unknown. No immediate
prospect of arrest.
FRIORITY
CYPHER CAT/A
FM HONGXONG 233443Z
CONFIDENTIAL,
CONFIDENTIAL
RECEIVED IN
1
REGISTRY No.50
TO PRIORITY F.C.O. TELEGRAM NÓ.497-00723RD JULY PRIOPITY
GENEVA,
INFO TO CONSUL GENERAL CCHEVA, CHARGE
AFFAIRES PEKING
AND HONG KONG GOVERMENT OFFICE LONDON.
GENEVA TELEGRAMS HOS. 17 AND 19 TO YOU: CONFRONTATION
PRISONERS ·
a)
I STILL THINK IT IS IRRESPONSIBLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEĽ OF THE
RED CROSS TO USE THE EXPRESSION ''POLITICAL
DETAINEE'* WHICH HAS OBJECTIONABLE IMPLICATIONS ELSEWHERE
HOWEVER HARMLESS IT MAY BE IN GENEVA, AND WHICH CAN THUS BE
EXPLOITED BY THE PRESS TO TRY AND CAUSE EMBARRASSHENT, AS ON
THIS OCCASION. I HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONSIDER IT POSSIBLE TO
MAKE FURTHER REPRESENTATIONS TO THEM. I REALISE THAT THEY
ARE PREPARED TO PUBLICISE AGAIN THEIR 1969 DEFINITION OF THE PHRASE, PUT
THIS WILL NOT DE WHOLLY SATISFACTORY SINCE THE
DEFINITION IS LIKELY TO BE GEHERALLY FORGOTTEN AGAIN! (OR OVERLOOKED
EVEN PERHAPS DELIBERATELY) WHENEVER IT IS USED IN THE FUTURE,
F C O PLEASE PASS TO ALL
TRENCH
FILES
FED
READ
CONSULAR DET
MR WILFORD
SIR L MONSON
FFFFF
[REPEATED AS REQUESTED]
COPIES TO
CONFIDENTIAL
101
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE
MJ
1
Crawenda
27/7
Lower discussed
Me Gaminers 1 H
with
we
agrem
Can
A
2917
Ge
sme no.
rel
2-717-
CONFIDENTIAL
CYPHER CAT A
RECEIVED IN
For COPY
FM PEKING 2028357
94
R.G. IN- 50
21 JUL 1971
CONFIDENTIAL
FEAT
TO ROUTINE FCO TELNO 669/OF 29 JULY INEQ HONG KÔNG.
Ex ixli
YOUR TELNO 589 TO HONG KONG : CONFRONTATION PRISONERS.
100
1. AFTER MY MEETING WITH CHIAO KUAN-HUA YESTERDAY (MY TELNO 667)
I WAS TAKEN ASIDE BY LING CH'ING, A QUOTE RESPONSIBLE PERSON UNQUOTE
OF THE EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN DEPARTMENT, WHO SAID HE WOULD LIKE TO
HAVE A WORD ABOUT CONFRONTATION PRISONERS. HE CONFIRMED THAT THE
106) CHINESE HAD RECEIVED MY LETTER (OF 15 JULY) INFORMING THEM OF THE
FORTHCOMING RELEASES. THE CHINESE SIDE HAD NOTED THEM WITH
SATISFACTION BUT CONTINUED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT THE PRISONERS STILL
REMAINING.
E
2.
1 SAID THAT THE REVIEW PROCEDURE WOULD CONTINUE BUT WAS NOT IN A
POSITION TO SAY ANYTHING MORE ON THE MATTER. THE CHINESE GOVERN-
MENT'S ATTITUDE WAS WELL UNDERSTOOD IN LONDON. THE EXCHANGE WAS
CONDUCTED IN A VERY LOW KEY.
DENSON
DEPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION
FOD iKD
FFFFF
CONFIDENTIAL
4282217
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFRONTATION PRISONERS FOR EARLY RELEASE
(Hong Kong telegrams Nos. 471 and 472 of 10 July to FC 0)
Name
Prison No.
Sentence by Court (years)
Original date of release
Revised sentence recommended by Board of Review
Nev date of release
1.
MA Shu-keung
27994
7
12.5.72.
5 years
16.7.71.
2.
YIM Kun-sau
30198
7
25.9.72.
5 years
16.7.71.
3.
LING Suet-keung
27684
8
20.12.72.
5 years
16.7.71.
4.
FUNG Moon
27952
8
6.1.73.
5 years
16.7.71.
ம்
5.
So Pun
27953
8
6.1.73.
5 years
16.7.71.
6.
NG Kin-piu
29702.
8
2.5.73.
5 years
16.7.71.
7.
CHAU Sik-keung
27496
в
12.12.72.
6 years
12.8.71.
8
TSANG Fai-ming
27495
9
13.8.73.
6 years
13.8.71.
9.
CHAN Wing-cheung
28016
13.1.73.
6 years
13.9.71.
10.
IP Yuen-kvan
28492
8
4.2.73.
6 years
4.10.71.
11.
CHAN Hon
28490
8
18.2.73.
6 years
18.10.71.
12.
CHAN Choi
28491
8
18.2.73.
6 years
18.10.71.
13.
WAN Ki
28968
9
21.11.73.
6 years
21.11.71.
13 July 1971
CONFIDENTIAL
85
CS. 41A
2600077
15,000-4/71-8643
REF.
CONFIDENTIAL
An Interenti
q.R.
account
N.B: Not for quotation our reference
K M Wilford Esq' CMG
AUS
FCO
He's
конк
Dear Michad,
CONFRONTATION PRISONERS
Mo Hang das 1917
Mi Magen
ino stin
COLONIAL SECRETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
8 July, 1971.
Coyle
H.K. Dept.
McCray son
Anant (see 83->)
підац
En ish
K
The attitude drep
in this is not very helpful and is antibally,
to provide anyway
out for the future.
He
Your telegram No.475 of 1 July addressed to me arrived only on 3 July
and, as is normal with telegrams here, was given a distribution which
included the Governor, C S and others. I hope you were not too surprised
to receive a brief reply from the Governor (his telegram No.452 of 3
July). was rather irritated to see a telegram on this subject addressed
to me. He has quite a narrow view of the functions of the Political
Adviser and on the subject of prisoners he is very conscious that he has
a personal responsibility for signing the warrants of release. If you
want to communicate with me privately, the only way is by letter. On
this occasion no great harm was done. There is no advantage in saying
any more to the Governor about it.
2.
You may however like to have this private note about what has been going
on over confrontation prisoners and why we have still not sent you a
full account of the Board of Reviev's June meeting.
3.
The Board met as planned on 17 June with Denys Roberts in the chair and
had on its agenda 13 cases of confrontation prisoners plus some other
cases of non-confrontation prisoners. By some magic which I do not
understand Denys Roberts got the Board to recommend in favour of early
release of all 13.
4.
We would normally have discussed these recommendations the next day, 18
June, but that turned out to be a typhoon day. We had no meetings and
little government business. There was in any case no urgency since the
first prisoners to be released vere planned to come out only in July.
Sir Hugh Norman-Walker also Felt it would be advisable to make no
announcement until Sir David Trench returned to avoid any possible
suggestion that Sir David and Sir Hugh thought differently about
prisoners (they do not).
5.
We accordingly discussed the recommendations at Government House on
Friday, 25 June. The CP expressed some grave doubts about releasing the
13, arguing that they were very bad types who had been involved in
violent activities, bombing etc. They were in fact men whom he had
himself confronted and
CONFIDENTIAL
/contd....
x2217
C
CONFIDENTIAL
had to deal with in Kowloon in 1967. Sir Hugh told him that he would
need to make a very good case indeed if the Board of Review's
recommendations were not to be accepted and gave him time to examine the
cases individually and to set out his views.
I
6.
It was only on 6 July that the C P's views were made known to us and
even then they were communicated orally and by D S to me. He accepted
six of the proposals but argued in favour of not releasing the other
seven. do not know why it took so long. The Police are certainly short
staffed and hard pressed at the top levels. They do seem to have become
slower to give views on policy matters in the last few months. I think
the main difficulty must have been that Charles Sutcliffe found it
impossible to identify facts or arguments which had not been equally
obvious and available to the Board of Review.
7.
At the moment of writing we are still waiting for the Governor's
decision. I hope that by the time you receive this letter you will have
had a full and satisfactory telegram on the subject.
8.
I am keeping this letter on my private file. Please do not refer to it
in any official correspondence.
Your ever.
Ather
(A F Maddocks)
11
CC.
J B Denson Esq ÜBE Peking.
CONFIDENTIAL
-
+
ז - 1 - ח
PRIORITY
CYPHER/CAT A
CONFIDENTIAL
YOP QUI:
u:
י
FM CONSUL GENERAL GENEVA 161605Z
CONFIDENTIAL
TO PRIORITY FCO TEL NO 18 OF 16 JULY 1971
INFO PRIORITY GOVERNOR HONG KONG AND PEKING.
06
HONG KONG CONFRONTATION PRISONERS,
MIPT: HONG KONG
FOLLOWING IS TEXT OF MESSAGE OF 13 JULY FROM ICRC DELEGATE WEIBEL IN
HONG KONG TO ICRC GENEVA
BEGINS:
REFERENCE INFORMATION NOTES NO 158 OF MARCH 10, 1971. IN REPORT ON VISIT
TO STANLEY PRISON ABOVE PUBLICATION NENTIONS 66 POLITICAL DETAINEES STOP
LOCAL AUTHORITIES ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS TERMINOLOGY WHICH IMPLIES
DETAINEES HAVE NOT HAD TRIALS STOP ALL 66 APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN CONVICTED
AS A RESULT OF THEIR PARTICIPATION IN 1967 DISTURBANCES AND SHOULD
THEREFORE BE CALLED DETAINEES OR PRISONERS STOP PLEASE AUTHORIZE ME BY
RETURN TELEX TO MAKE THIS CLARIFICATION TO THE PRESS WHICH IS ABOUT TO
PUBLISH YOUR ABOVE REPORT STOP
2.
BEGINS.
FOLLOWING IS TEXT OF ICRC REPLY OF 14 JULY TO WEIBEL:
THANKS YOUR TELEX 13.7 ICRC INFORMATION NOTES NO 158 AND 159. WE
AUTHORIZE CLARIFICATION AND SUGGEST AFTER POLITICAL DETAINEES ADDITION
FOLLOWING WORDS QUOTE WHO WERE SENTENCED TO PRISON TERMS FOR THEIR
PARTICIPATION IN 1967 EVENTS UNQUOTE PLEASE SEE ICRC POSITION ON THIS
TERMINOLOGY IN 1969 ICRC ANNUAL REPORT ENGLISH EDITION PAGE 21 FOOTHOTE
STOP WE SUGGEST YOU MENTION THIS FOOTNOTE TO AUTHORITIES TESTUZ
INTERCPOIXROUGE ENDS.
CONFIDENTIAL /3. ICRO INFORMATION
!
3.
CONFIDENTIAL
ICRC
ICRC INFORMATION NOTES NO 159 OF 31 MARCH (REPRODUCED SUMMARILY IN THE
APRIL INTERNATIONAL REVIEW) READS AS FOLLOWS:- BEGINS. HONG KONG. PRISON
VISIT. THE ICRC DELEGATE IN HONG KONG CONTINUED HIS MISSION TO PLACES OF
DETENTION (SEE THE '' IN ACTION ** NO 158 OF 10 MARCH, 1971). ON 18
FEBRUARY, 1971 HE WENT TO THE TAI LAM PRISON FOR WOMEN WHERE HE SAW FIVE
POLITICAL DETAINEES. AS CUSTOMARY, THE ICRC REPORT WILL BE SENT TO THE
DETAINING POWER. ENDS.
EVANS
FILES
YED
HKD
CONS D
NR WILFORD
SIR L MONSON
+
-2-
CONFIDENTIAL
COPIES TO
H K GOVT OFFICE
1
PRIORITY
CYPHER/CAT A
196
CONFIDENTIAL
"AP COPY
FM CONSUL GENERAL GENEVA 1616002
CONFIDENTIAL
TO PRIORITY FCO TEL NO 17 OF 16
JULY
INFO PRIORITY GOVERNOR HONG KONG, INFO PRIORITY PEKING
YOUR. TEL NO 519 TO HONG KONG,
CONFRONTATION PRISONERS.
AS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL RED CROSS MATTERS RESTS WITH THE
CONSULATE-GENERAL AT GENEVA AND NOT WITH THE UNITED KINGDOM MISSION I
HAVE ACTED ACCORDINGLY ON YOUR PARAGRAPH 3.
2. I DISCUSSED THE MATTER TODAY WITH TESTUZ
THE I C R C DELEGATE FOR THE FAR EAST. HE SHOWED ME THE EXCHANGE OF
TELEGRAMS BETWEEN WEIBEL (HONORARY ICR C DELEGATE FOR HONG KONG) AND
HIMSELF. TEXTS ARE IN MY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING TELEGRAM.
3. THE FOOTNOTE ON PAGE 21 OF THE ENGLISH EDITION OF THE 1969 ICRC
ANNUAL REPORT READS AS FOLLOWS:
BEGINS. FOR THE SAKE OF BREVITY, THE EXPRESSION QUOTE POLITICAL DETAINEE
UNQUOTE IN THIS REPORT COVERS NOT ONLY PERSONS SENTENCED OR DETAINED FOR
THEIR POLITICAL IDEAS BUT ALSO FOR OFFENCES WITH POLITICAL OR
IDEOLOGICAL
MOTIVES.
ENDS.
4. TESTUZ SAID THAT IT WAS ESSENTIALLY A QUESTION OF ICRC LANGUAGE AND
PARTICULAR TERMINOLOGY IN USE SINCE 1969 WHICH HAD A WIDE MEANING. SO
FAR AS I CRC KERE CONCERNED THIS TERM EMBRACED COMMON LAW PRISONERS WHO
HAD BEEN DULY TRIED AND SENTENCED FOR CRIMES COMMITTED FOR POLITICAL
MOTIVES. THEY WERE VERY WILLING TO EXPLAIN THE WIDER DEFINITION TO
ANYONE BY WHOM IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
OR BE MISUNDERSTOOD OR INTEFPRETED. /5. I POINTED OUT
CONFIDENTIAL
++
CONFIDENTIAL
5. I POINTED OUT THAT SOME WIDER PUBLICITY MIGHT BE INDICATED SINCE THE
ICRC ANNUAL REPORT DID NOT HAVE AS WIDE A CIRCULATION AS OTHER I CRC
PUBLICATIONS. TESTUZ AGREED AND SAID THEY WOULD TAKE AN EARLY
OPPORTUNITY TO REPUBLISH THE DEFINITION, WITHOUT REFERENCE TO ANY
PARTICULAR
COUNTRY, IN A FORTHCOMING ISSUE OF ICRC INFORMATION NOTES AND THE
MONTHLY INTERNATIONAL REVIEW.
6. ALL THE PUBLICATIONS UNDER REFERENCE WERE SENT TO THE CONSULAR
DEPARTMENT AT THE TIME THEY WERE ISSUED.
EVANS
FILES
FED
HKD
CONS D
MR WILFORD
SIR L MONSON
COPIES TO
H K GOVT OFFICE
1
-2-
CONFIDENTIAL
1/2
CONFIDENTIAL
RE
OFFICE OF THE
BRITISH CHARGE D'A. FAIRES
PEKING
12 July 1971
H.K. Dat
2
B.J. HYS.
198
95
SM
197
J AL Morgan Esq
Far Eastern Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1
Bear John,
CONFRONTATION PRISONERS
19.8
789
1.
You will have seen my telegram number 634 agreeing with the Governor's
proposal in Hong Kong telegram number 471 to the FCC, that we should
adopt a two-bite procedure in informing the Chinese about the release of
the latest batch of 13 confrontation prisoners.
2.
87
After the second communication has been made in September, the Chinese
may well press for information about the remaining 23 prisoners and
revert to their previous suggestion that they should all be released
before the Governor of Hong Kong ends his term. Since it is clear that
we have got down to the real hard core, it is for consideration whether
at some stage after September we should not tell the Chinese frankly
that in view of the nature of the offences of those still imprisoned,
which we would need to specify in detail, we can see no prospect of
their early release. If the Chinese were genuinely worried about thez.
for humanitarian reasons we should be happy to "release them to China",
I know that this proposal has been completely unacceptable to the
Chinese in the past but I think that it is just possible that they might
consider it now that relations have improved. In any case having made
the proposal we shall be in a better position to answer any further
represent-tions which they might make.
3.
Clearly we should not wish to say anything about this to the Chinese
while the cuestion of an Exchange of ambasadors remcins unsettled. It
might indeed be something which the new .mbassador could raise after he
arrives. He and you will no doubt wish to consider it further in consult
tion with the new Governor of Hong Kong.
Jous Joi
JB Denson
I
I
C
cc AF Maddocks Esq
ront Kong
CONFIDENTIAL
(IIK)
(94.
CONFIDENTIAL
PRIORITY CYPHER/CAT A
TOP COPY
FM FCO 151030Z
CONFIDENTIAL
TO PRIORITY GOVERNOR HONG KONG TELEGRAM NUMBER 519 OF 15 JULY INFO
PEKING UK MISSION GENEVA.
93
YOUR TELEGRAM NO.478.
CONFRONTATION PRISONERS.
FEA
14/1
WE AGREE WITH YOUR PARAGRAPH 5 BUT SUGGEST THAT LAST SENTENCE SHOULD
READ AS FOLLOWS:
QUOTE WHEN THE DELEGATE OF THE 1.C.R.C. VISITED STANLEY PRISON ON 4
FEBRUARY, 1971, THERE WERE 1,740 PRISONERS SERVING SENTENCES THERE ALL
OF WHOM HAD BEEN TRIED AND CONVICTED IN THE COURTS. OF THESE 67 HAD BEEN
CONVICTED OF OFFENCES COMMITTED DURING THE 1967 DISTURBANCES.
UNQUOTE
2. AS IT STAND THE SENTENCE MIGHT BE READ AS MEANING THAT ONLY 67 OF THE
PRISONERS HAD BEEN TRIED BY THE COURTS,
3. WE ARE ASKING UKMIS GENEVA, IN THIS TELEGRAM, TO TAKE PARALLEL ACTION
WITH 1.C.R.C. TO REINFORCE REPRESENTATIONS REFERRED TO IN YOUR PARAGRAPH
6.
DOUGLAS-HOME
FILES:
COPIES TO:
HKD
FED
MR WILFORD
SIR L MONSON
CONFIDENTIAL
H.K.GOVT.OFFICE
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DEPARTMENT
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