§ 50. Mr. Donnellyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the circumstances in which the British Embassy in Tokio issued an attack which was at variance with his officially announced policy on the Bandoeng Conference; and what action he is taking.
§ Mr. H. MacmillanIf the hon. Member will read the full text of this article, copies of which I have placed in the Library of the House, I think he will agree that it does not constitute an attack on the Bandoeng Conference. On the contrary, the article rightly says that the British people wish the conference well.
§ 51. Mr. Warbeyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the publication in the official bulletin issued by the British Embassy in Tokio of an attack on the policy of the Chinese People's Republic was made with his approval.
§ Mr. H. MacmillanI was naturally not specifically consulted on this routine 618 publication in a fortnightly bulletin intended to present the British point of view on topics of interest in Japan. Its appearance on the opening day of the Bandoeng Conference has occasioned disproportionate publicity for certain phrases quoted out of their context.
§ Mr. WarbeyDoes the right hon. Gentleman not agree that this was a particularly ill-mannered outburst and an attack on general Chinese policy which was very unfortunate at a time when Mr. Chou En-lai was making a number of significant and conciliatory gestures at the Bandoeng Conference? Will the right hon. Gentleman not do something to assist our friendly relations with China by dissociating himself emphatically from this article?
§ Mr. MacmillanNo, Sir. Of course, all these statements have to be judged in their context. I am bound to say that, having regard to the normal Communist propaganda and accusations against Her Majesty's Government, anything in this article seems very small beer to me.