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9.
Restrictions on Officials (See also Annex C)
12. The present position is this:-
(a) The British Mission in Peking (20 men, 6 single
girls, 17 women and children) is subject to
normal travel restrictions inside China. Exit
visas era in general boing withheld, except for
several which have been granted on medical
Grounds. Entry visas are also being withheld.
(b) The Chinese officials in London (about 50 in
number) must seek the permission of the Foreign
Office before leaving the country.
If crit
permits were applied for, we would give them.
But the Chinese regard our requirement as
"illegal" and discriminatory and refuse to apply
for permission.
Thus there is a self-impoood
bar on their exit.
We are also refusing entry
visas for two Benk of China and three .C.N.A.
officials.
The Chinese will certainly not deal with exit vises for our
Mission on a normal basis until we have lifted our requirement
for exit permits. They have argued somewhat speciously that,
as we were the first to impose the restrictions on missions
(see paragraph 6 above), we must be the first to dismantle
them. I think that despite the lack of any assurance of
reciprocity, we should lift the requirement for exit visas
and grant entry vians to Chinese officials in the normal way.
/It
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