CONFIDENTIAL
Peking telegram No. 72 to Foreign Office
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questi of NCNA staff visas, he must point out with utmost seriousness that Grey had been in confinement for several months without Consular access. It was very hard to disassociate these two points.
8. Finally Cradock agreed to pass on Chinese demands to H.M. Government. He went on to say on a personal basis that he was bound to ask what assurance there was that even supposing Chinese demands were met some new obstacle to freely moving British staff would not then be invented.
9. Kao replied that Chinese require exit visas from all foreign officials in Peking apart from those with whose country China had a special agreement. On the question of Grey, Cradock was well aware that this was not a visa question. He ended by saying on a personal basis that if British Government took concrete actions to meet Chinese demand Chinese "would certainly make corresponding gestures".
See please my immediately following telegram.
F.0. pass Immediate Hong Kong 38.
Sir D. Hopson
[Repeated as requested]
DEPARTMENTAL DISTRIBUTION
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P.C.D.
Consular Dept
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