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Political Adviser
Mr. Jay spoke to me yesterday and asked whether I would care to see him concerning the meeting he had had earlier that day (with LI Cho Chih). I arranged to see him at 3.30. p.m.
2.
Jay was a very different person from what he had been the day before: he was relaxed, confident and in a very good mood. He started off by saying that he was now absolutely convinced that he had given me the right advice. He had had
a message relayed to him from Peking. Apparently Small LEUNG is unwell and his duties have been taken over by a Mr. PANG. PANG had sent a message by telephone via Canton, giving the Prime Minister's personal regards, etc., etc. to Jay and stating that in regard to Jay's recent message, the Prime Minister was in fact quite concerned at the position and would be acting "when the opportunity occurs". CHOU En Lai had allegedly issued instructions that LI Cho Chih was to make available to Jay all the papers on the detention of Grey (Jay explained that the communist reporting system was "quite good": when something occurred in London, then copies of the report would be sent not only to Peking but to other interested offices). The Prime Minister had asked that Jay should give an assessment of the situation and send it to him in Peking.
3.
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Jay said that his discussion with LI lasted something over an hour but that the main point LI had to make was that LI had received instructions to the effect that Jay was not to push ahead with his proposal concerning the possibility of a swop for Grey. LI allegedly then went on to explain the reasons for this decision: Peking were concerned that if negotiations were to start on Jay's proposal, they could be highly embarrassed as there were some 15 or so newspaper people in prison at the moment and their employers could well raise serious difficulties as to why a N.C.N.A. employee was being given this special treatment and consideration, and not their employees. In particular, difficulty was seen with the Ta Kung Po: WONG Hing of the T.K.P. had been given a prison sentence of five years it was highly unlikely that the Hong Kong Government would allow out somebody like him before completion of his sentence, and yet FEI Yi Ming of the T.K.P. would certainly want to press the issue. With HSUEH Ping due out of prison next month (Jay assured me that LI was firmly of the opinion that HSUEH was due out next month and not in November), it was felt that the price would not be good enough: they would much prefer to have no price at all and just release Grey. I asked Jay what was meant by this. Was there an attempt here to "ante up"? Jay denied this most strongly and said that it was simply a question of their preferring to release Grey "when the time came" rather than attempt to negotiate over somebody who in any event was due out of prison in a few weeks' time: simplifying the matter, he said "it is rather like you saying to me that you would like to buy this couch I am sitting on for $2; my reaction would be, 'please take the couch, I don't want your $2'".
TICOVER IN
Liver No. 53 -9 OCT1960
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