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October and the assurance given us by the Chinese Chargé
d'Affaires that Grey would be released from detention when
the newsworkers had been released, Mr. Long seemed to me to
have accepted that we were likely to let matters take their
course in Hong Kong until October. The decision about the
Brooke affair has clearly upset him.
4. We foresaw that the manner of handling Mr. Brooke'a
release would have repercussions for the Grey affair.
We
have tried to discourage comparison between the two cases but already we have been subjected to some questioning by the
press... On 24 July the Secretary of State was asked by reporters if the handling of the Brooka case set a precedent for the treatment of Mr. Grey. He replied:-
"There are very important differences between Mr. Grey's
case and this. We had suggested to the Chinese some time ago that one might be able to get the release of
Mr. Grey in return for the release of certain Chinese
newsworkers in Hong Kong, they to go back to China in
the way the Krogers will presumably go back to Poland. The Chinese made it quite clear that an arrangement of this kind was not possible. What was in issue there
was that the Chinese nowaworkers should be released and
should be free to continue to reside in Hong Kong to
carry on their occupation. You will realise that is
rather different from what is proposed in relation to the Krogers."
(It is to this reply that Mr. Long is presumably referring in his fifth paragraph.)
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