TNAG-0033-FCO40-69-Relations-with-China-1968 — Page 191

CYPHER/CAT A

PRIORITY HONG KONG

TELNO 1028

SECRET.

SECRET

TOP COPY 794

TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE

28TH AUGUST 1968

LACT

REF.

NEXT

RIF

785

HW

ADDRESSED COMMONWEALTH OFFICE AS MY TELEGRAM NO. 1028 OF 28TH AUGUST

REPEATED FOR INFORMATION TO PEKING.

PEKING TELEGRAM NO. 765 : GREY.

RECEIVED IN

tevee A, 63

28 AUG.968

4140572

I HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING IN MORE DETAIL THE LIKELY COURSE OF EVENTS IF

I RELEASED HSUEH AND LO UNCONDITIONALLY NOW. THE PRESS HERE WOULD BE

BOUND TO LEARN AT ONCE THAT WE HAD DONE SO SINCE THE COMMUNIST PRESS

WOULD TRUMPET THE RELEASE EVEN IF WE TRIED TO KEEP IT QUIET. THE

CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE TWO AND GREY IS WELL KNOWN, AND GREY'S

POSITION IS A MATTER OF WIDE PRESS INTEREST NCT ONLY HERE AND IN THE

U.K. THE PRESS EVERYWHERE WOULD IMMEDIATELY ASK WHETHER WE HAD

OBTAINED ANY ASSURANCES ABOUT GREY. WE COULD ONLY SAY WE HAD NOT, AND

THAT WE HAD MADE THE RELEASES IN THE HOPE THAT THE CONCESSION WOULD

LEAD TO GREY'S RELEASE. WHILE THIS MIGHT GO DOWN ELSEWHERE, IT WOULD

BE REGARDED WITH SUSPICION HERE. WE WOULD ALSO BE ASKED WHY WE DID

NOT ATTEMPT TO NEGOTIATE, WHY WE RELEASED TWO FOR THE HOPE OF ONE,

AND WHAT WE WOULD DO IF GREY WAS NOT RELEASED. ALMOST ANY ANSWER TO

THESE QUESTIONS MAKES US LOOK WEAK. WE WOULD CERTAINLY LOOK SILLY IF

THE GESTURE FAILED, APART FROM HAVING AN AWKWARD TIME IN THE INTERVAL

CWHICH MIGHT BE CONSIDERABLE) BEFORE WE KNEW WHETHER GREY WAS TO BE

RELEASED OR NOT.

2. IF ON THE OTHER HAND WE MADE SOME ATTEMPT TO NEGOTIATE FIRST, EVEN

IF IN FACT UNSUCCESSFULLY, WE COULD SAY GUARDEDLY THAT WE WERE DOING

SO AND REFUSE TO ELABORATE. AN UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE THEREAFTER

(PREFERABLY OF LO ONLY AFTER HSUEH'S DISCHARGE) WOULD THEN BE THOUGHT

TO HAVE BEEN A NEGOTIATED EXCHANGE, EVEN IF THIS WAS DENIED SEMICOLON

AND WOULD BECOME MUCH MORE ACCEPTABLE HERE.

SECRET

13.