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pa 012/5.
89
21/12
Mswinger Mr Gefrett
Date:
From: CO Hum
16 December 1993
CC: fax:
Mr Ricketts, HKD Mr P A McLean, PEKING
Mr Fry, FED
SIR SIGMUND STERNBERG
1. Sir Sigmund Sternberg came to see me this afternoon. wanted to talk about the follow-up to his recent visit to China. He was due to discuss this with the Chinese Ambassador later in the day.
He
2. Sir Sigmund had already spoken to me several times about his China visit. He has a somewhat exaggerated idea of what he achieved. In particular, he wants to exploit the leverage which he believes the visit has given him in order to focus attention on follow-up to the report on Lord Howe's mission to China.
3. As you know, Sir Sigmund managed to secure the agreement of his Chinese hosts (the People's Association for Friendship in Foreign Countries) that a conference or colloquium should be held in Peking. The PAFFC also accepted an invitation extended by Sir Sigmund on behalf of the International Council of Christians and Jews and told him that a four-man delegation would make a return visit to Britain next year.
4.
Sir Sigmund's original idea was that he should make both the holding of the conference and the organisation of the return visit conditional on action by the Chinese authorities to publicise the Howe Report and to give a formal reaction to it. I told him that it would be unwise to demand too much from the Chinese authorities as a pre-condition for organising the conference and the visit. This risked ensuring that neither would come about. Moreover it was clear from the correspondence that there was still a divergence of views over the subject matter of the conference. His hosts were looking for an exchange on a political or business topic, while he wanted to discuss ethical and religious matters. It would be reasonable, since he had visited China in his capacity as a lay religious leader, that he should try to nudge the subject matter of the conference back towards themes of interest to the International Council of Christians and Jews. He might also suggest that the Western participants in the conference would look forward to discussing, among other things, the issues raised in the Howe Report. He said he would try this
approach.
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