CONFIDENTIAL
Cypher/Jat A
PEKIN TO FOREIGN OFFICE
Tec, 358
20 December 1967
212
CONFIDENTIAL
Addressed to Foreign Office telegram No. 358 of 20 December, Repeated for information to Hong Kong and Rawalpindi.
In
M. Grey of Reuters has now been under house arrest for five months and incommunicado for four. As you know, we succeeded recently in getting a parcel and some correspondence delivered to him with agreement of the Chinese authorities. spite of repeated requests we have however not yet succeeded in gaining access to him. Following on Mr. Hsueh's statement on 27 November that access to him depended on access by NCNA to their imprisoned correspondents in Hong Kong we sent Note to Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming that access in Hong Kong was being granted on a regular basis. We have recently addressed further Notes to Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting facilities for delivering a Christmas parcel to Grey and also asking for a special visit at time of Christmas.
2. If these requests are not granted then I think the time has come to give fullest treatment in the Press to Grey's sit- uation. I would propose to wait until after the New Year (if Chinese are going to make any concessions they might prefer to make them at the New Year rather than at Christmas) and then, if Chinese have not yet granted both facilities a parcel and access, to make a full statement on the record to Western Correspondents here who are anxious to co-operate. It should be possible to avoid publicity being extended to our own sit- uation which we wish to avoid at present.
3.
You may think it necessary to consult Reuter's about this. If so I hope you will be able to persuade them that the time has now come to put some pressure on the Chinese who would certainly find such publicity embarrassing. It looks as if Pakistani ploy has fallen through. Their Ambassador tells me that he has heard nothing more from his Government who have not informed him about Mrs. Grey's letter to High Commissioner in London. He is not therefore proposing to do anything at present though he thinks something may be said to the Chinese Chargé d'Affaires in Rawalpindi. I doubt this and in any case do not
think it could do any good.
4.
I hope therefore you will agree and will if necessary be able to persuade Reuter's to action being taken as I have suggested above.
RECEIVED IN ARCHIVES No. 63 22 LEC1967
HWA 3/2
CONFIDENTIAL
PA
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