CONFIDENTIAL
HONG KONG
HONG KONG
Peking
PEKING
DEPARTMENTAL
Your telegram No. 212 and Peking telegram
No. 133: Prison Visits.
that
I think these helpful suggestions provide a
possible way forward in trying to secure access to
Grey and that we should make full use of them.
2. I understand and share your concern lest NONA
should establish itself in a quasi-consular role
with a right of access to broad categories of
prisoners of Chinese race, but I hope that it will
be possible to play our hand and word our approaches
to the Chinese in such a way that we concede the
minimum on this front. The suggestion in paragraph
3(c) of Peking telegram under reference seems a
good way of doing this.
3.
Ideally, I would have preferred to grant access
to "patriotic journalists" only by their employers;
but, as Peking have pointed out, we risk destroying
the whole bargain by insisting on this. I am glad
/therefore