1.   An American role in prisoner releases would reassure Israel that Arafat would not free terrorists to pressure Israel or appease Hamas.

2.   At the same time they do not want to push either Catholics or Protestants in the Assembly into hard-line positions on questions like prisoner release and disarmament of paramilitaries.

3.   China has often timed prisoner releases for diplomatic effect.

4.   Clinton has insisted that privately conveying U.S. concerns about Chinese human rights has paid off with prisoner releases and expanded U.S.-Chinese trade.

5.   Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will stress that Washington wants basic legal reforms in China, not simply a trickle of prisoner releases in coming months.

6.   Effect of promised prisoner release.

7.   He says prisoner releases are just part of a necessary healing process, and should be viewed in that context.

8.   In London, a British government spokesman said no early prisoner releases were under consideration.

9.   Nevertheless, the prisoner release is the most sweeping that President Fidel Castro and his government have granted in many years.

10.   Officials said more prisoner releases will follow.