NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN:
Registry No.
DEPARTMENT
F
URITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret
Secret
Confidential
Restricted
Unclassified
* Date and time.M.T.) telegram should
reach addressee(s).
PRIORITY MARKINGS
(Date)....
Despatched
Flash Immediate
Priority
Routine
}
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
[Security
Security classification” -if any
CONFIDENTIAL
En Clair.
· [
Privacy marking -if any
1
Code Cypher
Draft Telegram to:—
Peking
No.
(Date)
And to:-
Repeat to:-
[Codeword-if any].
Addressed to
PEKING
telegram ...............
..(date)
And to.
repeated for information to
Saving to...
Following from Murray
J
Your telegram's Nos.
898 and 905 and Hong Kong telegram No. 2038:
Detainees.
Saving to:-
We fully recognise the force of your argument
that the release of detainees is a factor in easing
Sino-British relations and that the maximum
advantage should be taken of it. We adhere to the
views in C.0. telegram No. 1362 to Hong Kong.
:
But
Distribution: Departmental
FED
F.0.
C.0.
HK Dept.
Copies to:-
as that telegram indicated we do not repeat not think
that the Chinese would consider the release of
detainees as an appropriate quid pro quo for any
significant move on British subjects.
2.
From the outset the Governor has never accepted
the thesis that releases should be used as a major
instrument of "de-escalation": what he has done is
to acquiesce in certain proposals we made about
releases on the understanding that he was satisfied
they could be justified on security grounds. It is
/thermore