Dd. 32855 Ed (4200)
寶
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
unexpectedly
for the sake of Grey
unlikely to enable us to reach any quick
assessment of the Chinese attitude to this
particular transaction. If therefore you felt
that the situation in Hong Kong is now such that
you could contemplate an act of clemency our present inclination would be to instruct the Charge d'Affaires to put a proposition on the
foregoing lines to the Chinese, explaining that, in addition to our concern for . Grey, our
purpose was to demonstrate that we wanted a
return to normal in Sino-British relations.
4. We should then have to consider the next
step in the light of the Chinese reply. We should therefore be most grateful if you could consider this matter on two hypotheses:
(a) that we were able to secure some sort
of understanding with the Chinese; (b) that the Chinese reply, although not
completely negative, nevertheless fell
far short of anything that could be
regarded as an understanding.
>
Looked at/from most angles other than the effect in Hong Kong itself, we would incline to the view that, even inthe case of (b), an act of faith น
would, on humanitarian grounds, be worth taking. But of course we recognise that the paramount
the likely effect consideration must be that we should not run
unaeeeptable risks in Hong Kong; and we can
well see that it might be much easier to
reconcile Hong Kong public opinion to an act of clemency in the circumstances at (a) than in those at (b). But we should like your te
accessukut on
consider whether, in the situation as you now
see it in Hong Kong, it would be at all possible
for you to contemplate an act of clemency on an
11
'act of faith" basis, i.e. in circumstances envisaged at (b) above.
5. Pinally, there is a third contingeney we
should like you to consider. This is on the
hypothesis that the Chinese did not honour their
undertaking to grant all outstanding exit visas, and there was therefore no general improvement
in relations. What would your view be of an
act of elemoney in these circumstanees?