§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will publish a list of the British citizens now detained, for whatever reason, by the Chinese authorities in mainland China, with the dates, as far as can be ascertained, on which each was arrested, and the charges, if any, preferred against them.
Mr. RodgersThe following is the most reliable information available to us:
Mr. A. Grey, the Reuters correspondent in Peking, was placed under house arrest on 21st July, 1967, in retaliation for the arrest and sentencing to a term of 2 years' imprisonment of a New China News Agency reporter in Hong Kong.
245WMr. George Watt, an engineer employed by Vickers-Zimmer, was detained in Lanchow on 26th September, 1967. On 15th March, 1968, he was sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment for alleged spying.
Mr. Norman Barrymaine, a freelance journalist, was detained at Shanghai on 23rd February, 1968.
Mr. D. V. Jones, Chief Officer of the "Nancy Dee", was detained at Sin-kang on 31st March, 1968.
Mr. P. D. Crouch, 2nd Officer of the "Demodocus" was detained at Shanghai on 3rd April, 1968.
Captain R. V. Pope, Master of the "Fortune Wind", was detained at Tangku on 17th May, 1968.
Mr. Eric Gordon and Family. Mr. Gordon was employed by the Chinese authorities at the Foreign Languages Press in Peking. We learned on 1st February from Mr. Gordon's relatives in England that they had received no news of him since last October, although he had been due to leave China early in November. The British Mission in Peking subsequently heard rumours that the family had been detained.
The Chinese authorities have provided no information about charges, if any, against Messrs. Barrymaine, Jones and Crouch, or Captain Pope.
In addition, the Mission in Peking received unconfirmed reports during March that the following British subjects employed by the Chinese authorities had been detained towards the end of last year:
- Mrs. Epstein (née Miss Elsie Fair-fax-Cholmondley);
- Mr. Michael Shapiro;
- Mr. David Crook and his family.
The Chinese authorities have failed to reply to requests for information about their whereabouts.
As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Alan Lee Williams) on 27th May, I have lately expressed once again to the Chinese Charge d'Affaires our serious concern at the disgraceful failure of the Chinese Government to provide information about detained British subjects and to grant consular access to them.—[Vol. 756, c. 165.]