NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
WYBL 51-7406
SECRET & PERSONAL
they themselves have advanced for detaining Grey
We cannot of course be certain that they in turn
will release Grey. But there are good grounds
for expecting that they will. (Bank of China
officials in London have let it be known privately that they expect to see Grey released when the newsworkers are freed.) The Chinese
authorities have never attempted to relate the
case of Grey to developments in Hong Kong
local communist
those affecting the/press.
other than
They have made
considerable use of their December statement
throughout the world in justifying their
position. We have had various indications that
Grey's continuing detention has been an
embarrassment to them, particularly in those
countries whose esteem they want. They would
not find it easy now to change their ground and
advance a new justification for detaining him.
3. I turn now to the possible implications of
the Brooke case for the Grey case. As soon as
it becomes known that we are prepared to make a
bargain with the Russians over Brooke we shall
certainly be under increasing pressure from
sectors of opinion in this country to try to
make a bargain with the Chinese over Grey.
if arrangements to obtain the release of Brooke
in return for a concession on the Krogers do
not become known until September (as is envisaged
at present) these arrangements need not have any
direct implications for the Grey case. In
September we shall be able to say (with precise dates) that all the eleven newsworkers whom the
Chinese have linked with Grey, will be out of
prison within matter of days; and we should at that time have little difficulty in convincing
SECRET & PER SOGAR
But
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