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and let him know the outcome. In particular he would
appreciate information about those people who appear to have disappeared in China stressing that if only we could tell the families of the people concerned that their
relatives were fit and well it would be a marked step
forward and would surely cause no local embarrassment to
the Chinese Government.
7. Lord Shepherd said that he was sure that Shen P'ing
would agree that an orderly and peaceful Hong Kong was
important to both China (particularly in view of China's
trade with Hong Kong) and Britain. The past twelve months
or so had seen serious disorder in the territory resulting in
loss of life and a good deal of bomb throwing. He instanced
the large number of bomb explosions which occurred when he
arrived in Hong Kong in October, 1967. Like most people
he regretted that it was necessary for arrests to be made.
But the men to whom the Charge had referred were (and he was
sure that Shen P'ing would agree with this) tried fairly
by the local courts for crimes against the civil law. What
was more important was that those imprisoned as a result
were visited by their friends and were also able to mix
freely with others in the prison. This contrasted sharply
with the treatment meted out to Mr. Grey, who is held in
what can only be described as solitary confinement. As he
(Lord Shepherd) understood the position Mr. Grey is confined
to one small room. The Minister could not really believe
that anyone could honestly say that it was right or in any
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