CONFIDENTIAL
featured on the Prime Minister's list of political
detainees, handed to the Chinese during his visit to Peking in September last year. Unlike Lou Haixing, who was released shortly after the Prime Minister's intervention
(allegedly on health grounds) and who met the Prime Minister
in October and the Secretary of State in November during a
visit to this country, the Chinese refused to release Mr Lau
before his sentence ended. He was originally arrested on 27 December 1981 for "counter-revolutionary propoganda
crime which included sending money and books to the relatives of pro-democracy elements". The arrest appears to have been triggered after Mr Lou visited the wives of
Wang Xi-Zhe and He Qui, two democracy activists who had been
arrested. He was forced to serve the full term allegedly because he refused to confess his guilt. He is visiting the
UK from 6 19 March as part of a world speaking tour.
4.
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The Chinese Solidarity Campaign is one of the
pro-democracy support groups which arose after the June 1989
Tiananmen Square incidents. There is no reason to believe
that they would use a call on the Prime Minister for propoganda purposes which would be harmful to our interests. Nor should the Chinese be overly offended; they made no
comment after Luo Haixing's call on the Prime Minister and
we have made clear our continued interest in human rights
so they would not be surprised by such a call. But this is
not a case where British intervention shortened the time
spent in jail by Mr Lau. There are no FCO policy reasons
why we should urge No 10 to find a slot unless the Prime Minister particulary wishes to meet Mr Lau.
Дим
PF Ricketts
JM2AAZ/2
Adaw nan
11/3
CONFIDENTIAL
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