CONFIDENTIAL
case of Captain Pope.
Mr. Rodgers said he understood that the Chinese were not able to give immediate replies on the earlier cases at the meeting of 5 April but he had assumed that he would hear from Mr. Shen P'ing subsequently. As a minimum courtesy he had expected that Mr. Shen P'ing would request an interview but the latter's discourtesy had obliged Mr. Rodgers to summon him again. He hoped Mr. Shen P'ing would now provide the information requested.
4.
Mr. Shen F'ing replied that since his last interview with Mr. Rodgers the British Government had failed completely to reply to the demands of the Chinese Government, although the British Government had made a verbal state- ment that was quite unrealistic. He would nevertheless attempt to answer Mr. Rodgers' questions. The trial of the British spy George Watt, and the way the case was dealt with, had been made public by the local authorities in Lanchow. Watt had been convicted of counter-revolutionary espionage and the case was a very serious one. He must serve the sentence imposed by Chinese law. Access could not be permitted; it would be inappropriate. As for the other British subjects that had been mentioned, their cases were being examined and Mr. Shen P'ing had nothing to say at present.
5.
Regarding visas for members of the British Mission in Peking and of the "British Bank" in Shanghai, Mr. Shen P'ing recalled that Vice-Minister Lo Kuci-po had told Sir D. Hopson on 13 April that the Chinese would make their own arrangements and act according to normal procedures. He asked Mr. Rodgers to admit the fact that a succession of entry and exit visas had been granted. Nevertheless, Mr. Shen P'ing must point out once again that entry and exit visas both in Peking and London were only a minor part of Sino-British relations. It was difficult to resume complete normality in Sino-British relations until the Hong Kong problem was solved. The Chinese position was crystal clear. They had pointed out on repeated occasions that the abnormal state of Sino-British relations was created by the Hong Kong situation. This was the crux. If the British Government refused to make a realistic reply to all the demands raised on previous occasions by the Chinese Government and failed to show sincerity on the
substantive questions regarding Hong Kong, then a restoration of normal relations would be very difficult.
CONFIDENTIAL
16.
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