Nanking telegram No. 402 to Foreign Office.
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b. I do not consider that we should be thus manoeuvred into reducing our claims where we are satisfied that they correctly represent losses or replacement, costs. I would however propose waiting for a few days in case of further approach by Chinese. If however there should be no developments it may be necessary to take the matter up again with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
6. Ministry of Foreign Affairs have expressly asked that we should not inform the Press of this discussion or of the figures involved, so as to avoid [grp. undec.] embarrassing further negotiations. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs state that they had themselves today refused to Igrp. undec.? divulgo] tho above facts to correspondents asking for news and merely informed them that there were [sic] progress to report. I think it would be advisable in the circumstances to comply with the above request and therefore to withhold
publicity at any rate until it is more apparent whether the Chinese Government intend to accept or reject the amounts as stated in our claim.
Foreign Office please pass to Hongkong as my telegram No. 164.
[Copies sent to Telegram Section Colonial Office for transmission to Hongkong].
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