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the public here that we had done or were just.
on the point of doing all that we properly
could to facilitate Grey's release. Thus if
we can hold to the September timing in the
Brooke case, we can in the meantime continue
to handle the Grey case on its merits.
4. Even so, the Foreign and Commonwealth
Secretary by no means rules out the possibility
of some initiative over Grey.
Broadly
speaking three courses have been under
consideration here:-
a)
b)
c)
to let matters take their course in Hong
Kong;
to propose to the Governor that he should
remit the sentence of at any rate ten of
the newsworkers a matter of weeks before
their due release dates; and
to ask the Governor to try to devise some
procedure which would ensure the release
of all the eleven newsworkers in the
immediate future.
Each of these courses has its merits and
disadvantages. The Governor of Hong Kong has
hitherto considered that the premature release
of the newsworkers in Hong Kong carried
unacceptable risks for the wellbeing of Hong
Kong, both now and in the future; and we have
supported him in this. His reluctance to do
so has, understandably, been reinforced by the
fact that the Chinese have already rejected
an exchange of Grey for the eleven newsworkers,
They want the latter released unconditionally
in Hong Kong itself for maximum political
effect.
However, the Foreign and Commonwealth
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