H.M.S. AMETHYST ACCUSED OF OUTRAGE— Case Not Closed, Chinese Communists Say

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 August 1949, Page 5

H.M.S. AMETHYST ACCUSED OF OUTRAGE — Case Not Closed, Chinese Communists Say

HONG KONG, August 2 (Rec. 1 p.m.).—An allegation that H.M.S. Amethyst sank a Chinese passenger steamer, the Kianglmg, m the course of her Yangtse escape, was made by the Communist Peking radio tonight. It said that several hundred passengers were drowned and alleged that the Amethyst forced the steamer to come alongside to use her as a shield against the Communist shells. When the Communists signalled the Amethyst to stop, the Amethyst opened fire on the Kiangling, which caught fire and sank.

The radio said that GeneraP Yuan Chung-sien had addressed this message to the British Government: “Do not make haste in celebrating the success of the fleeing of’ the Amethyst. The whole case will not be disclosed so long 'as the culprits are not punished and an apology and compensation for the crimes not made by the British Government.” Messages are streaming in by radio from many parts of the world today

congratulating the Amethyst on her daring Yangtse exploit, says the N.Z.P.A, Reuter correspondent, William Parrott, aboard the cruiser H.M.S. • Jamaica, which is escorting the Amethyst to Hong Kong. They came in glowing terms from service headquarters in the Middle East, and tfie Far East, from ships at sea and individuals and organisations across the world from England to New Zealand.