CONFIDENTIAL
COMMONWEALTH OFFICE TELEGRAM NO. 324 TO HONG KONG
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DISCUSSION OR WHETHER IT MUST BE ON THE BASIS OF SINGLE MESSAGES. IF (AS WOULD SEEM DESIRABLE) THE FIRST IS POSSIBLE, THEN EFFORTS SHOULD BE MADE TO EMPHASISE THAT IT IS THE EMPLOYERS OF NON - NC NA JOURNALISTS WHO ARE BEING GRANTED ACCESS AND REPRESENTAT- IVES OF NCNA ARE BEING ALLOWED TO GO ALONG AS AN ADDITIONAL CONCESSION AND NOT AS A RIGHT. IT WOULD ALSO BE POSSIBLE TO WAIT FOR N C NA TO MAKE THE RUNNING ON WHETHER THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO REPRESENT NON-AVAILABLE EMPLOYERS. IF, HOWEVER, IT IS ONLY POSSIBLE TO PASS MESSAGES TO N C N A, THEN PRESUMABLY IT WILL BE NECESSARY TO STATE FROM THE OUTSET THAT REPRESENTATIVES OF N CNA CAN BE INCLUDED IN VISITS BY EMPLOYERS AND POSSIBLY ALSO THAT NCNA CAN REPRESENT THE EMPLOYERS WHERE THE LATTER ARE UNAVAILABLE.
3.
THE CHINESE MIGHT PRODUCE A LIST OF QUOTE PATRIOTIC JOURNAL- ISTS UNQUOTE WHICH INCLUDED LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE CLEARLY NOT JOURNALISTS. IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, WE ACCEPT THAT YOU WILL HAVE TO DELETE THESE FROM THE LIST AND TELL THE CHINESE THAT ACCESS WOULD BE ALLOWED ONLY TO THE REMAINDER, BUT IF IT BECAME CLEAR THAT THE CHINESE WERE PREPARED TO MAKE VISITS ONLY TO ALL OR NONE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED THAT THEY WERE NOT SER- IOUSLY INTERESTED IN A REASONABLE QUID PRO QUO FOR VISITS TO GREY.
GRATEFUL FOR URGENT COMMENTS.
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CONFIDENTIAL