CO129-580-1 Sino-Japanese War- handing over of suspected terrorists to Japanese authorities 1-5-1939 - 24-8-1939 — Page 111

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.]

FROM JAPAN

Decypher. Sir R. Craigie (Tokyo).

D.

(Via Hongkong)

R. 12th June 1939.

No. 29. (Saving),

29th May 1939.

Addressed to Tientsin No. 39 of May 29th.

In the course of recent conversation with Mr. Shima, Japanese Consul at Tientsin, I made personal suggestion that settlement of question relating to the four men accused of Cheng's murder might conceivably be facilitated if in special circumstances of the case, Japanese authorities could give a guarantee that their lives would be spared whatever the result of trial. Mr. Shima did not consider such a guarantee by any means impossible and said he would look into the matter on his return to Tientsin. Might this possibly afford a way out of our difficulty?

Repeated to Foreign Office No. 29 Saving, and Shanghai No. 69 Saving.

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