NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
soon to receive his further views
ANSİONO PÁ
We
[May (]
are inclined to share his doubts about the visãom at this stage of a major act of clemency (such as the release of all prisoners) which might V only make the communists believe that pressure
for a Macao-tone situation could still be
effective.
4. If a major concession in Fong Kong is impossible and, as you have agreed,progress is also impossible on prisoner visits unless the Chinese make another move and, further, we
ithout
accept your arguments against retaliation in
London, we would appear to be
any means of moving the chiniese
We would have no alternative but to
continue to restrain publicity and do nothing
further in the hope that the Chinese will even- tually decide either to release Grey or to accept
This is a bleak
our tentative exchange offer.
prospect and it would be very difficult to explain such a policy of inactivity in the face of mounting parliamentary or public pressure, (which is likely to grow whether we encourage publicity or not). The danger of indicating in a parliamentary statement (paragraph 4 or your telegram No. 48) that action might be taken against the N.C.N.A. would be the visk of either
being forced unwillingly into such action if the Chinese failed to respond or being shown up as "paper tigers" if, having threatened, we
do nothing,
5.
The best way forward still seems to be to work for an exchange of N.C.N.A. prisoners in Hong Kong for Grey. The difficulty is tint we
have already tirown a fly over the Chinese and They
have not risen to it.
Some way of putting
/pressure