-mission-and-new-china-news-agency-(ncna)-in-london — Page 11

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FOREIGN OFFICE, S.7.1.

25 September, 1967.

Following the "Battle of Portland Place" on 29 August we made attempts
to identify from photographs those members of the Chinese Kission who
were most seriously involved in the violence against the police. Te have
been able to identify nearly all those concerned and to pick out six who
were particu- larly vicious. The most "revolutionary" and adept axe
swinger was Lu Tsung-nin, a clerk from the Chargé's office, who has also
been a leading light in other mass quotation sessions on the steps of
the Chinese Office. All those involved in the violence were, like him,
junior officials and the only Chinese of diplomatic rank to be present
through the "Battle" was a Second Secretary, Chao Tse-nin, who stood
most of the time with his arms folded and a mandarin expression on his
face.

2. It is not of course possible to take legal action against any of
those involved since all are covered by personal immunity at the least
and there can be no doubt that, even were this not so, it would in
practice prove impossible to bring them before (r) court. Te did,
however, consider the idea of declaring at least some of the six P.N.G.
in the hopes that the Chinese would retaliate and that we would thus
ensure the exit of some of your staff. One possible complication of such
a course would be what to do if the Chinese then refused to leave this
country and took shelter in the Mission. Their diplomatic immunity would
of course have been removed and the police could grab and expel them by
force if they left the Mission building. Should this happen, however, it
is all too likely that the Chinese would similarly remove the immunity
from some of your staff and I suspect that their subsequent action,
which would not necessarily end in expul- sion, would be a great deal
more unpleasant.

3. We are not following up the P.M.G. idea since we think it better for
the moment to keep things as cool as possible in the hope that the
Secretary of State's message may yet achieve some results and that the
more moderate influences which may now be at work in the Foreign
Ministry, will operate to our advantage. We still have it in mind
however as a possible future ploy if the freeze on exit permits
continues or things get worse for you in Peking. I should be very
interested to have your views on the idea and its possible repercussions
on you in Peking. Perhaps the way in which the Chinese react to the
expulsion of two of their people in Djakarta will give a few pointers.

D. C. Hopson, Esq., C.M.G., D.8.0.,

Peking.

(E. Bolland)

M.C., D.,

CONFIDENTIAL

TELEGRAM SECTION Room 124 K.C.S.

Communications Department

7. 8. D

FC3120

* Please send copies of the following telegram

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25/9/67

AFTER ACTION THIS FORM SHOULD BE SENT TO

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FOREIGN OFFICE TO PEKING

Tel No.820 22 September 1967 (F)

RESTRICTED

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Your telegram No. PC 104: Visas for Chinese Couriers.

You should also mark all future Courier visas "valid for exit from
United Kingdom". We shall try to ensure that Couriers have no
difficulties here.

SOSPA Sent 2110Z 23 September

FILES:

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CONFIDENTIAL

HOME OFFICE

Princeton House, 271 High Holborn, LONDON WC.

Telephone: CHAncery 8811, ext.

Our reference: IMG/67 222/1053/1

a_ferences

Telex: 261867

Euler.

357

F23/20

20 September, 1967.

Dear Wilson,

Further to our telephone conversation of 18th September when I raised
with you the question of our continuing to withhold facilities from
employees of the Bank of China, I am now writing, as you requested, to
set out the position of the individuals concerned.

In addition to having taken no action on the visa applications in
respect of Iang Hui-Chi and Yang Shu Ping, we have been holding applica-
tions on behalf of the following for extensions of permitted stay to
continue in the Bank's employ:-

1.

Miss Chin Min-Shu (Madame Wang Min-Shu)

2. Mr. Haia Cheng-Chih and wife Miss Chen Hsing-Li (Madame Hsia
Hsing-Li)

Application lodged 26th July 1967.

Application lodged 14th August 1967.

and

3. Mr. Sung Kuo-Rua

Application lodged 5th September 1967.

I cannot see from our files that we had previously consulted you about
the extensions of stay: I can only say that in view of recent events we
had assumed that your request to delay action on the two visa
applications implied a similar delay on our part in dealing with
applications for extensions of stay of Chinese employees of the Bank.

Perhaps you would now let us have your current views on all these
applications.

D. C. Wilson, Esq. Foreign Office

(Far East Department)

Downing Street

LONDON 1.1

Yours faithfully,

Как подно

See seperti submission.

CONFIDENTIAL

26

9.

CONFIDENTIAL

D:

(PC 3/20)

A.C.

zila

FOREIGN OFFICE, 3.7.1.

20 September, 1967.

_noted.

Bu. 20 ofr. for reply

6/4

You will remember that is the Foreign Secretary's minute P3 67/72 of 14
August (paragraph 3) he mentioned the problem of the extension of the
residence permit of one member of the R.C.N.A. London Office (Li Pu).
Since that date we have also received an application for the renewal of
residence perzita for two other members of the 1.C.N.A. Office (Tu Hang
and his wife Lin Ching).

2. on the first case, it was agreed at the meeting which you attended
with John Denvon here on 8 August that no reply should be made to the
Chinese application at least until 21 August when it was thought that we
would be clear about the lines of Chinese retaliation for the treatment
of M.C.N.A. correspondents in Hong Kong. The form of this retaliation is
now all too clear and it is also clear that the problems of our Mission
in Pering and of Mr. Grey, the Reuters correspondent, are likely to be
with us for some time.

3. fe now have to decide what should be done about these applications
for renewal of residence permits. Your Minister of state's reply to the
Foreign Secretary's zinute on 22 August did not specifically take up the
problem of residence permits but it implied that the Rome Office zight
wish to study this problem further, together with that of re-entry visas
for Chinese residents here.

4.

I very much hope that you can agree to continuing to delay any reply to
the Chinese on these applications. There have recently been further
cases in Hong Kong involving members of the N.C.N.A. Office there and it
is quite likely that others will follow in the future. Kr. Grey is still
under house arrest and incommunicado although, as far as we know,
unharmed. There remains the strong possibility that the Chinese may take
further action against Kr. Grey in retaliation for events in Hong Kong.
In these circumstances, I think it would be very unwise to grant
extensions of stay for three members of the N.C.N.A. Office is London,
both from the point of view of public opinion in this country and as a
tactical nove vis-à-vis the Chinese. I am sure that our best line is to
give no answer to the Chinese and thus keep hanging over their heads the
threat that they may at any moment be expelled. I hope that you can
agree to this and, if so, I suggest that we should then review the
problem at least every month, or more frequently if any particular new
factor crops up.

8. H. X. Jurley, Esq., Home Office.

(I. Bolland)

COFFIE" TJAL

kr. Hohled

CONFIDENTIAL

The New China News Agency

+

RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES No.31 ARCHIVES

2. SEP 1967

F23/201

Problem

Three members of the expatriate staff of the New China

News Agency (N.C.N.A.) in London have applied for extensions

to their permits to stay in this country. The first application

was received in July, and the other two on 31 August. So far,

at the request of the Foreign Office, no reply has been given

to the Chinese. The Home Office are, however, reluctant to

delay approval for such applications indefinitely. We now have

to decide whether the Home Office should be asked to continue

to delay approval for all these applications, despite their

reservations, or whether they should now be approved.

Recommendation

2. 1 recommend that we should write to the Home Office on the

lines of the attached draft seeking their agreement to continue

delaying authorisation for the three residence permits concerned.

Background

3. There are at present five expatriate staff of the N.C.N.A.

in London. All have residence permits, which are renewable

annually. One of those concerned (Li Fu) applied for an exten-

sion of stay on 6 July since his residence permit was due to

expire on 12 July. Two others (Yu Hang and his wife, Lin Ching)

Their present residence

Flag A applied for extensions on 31 August.

Pc 10/25/5

permite expire on 24 September.

CONFIDENTIAL

14.

CONFIDENTIAL

- 2

Flag

4. At the request of the Foreign Office the Home Office

The

Flag B) agreed to delay approval for the first application until

21 August when it was thought that the trial of an N.C.N.A.

correspondent in Hong Kong would have been completed and it

would have become clear whether the Chinese intended to take

further retaliatory action against hr. Grey, the Reuters

correspondent in Peking - It was, however, clear at the time

that the Home Office were extremely reluctant to refuse this

application for renewal or even to delay it indefinitely.

Flag D3 minute from the Secretary of State to the Home Secretary of

14 August about retaliation against the Chinese in Britain

raised this problem, but the Home Office Minister of State

replied on 22 August making no specific comment on this point.

He did, however, say that the question of refusing re-entry

visas for Chinese residents in this country (which in Home

Office eyes is a problem similar to that of renewing residence

permits) would need further study by officials.

5. The reaction of the Chinese to the trial of N.C.N.A.

correspondents in Hong Kong (and closure orders against other

communist papers) is now of course very clear. It was the

ultimatum of 20 August followed by the destruction of our

Mission on 22 August. At the same time the Chinese have imposed

further restrictions on Mr. Grey by outting off his telephone

and all other contact with foreigners in Peking •

So far as we

know, Kr. Grey has however remained in his house and is unharmed.

CONFIDENTIAL

16.

CONFIDENTIAL

- 3 -

6.

The problems facing our Mission in Peking and Mr. Grey

are far from finished and there is a strong possibility of

further trials in Hong Kong of N.C.N.A. personnel. In these

circumstances I think it is useful to have the potential

threat of expulsion hanging over the heade of some N.C.N.A.

officials in this country. In order to do this our best course

is, in my opinion, to make no reply to this or future applica-

tions for renewal of residence permits. We should, however,

express our willingness to review these cases at, say, monthly

intervala.

Ellan (E-Bolland)

20 September, 1967

Copies to:

Kr. Samuel

kr. Vallance, Passport Control Department

I agree

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CONFIDENTIAL

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CONFIDENTIAL

VIVED IN →VES No.31

1 SEP 1967

| F23/20

63

H

Sir Lenia @foenhill

You reported recentl, that Mr. Rodgers had raised Le gaestion whether we
should not try to take a leaf out

1.6 Chinese book by anticipating occasions involving members of the
Chinese Legation in Portland Place with the object of exploiting them to
our propaganda advantage, just as the Chinese themselves have beer,
exploiting the goings on we have been witnessing for the past ten days
or so in Portland Place. You mentioned as a possible example the
impending departure of some of the Chinese from the hospital to which
they had gone for treatment and suggested that we should arrange for
photographs to be taken of the pants shaking hands with the matron, so
that these could be broadcast to the world .8 illustrations of British
friendliness and good sense triumphing over political animosity.

2.

I held a mecting on 6 September to discuss this and related questions
with reprezentatives of J.I.P.0.D. (Mr. Cook, Hiss Stowe and Kr. Lewis),
Fur Eastern Depa taent (Mr. Denson), I.R.D. (Mr. Wilson) and News
Department (kr.Swart).

3.

le Boʊn căne to the conclusion that, for a number of remona, we could
not expect to earn any very substantial krująanda bomises from the
inautes of Portland Place, Being prepared to break the rules, they hold
a tactical advantage; indeld, tley hold it even without breaking the
rules. A case in point is the one you mentioned about the hos,ital. Two
of the left on 5 September, but although "they were apparently quite
polite and friendly when the, took their leave of the staff, they took
very good cure not to show this within pange of any Camera; 11 the
public got w-o the ludicrous scene of the two men being assisted out of
the building.

In other words,

A

the Chinese were aule to see to it that we did not set the obvious
profɛande advantage from this particular episode, and unless they lose
their self-control it seems likely that they will always be in this
position. They can also, of course, if they choose, put our side in the
position of having to use force or restraint against than. This i mat to
say that we have

in necessarily lost all the propaganda tricks on these occasions, since
the Chinese tend to overplay their hand and it hardly needed the
huspital's import on the atriu health of the twe men to bring home to
sensible people at home and abroad the fact tail they were acting a
charade. (The point is well made in the attached cartoon by Giles.) 80
lung, but only so lung, za these soines on are newsworthy, they will hit
the headlines and the picture pages;

we will do our best to turn them to our advantage. For example, we can
sou to it that the TV crews etc. register helpful facte which they might
not think of reporting by the- selves, e.g. that the policemen in
Portland Place carried no fireurne, that the Chinese "victizs" vore
ready with cameras, etc. atc. We were fortunute to be able to buy an
excellent film of the Portland Place incident to which we live added our
own comment- ary and which we hope will in due course be seen by TV
viewers all over the world.

i

CONFIDERNI.L

4.

E

1

+

CONFIDENAL L

11

4.

The discussion then turned to what other newBUTES we might take in
support of our case and to discredit the Chinese. It was agreed that we
had not much hope of influencing the Chinese in China except negatively,
by avoiding unnecessary provocations which might make it more difficult
than it is anyway to achieve what I assume is our primary objective of
lowering the temperature and achieving tolerable conditions for our
people in Peking without kow-towing over Hong Kong. This led to
consideration of the main propaganda targets, the inhabitants of Hong
Kong and of South East Asia generally, including the overseas Chinese,
and the rest of the non-Communist world. Mr. Littlejohn-Cook pointed out
that we could not make much further progress in this field until a
decision had been made about whether the Secretary of State's message tô
Chên Yỉ would be published. We are making or considering other plans,
such as the distribution of Hong Kong newspapers and other
'non-Communist material to Chinese seamen working in ships plying in the
Par East, and a campaign to counter possible defe tisz about Hong Kong
in the U.S.A., Western Europe (including the U.K.), Latin America and
Africa, which are all markets for the Colony's products. A proposul by
the Embassy in Tokyo is also being put to Personnel Department that a
Japanese speaker from Japan be seconded for service in Hong Kon, to help
Japanese journalists.

5.

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