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safe. More generally, he was reluctant to take any further action before having a clearer idea of what was likely to happen. There were reports of divisions within the army but little firm evidence. There were also reports that Deng was seriously ill with cancer. If the Americans detected anything which impacted on Britain's particular responsibility for Hong Kong, he would let the Prime Minister know immediately. The Prime Minister said that our own students had been taken into the British Embassy. Our main source of information was the British correspondents in Peking and we had little additional material. Senior figures in the Party were clearly at loggerheads, and it was an open question who would come out on
top.
President Bush repeated that the United States was anxious to preserve some sort of relationship with the Chinese Government. He hoped we would keep the United States closely in touch with our thinking. The Prime Minister said that we would gladly do so. She agreed with the President on the need to keep some channel of communication to the Chinese authorities open. Since China was a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council, she wondered whether there were grounds on which the UN Secretary General could raise with the Chinese authorities the international implications of recent events. The President thought this would be worth considering. He repeated his assurance that the United States would be very sensitive to Britain's special interest vis a vis Hong Kong and would keep closely in touch with us, particularly in the event that they contemplated further action.
The precise purpose of the President's call was not clear but seemed to be to seek reassurance that, like him, the Prime Minister did not want to go too far in castigating the Chinese or taking measures against them because of the need to keep links open.
I am copying this letter to Brian Hawtin (Ministry of Defence) and Trevor Woolley (Cabinet Office).
C. D. POWELL
Stephen Wall, Esq.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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