TNAG-0034-FCO40-70-Relations-with-China-1968 — Page 58

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WE HAD GAINED THE IMPRESSION IN PEKING THAT GREY HAD BEEN PLACED

UNDER HOUSE DETENTION AS A REPRISAL FOR THE ARREST AND IMPRISONMENT

OF HSUEH AND THAT ACCORDINGLY GREY WOULD NOT BE RELEASED UNTIL H

THE SORT PING WAS RELEASED. CONTACT REPLIED THAT THIS COULD WELL BE

OF ANSWER THAT PEKING MIGHT GIVE IN RESPONSE TO AN ENQUIRY FROM THE

CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, BUT WHAT ELSE, HE ASKED, COULD THEY HAVE SAID? THEY HAD TO HAVE SOME LOGICAL REASON FOR DETAINING GREY. IT WAS

CONTACT'S UNDERSTANDING THAT PEKING IN FACT WERE HIGHLY EMBARRASSED

BY GREY'S SITUATION, AND HE BELIEVED THAT IT WAS ONLY A MATTER OF

TIME, AND NOT A GREAT DEAL OF TIME, BEFORE THE CHINESE WOULD RELEASE

HIM. HAVING SAID THIS, HE REMINDED ME THAT PREVIOUSLY I HAD SAID THAT AS THE JUDICIARY AND THE ADMINISTRATION WERE QUITE SEPARATE IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE TO ARRANGE THE RELEASE OF A CONVICTED PRISONER. 1 SAID THAT, WHILST CLEARLY THERE WOULD BE DIFFICULTIES INVOLVED, I WAS CONFIDENT THAT I COULD PERSUADE THE GOVERNOR TO RELEASE HSUEH PING IN THESE RATHER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND ESPECIALLY AS HSCUM PING HAD ALREADY SERVED OVER A YEAR OF HIS SENTENCE, AFTER FURTHER LENGTHY DISCUSSION ON THESE "LINES, CONTACT SAID THAT HE THOUGHT IT QUITE DISASTROUS FOR US TO MAKE AN OFFER OF THIS TYPE. HE THOUGHT THAT IF ANYTHING WERE TO BE DONE AT ALL ON THIS, THERE SHOULD BE NO MENTION OF MY MAKING AN ENQUIRY BUT THAT HE SHOULD WRITE TO CHOU EN LAI'S SECRETARY STATING SIMPLY THAT, NOW THAT RELATIONS WERE SO MUCH BETTER BETWEEN BRITAIN AND CHINA, IT SEEMED A PITY THAT THERE REMAINED THE ONE OUTSTANDING PROBLEM OF ANTHONY GREY: HE WOULD ASK WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES WERE CONCERNING THIS AND WHETHER ANYTHING COULD BE DONE. I COMMENTED THAT THIS WAS CERTAINLY ONE METHOD OF APPROACH BUT WOULD IT NOT TAKE A RATHER LONG TIME TO OBTAIN A DEFINITIVE ANSWER. HE IMMEDIATELY SAID NO, THAT IT WOULD NOT TAKE LONG, NO MORE THAN A WEEK OR PERHAPS 10 DAYS. IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND IN THE FACE OF HIS VERY STRONG REACTION, I ACCORDINGLY AGREED THAT HE SHOULD PROCEED AS PROPOSED. HE THEN WENT ON TO SAY THAT AT THE SAME TIME HE WOULD TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY OF MENTIONING JOHNSTON SO THAT IT WOULD NOT APPEAR THAT THERE WAS OVER-ANXIETY IN REGARD TO GREY. IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES, 1 OF COURSE MADE NO MENTION OF LO.

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