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miscalculate, and must give due weight to the arguments
of the Governor who is better placed that we are to
make a judgment.
(b) By providing a precedent of willingness to disregard
the courts in a flagrant manner and for a political
purpose, it would impair the future credibility of
the sanction of imprisonment.
Admittedly there is
a time element in this since a brief curtailment of
imprisonment might not be very damaging in this respect.
(c) It could encourage the Chinese to adopt similar ransom
tactics in future to the detriment of other British
subjects in China. Mr. Long has argued that if the
Chinese decide in future to take hostages they will
whatever we do in this particular case. There
But the Crey case
do so,
is some force in this argument.
is specially important in that it is the first, as
far as I am aware, in which the Chinese have acknow-
ledged the taking of a hostage;
in other cases
where they have imprisoned foreigners, effectively
as hostages, it has always allegedly been for some
personal misdemeanour.
I remain therefore of the view that the immediate release in
Hong Kong of all eleven newsworkers
particularly when we have
not only been pressed openly by the Chinese to do this, but
have recently made clear to them that this course would be quite
unacceptable to us - would be highly damaging.
5.
I do not underestimate the difficulties of letting matters
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