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TO ROUTINE HONG KONG
TELNO 2264
OF 26093OZ AUGUST 87
INFO ROUTINE PEKING
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teveo
RECEIVE!
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011212
MDLOAN 0320
2 & AUG 1987
HY
Taken
OUR TELNO 2219: LETTER FROM THE EARL OF WINCHILSEA: STATUS OF PRISONERS AFTER 1997
1.
ON FURTHER REFLECTION WE CONCLUDED THAT LORD WINCHILSEA WAS NOT IN FACT ASKING DIRECTLY ABOUT QUOTE RENDITION UNQUOTE: EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER 1997. THAT ISSUE MAY HAVE BEEN AT THE BACK OF HIS MIND, BUT THE ONLY ISSUES DIRECTLY ADDRESSED IN THE LETTER SEEMED TO BE THE STATUS OF ALL PRISONERS DETAINED IN HONG KONG IN 1997 AND THE POSITION THEN OF THE SMALL NUMBER WHO MAY HAVE BEEN RETURNED TO HONG KONG UNDER THE FUGITIVE OFFENDERS ACT BEFORE 1997.
2. IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES WE JUDGED THAT IT WOULD BE BEST NOT TO ATTEMPT TO COVER QUOTE RENDITION UNQUOTE IN THE RESPONSE TO LORD WINCHILSEA. THE FINAL PARAGRAPH OF THE REPLY IN OUR TELNO 2212 WAS THEREFORE OMITTED. WE DID, HOWEVER, ADD A FURTHER PASSAGE
IN THE THIRD PARAGRAPH TO DEAL WITH LORD WINCHILSEA'S APPARENT CONCERN ABOUT PRISONERS WHO MIGHT BE QUOTE TRANSFERRED UNQUOTE TO THE PRC IN 1997. (THE END OF THE FIRST AND THE SECOND PARAGRAPH OF HIS LETTER REFER, THOUGH WHAT LORD WINCHILSEA MEANS IS FAR FROM CLEAR).
3*
FOR
IN LORD
HOWE
CONVENIENCE, THE TEXT OF THE REPLY AS SENT (FROM MR EGGAR GLENARTHUR'S ABSENCE) IS IN MIFT.
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