TNAG-0028-FCO40-64-Relations-with-China-1968 — Page 19

CONFIDENTIAL

HONG KONG

HONG KONG

Peking

PEKING

DEPARTMENTAL

Your telegram No. 212 and Peking telegram

No. 133: Prison Visits.

that

I think these helpful suggestions provide a

possible way forward in trying to secure access to

Grey and that we should make full use of them.

2. I understand and share your concern lest NONA

should establish itself in a quasi-consular role

with a right of access to broad categories of

prisoners of Chinese race, but I hope that it will

be possible to play our hand and word our approaches

to the Chinese in such a way that we concede the

minimum on this front. The suggestion in paragraph

3(c) of Peking telegram under reference seems a

good way of doing this.

3.

Ideally, I would have preferred to grant access

to "patriotic journalists" only by their employers;

but, as Peking have pointed out, we risk destroying

the whole bargain by insisting on this. I am glad

/therefore