China has been putting politics to the fore and during that year, she
stepped back from a con- frontation with Hong Kong. She didn't want to
take it over, she didn't want to harm it too much, and so this,
in my mind, constitutes the best guarantee we have for the future. I
think the Year of the Monkey, 1968, is the year of the monkey for
Chinese, the signs are set fair. Kenneth Allsop: Julian Pettifer,
reporting from Hong Kong.
..00000...
Scanned with CamScanner
о
WITH THE COMPLIMENTS OF THE
HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE
JONG
54 PALL MALL
LONDON S.W.I
Каждани
01-930 7951
Scanned with CamScanner
CONFIDENTIAL
501/2
N.J.V. Watt, Msq., 0.B.E.,
Director
Information Services Department, Beaconsfield House, HCNG ECG.
27th February 1968
78
Further to my letter of February 22nd, concerning H.E.'s letter to Lord
Hill about a recent item on the BBC-TV programme "venty-four Hours", I
an enclosing: with Mr. Collar's permission, a copy of his report to Mrs.
Susan Yuen on the meeting between representatives of the Hong Kong
Association and of the B.B.C.
LAST AF
28
(Ronald Boxall)
Enc.
- CC:
A.W. Gaminara, Esq., C.M.G.,
Commonwealth Office.
RB/SC
Mc Carter.
80
? Fill
may
Stile be with
you. Mus
JP. 2,68.
Scanned with CamScanner
HJC/OMR
COPY
80/€
26th February, 1968.
S. Yuen,
The Hong Kong Association (Hong Kong Branch),
United Chinese Bank Building,
31-37 Des Voeux Road, C.,
HONG KONG.
Dear Mrs. Yuen,
BBC BROADCASTS
You will have noted from the Minutes of our Meeting of January 31st that
we were very critical of a BBC broadcast on the "24 Hours" series on
January 9th and that Mr. Keswick undertook to make renresentations.
He is unfortunately no longer on the idvisory Board of the B.B.C.,
having served the statuter Period, but through his contacts there was
able to arrange a luncheon with four senior officiels of the PPC. These
were:-
C.J. Curran
B.P.C., Director of External Broad-
casting
B.P.C., Head of Far Eastern Service
Huch Howse
John Crawley
Arthur Hutchinson
B.
:
* .
Editor News 214 Cu-rent Affairs
8.P.C., Foreign news Editor
Supporting Mr. Keswick were Jeffrey Hamm,
Brian Barlow and myself.
We told our mests of the Association's concern in connection with the
broadenst en or 9th January in the programme introduced ho Mr. Pettifer.
The inaccuracies and innutetions in that intervi, torether with the lock
of balance ir presentatier, and the treatment of the inter- view with
4.4., hd caused considerable degree of misgiving amongst us syd it was
on this most recent exam-le of irresponsible reporting that we breed our
discussion. It was rointed out that it was not only the integrity of the
interviewer in this type of programme that was at stake but, mone
immortant, the internity of the P.B.C. The Associ-tion was concerned
with exrorts to the Far East and, nrticularly, to ong Kong, and it was,
therefore, 'fundamental to the British image that B.".0. "pompormes
should present the facts and not slent on Aistort t'qm
1
We felt that the standard of reporting in the P.B.C. generally
has been slowly deteriorating for the past year or two and it is no
secret that the rather angry young intellectuals are mainly resposible.
Tere is, of course, a natural tendency for programmes to be slanted
either to the right or to the left, but it is highly desirable that a
proner balance should be maintained and this does not appear to be the
case any longer. The pendulum has swung rather too far to the left and
an ears to remain there.
COPY
/-2-
!
Scanned with CamScanner
COPY
- 2 -
rs. S. Yuen.
26th February, 1968.
We were not strongly critical of their news broadcasts, although as our
guests said, news has to go out the air so soon after it is received,
that they have Jittle opportunity of intervention if the need should
arise. We did, however, point out th t the continued reporting of the
spectacular, as in the case of the demonstrations and bomb incidents in
Hong Kong, without any balancing feature, gives by accumulatior en
adverse and inaccurate picture.
Here
Our main complaint concerned the treatment of documentaries, where the
time factor is not important. again, the reporter tends to dwell on the
spectacular, and appears to be more concerned with creating a
sensational than e balanced picture possibly thinking that it enhances
his om reputation.
Our quests took all this in good part.
They of course have their own difficulties. The B..C. is a great
organisatior and wary of the programe units have to be given e fair
measure of freedom and the nature of the chain of commend in the
organisation makes control difficult.
The talked to us with considerable freedom, and I do not think that it
would be fair to them to set down our conversation in detail. We had the
impression that they were well aware that our criticisms were well
founded, and that they themselves were very concerned over the
situation. Incidentally, there was an admission that they had been in
trouble over Pettifer, but did not say if it was in respect of the Janu
ry 9th programme, nor did we press them on this.
There were certain concrete results of the talk. They said that it would
be most helpful if there were one or two people in the Association on
whom they could rely to appear on Television at short notice to comment
on matters of current interest.
They would also like to feel that they could approach us for
background information, and hoped that we would be able to give them
advance advice of matters of importance which were likely to make the
news.
They also agreed that we could probably be very helpful to their
renorters, by briefing them before their departure, and helping them to
make the contacts most suited to their purpose in Hong Kong. These
prorosals certainly suggest that they wish to improve the objectivity of
their progra mes.
Mr. Keswick said that he would be happy to meet our guests again
for further talks, or to meet some of those actually engaged in programe
production if this would be halrful.
Our ge eral conclusion was that the talks were of great value to both
sides, and that our points were not only well taken, but were probably
timely.
Х
c.c. to .H. Homr, Esq.
John Keswick,
Esq., B.I. Barlow, Esq.,
R. Boxall, Esq.
C.M.G.
Yours sincerely,
H.J. Collar Secretary
Scanned with CamScanner
Reference...
81
|
Mr. Carter
With reference to your minute at (77), the transcript of the B.B.C.
programme in question is now at (79).
2. The Governor's letter at E/75 in effect deals with the matter under
two heads, namely that of programme content and that of format and
presentation. So far as content is concerned, the only specific comments
made by the Governor are:
ANZA
(1) that whenever a view expressed by
A
Mr. Pettifer it was almost invariably
tendetious;
(11) that a question interpolated by Mr. Pettifer and posed to the
Governor, without prior agreement, was hypothetical, slanted and called
for a comparison that could not cogently be made; whilst Mr. Pettifer's
questions to Mr. Davies "virtually invited replies hostile to this
Government".
Apart from these comments which were specifically related to this
particular programme the Governor expressed general views on this type
of programme as put out by the B.B.C.
3. There is no doubt whatever that the general content of the programme
is slanted and includes continual sniping at authority, usually by
innuendo. This appears to be the popular pastime today of those who
themselves carry no responsibility. There is very little that one can
pick on of factual inaccuracy; but there is one statement on page 2 of
the transcript to the effect that "a few weeks ago, hundreds of bombs
were being scattered through the Colony every day". I have been through
our records of bomb reports since the beginning of the disturbances on
May 11th. From that date until the 7th February, 1968, there was a total
of 8,379 reports of bomb incidents; of this total 6959 proved to be
either false alarms or hoax bombs leaving a total of 1420 genuine bomb
incidents. If the false alarms and hoax bombs are included in the total,
then this works out at an average of approximately 32 bomb incidents a
day throughout the whole period. If the false alarms and hoax bombs are
not included in the total, this works out at an average of about 5
genuine bomb incidents per day throughout the whole period. The maximum
number of bomb reports received in any one week throughout the period
was 1,044 during the week October 11
18.
of this total,
818 proved to be either false alarms or hoax bombs. The next highest
total for any one week was 755 during the period 1 8 November: of this
total 626 of the reports were false alarms or hoax bombs. But I doubt if
it is worth making an issue of all this.
-
←
4. I am not familiar with the occasion to which Sir Arthur Galsworthy
refers in the early part of paragraph 4 of his minue at (75). So far as
I know we have no written record of any communication to the B.B.C. of
the kind mentioned. Sir Arthur mentions an incident in Kowloon, but the
only incident of this kind that I can recall, related to a report in, I
think, the Evening Standard, to the effect that "Hong Kong has another
night of hell". In fact, I am
/afraid
Scanned with CamScanner
afraid that we are not in a position to quote chapter and verse in
support of our criticisms of the B.B.C.' attitude towards Hong Kong as
suggested by
Sir John Johnstone. The only incident that I can
recall is that referred to at (59) and (61), Flags F and G on File HWB
4/1. But this hardly can be quoted as I an examplí.
5.
It so happens that on the day after your minute at (77) was written, a
meeting took place between members of the Committee of the Hong Kong
Association and B.B.C. officials. The Hong Kong Association
representatives included Mr. John Keswick who is also a member of the
B.B.C. General Advisory Council. At this meeting, the representatives of
the Hong Kong Association raised the whole question of the B.B.C.'s
attitude towards Hong Kong and in particular they referred to the
programme which was the subject of the Governor's letter at (E/75). The
meeting is mentioned in the letter at (78). I met Mr. Collar, the
Secretary of the Association, on the 22nd February, and asked him how
the meeting had gone. He sfad that the atmosphere had been very cordial
but that the B.B.C. had made no admissions and that was about all he
could tell me about the meeting. I gathered however that the B.B.C.
suffers from the fact that the heads of its various programmes are all
independent in their own right and there seems to be a general lack of
direction so far as policy is concerned. Moreover, Mr. Boxall,
Information Officer at the Hong Kong Government Office in London, tells
me that the usual B.B.C. representative in Hong Kong (Mr. Anthony
Lawrence) who is a well respected person in the Colony, and very
knowledgeable in the affairs of Hong Kong, was away from the Colony
thoughout the period of the disturbances and the people who took his
place did not have his experience or his knowledge of Hong Kong affairs.
6.
So much for the programme content. The other head of the Governor's
criticism of the transcript at (79) was that of presentation. Her I
suggest that the Governor is fully justified in all the criticisms that
he makes under this head. He has almost been squeezed off the scene
altogether.
7. I have tried my hand at a draft letter to Lord Hil) as a follow up to
the Governor's letter. It is a weak draft but I feel that some form of
follow up is necessary. Lord Hill knows that the Governor has copied his
letter to this office and if nothing happens here it may leave the
Governor rather out on a limb.
(A.W. GAMINARA)
February, 1968.
Scanned with CamScanner
28/2.
BBC
82
for
With compliments
of the
Chairman
Rt Hon. Lord Hill of Luton
MR. Carter
Nov v. helpful-rul
Шерния
Malu für d. Trench
even wadder. I still link in
Shed weigh in.
Aug.
碗
Scanned with CamScanner
י
}
26th February 1968
вг
Thank you very much for your letter of 8th February. I apologise for
the delay in replying, but I have had a very careful investigation made
into the circumstances of the item, transmitted on the 9th January in
"24 Hours", of which you wrote.
Let me start by thanking you for your assistance to the BBC since you
have been Governor. In the last few years, as you know, the BBC has
given a great deal of attention to Hong Kong. Indeed I think it can be
said to be largely through television that the people of this country
understand the problems and achievements of Hong Kong much better than
before. We have all been given a vivid idea of your situation and the
complexities of life in Hong Kong.
✓
I am particularly sorry therefore that you have falt that there has
been cause on this occasion to take exception to this item. On the whole
it told a positive story about the achievements of Hong Kong in 1967 and
its attitude to 1963 was hopeful and optimistic. The itom ended with
Davies saying:
"No, I'm very far from gloomy. After all we've come through '67 in which
China which dominates us, our economic co-operation with China is
absolutely essential to the future of Hong Kong, its whole raison
d'etre, and during that year China has been putting politics to the
fore, and during that year, she stepped back from the confrontation with
Hong Kong, she didn't want to take it over, she didn't want to harm it
too much. And so this in my mind constitutes the best guarantee we have
for the future. I think the Year of the Monkey - 1963 is the Year of the
Monkey for the Chinese - the signs are set fair,"
ALL ALF.
125
87
(Cont'd.)
Scanned with CamScanner
Sir David Tronch, K.C.M.G., M.C.
Pottifor said:
2.
26th February 1968
"But now outwardly at least, Hong Kong is pracoful.
And not only peaceful but prosperous. Business, oxcept in the stores run
by the Communists, has set now records. Just to see the way people are
drossed and the goods they are buying is to realise that despite its
troubles, the Colony's economic miracle has continued almost unchocked."
I'm sorry you feel that your time was wasted.
Your contribution I think I must
to the film, although short, was essential and cogont. point out that
thore was no transposition in the extract from your inter- viov. It has
been verified that the question is the original recorded on the spot.
The only critical note in the piece was about the labour conditions in
segments of industry, and this is, as you know, an area of social
legislation which has been criticized elsewhoro,
It soems that Pettifer was not at his bost on this occasion. But I
hops that on reflection you may think that the BBC does not deserve the
full rigour of your criticisms. wrote to no about your misgivings.
In any event I am glad that you We snall bear them in mind.
Hue y Lestan
Sir David Trench, K.0.H.G., M.C.,
Government Houso,
Hong Kong.
Scanned with CamScanner
W(B)L SI-7433
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry WB 13/22
No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted.
Unclassified,
PRIVACY MARKING
Copy to:
In Confidence
Sir David Trench
DRAFT
LETTER
To:-
The Right Hon.
Lord Hill of Luton,
Chairman,
British Broadcasting
Corporation,
Broadcasting House,
London, W.1.
See vermed
Type 1 +
From
Lord Shepherd
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
My attention has been drawn to a copy of
a letter dated 8 February addressed to you by
the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir David Trench,
concerning a B.B.C. television programme on
9 January about Hong Kong,
Quart
your resul
1
I have studied the transcript of the
programme in question and have no hesitation
in saying that I agree wholeheartedly with the
strictures contained in the Gove mor's letter
both as regards the content of the programme
and the manner in which it was presented.
The first point I would like to make is
that Sir David Trench is essentially a liberal
man and a liberal Governor and is not one to
resent or be afraid of criticism.
That he
should have written to you in this manner is
an indication of the strength of his feeling
on the subject. I really do not see why busy
people who carry a very heavy burden of
responsibility, and Sir David certainly comes
within this category, should be expected to
give up their valuable time to help in the
compilation of programmes of this kind if
their efforts to co-operate are to be treated
in this cavalier manner. Indeed, although I
did not see the programme myself, reading the
transcript gives one the impression that not
only did the programme give an entirely false
picture of Hong Kong, and put both the
/Hong Kong
Scanned with CamScanner
Hong Kong Government and the British
Government in the worst possible light, but
must have given the Chinese Mission in
Portland Place much satisfaction.
This view
is shared by others who did watch the
N.?#
programme in question.
ん
To suggest, as
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
it would be suprama of I were
Darwine, considering
The amount of "hot-
morey Hong Kong attracts,
Mr. Pettifer did in his opening remarks that
"money poured out of the Colony" in those
difficult weeks in the middle of 1967 is
quite false (unsubstantiated reports of this
nature were circulating at the time, fostered
by those in Singapore and Taiwan who hoped to
benefit from any flight of funds from Hong Kong). There
The faste are that no more than £ of all
funds deposited in Hong Kong banks were
out of the Wlony
transferred, in the period May
-
July 1967
and some of these transfers were in the nature
of ordinary monetary movements in connection
with normal commercial operations.
And to
imply, as he did later, that the support of
the people for the Hong Kong Government was
nor to sentiment and loyalty but
due entirely to material self-interest
imputation
(an assertion supported by the highly conten-
tious statement that they were afraid of losing "the rewards of a decade
of struggle") ignores
altogether the fact that more than a million
of the Colony's population are refugees from
communism who "voted with their feet" for the
kind of life they can live in Hong Kong. X
Furthermore the denigratory references in two
places to officials congratulating themselves
imputation on weathering the storm, with the implication
of complacency and a return to inertia, are
/ quite
There was
Undombledly some
movement of funds one-of the Colony But", While Iclod bank
deposits fell by 12% drome, the ferron May-July 1967,
bruch of this was due to the Chimine preference Po hold them money
themselves in time of uncertainty
and hithe
of the reduction represented an out-flow of carpent onl from the Colon.
y
Scanned with CamScanner
E
Dd.033009 Gp.863
T
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
quite unjustified.
Among officials and the
general public there is understandably considerable relief (and, as Mr.
Davies
remarked, some reason for self-satisfaction) that the communist campaign
of violence has
been successfully overcome. But there are no
illusions in any quarter as to the nature of
thecontinuing communist threat that lies ahead.
That much remains to be done on the labour
front is indisputable, not only because there is an obvious
responsibility to do what we can to improve working conditions in step
with
growing economic prosperity but also because
by so doing we give the communists less
opportunity to exploit genuine grievances.
It would be nice to think that the answer is
so simple as Mr. Davies suggests in his final
contribution to the programme, i.e. higher
wages. The superficial treatment of this
issue is illustrated by the apparent
inconsistency of Mr. Davies' views at this
point: he does not feel that legislation
is the answer but at the same time he appears
to deplore the Hong Kong Government's failure
to intervene.
e.]
Some journalists' licence we must allow
to the programme, and I will not therefore
take issue with the statement that
"a few weeks ago hundreds of bombs were being
scattered through the Colony every day"
(though even including false alarms and hoax
bombs it is something of an overstatement for
the worst weeks in October and November).
I would add that I have already aired my
views on the s tandard of B.B.C. reporting a
Hong Kong to members of the staff of the
/Corporation
Scanned with CamScanner
Corporation. I did this at a press
conference I gave after my return from Hong
Kong in October when I had fresh in my mind
the inaccuracy and exaggeration of B.B.G.
(malucing B.B. C.xpotos
news reports, particularly on incidents in
the border area.
It is difficult for me
now to quote chapter and verse in support of
this criticism but I know that my views
were shared by others both in this country
and in Hong Kong. I do appreciate that if
reports are to remain newsworthy they must be
issued quickly, often before their accuracy
can be verified or corroborated or their
significance appraised, and that, because of
this need for speed, inaccurate reports are
an occasional and inevitable hazard. My
concern is more with the lack of balance,
the writing up and exaggeration of spectacular
but often quite insignificant events,
particularly in the news headlines.
I am
not, however, charging the B.B.C. with any
lapse quite so blatant as one headline in a
midday edition of the Evening Standard
("Another night of terror in Hong Kong")
which bore no relation whatsoever to the
contents of the report that followed or to
the official reports received in telegrams
that morning in London covering the night
in question.
I must stress the point the Governor
makes in the penultimate paragraph of his
letter about how much there is at stake in
Hong Kong at the present time. Situated as
the Colony is on the borders of China, a
/powerful
Scanned with CamScanner
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
powerful and unfriendly neighbour, public
confidence there in its continuing existence
is vital; but that confidence is inevitably
a somewhat delicate plant. It depends
substantially on the knowledge that we in this
country will support and sustain the Colony.
I and my ministerial colleagues have been at
pains in recent months to stress that we do
stand behind it. It does not help that from
this country there has issued from the press
has
and other communication media a steady volume
of ill-informed critical comment and mis-
representation of events and conditions in the
Colony which is interpretedlocally as evidence,
not merely of a lack of sympathy or under-
standing here, but of a lack of support. I
have heard it said in Hong Kong that they wonder
sometimes who and where their enemies are!
I have mentioned that others share my
views. Indeed, I understand that certain of
your officials have recently had a meeting with
members of the Committee of the Hong Kong
Association at which the latter made representa-
tions on this same subject.
I trust that the combined effect of the
Governor's letter, the representations referred
to above and this letter, will serve to convince
you that the B.B.C's. reporting on events in
Hong Kong over the past few months has been
considerably less than fair and objective and
leaves plenty of room for improvement.
I am sending a copy of this letter to
Sir David Trench, and I shall be grateful if I
may be sent a copy of your reply to his letter,
Scanned with CamScanner
to
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.