i.ε the subject of publicity.
87
SIR ARTHUR GALSWORTHY
You will wish to refer to the Minister of State the minutes at (82) together with the views of the Governor, Hong Kong, at (85) and of the Ambassador, Peing (86).
The Foreign Office (lir. Denson) are ready to approach the Americans on this subject but are anxious to avoid any risk of re-opening the subject of the guide-lines (copy at front cover) which took a very long time to settle.
I suggest that the Foreign Office should be asked to approach the Americans with a view to obtaining their agreement:-
(i) to extending the period of po publicity to include 30 days
before and after a visit; failing this
(ii) to try for 30 days before and 15 days after a visit;
failing this to try for
(iii) not less than 21 days before and 15 lays after a visit.
(............'. Gaminara)
17th April, 1967.
Sir Arthur Galsworthy
Visit of U.S. Warships to Hong Kong
The background to this is given in the minutes at (82).
2.
Briefly, in the telegram at (80) the Governor considers that he will be able to keep the total number of visits for the whole of 1967 at no more than the 1966 level by working out arrangements with the Americans through local liaison machinery in Hong Kong.
3. The second point, however, concerns the question of publicity. Under the present guide-lines procedure (copy attached to cover of file) warships which become subject to wide publicity during a period of 2 to 3 weeks before a scheduled visit, might have to have the visit cancelled. The practice has been to avoid publicity for a period of 30 days before such visits. The British Embassy in Peking, however, point out that publicity following such visits is also unde sirable, and in (81) the Embassy in Washington suggested that the 30 day period might be divided into 15 days before and 15 days after the visit. In the telegram at (86), the Embassy in Peking is prepared to accept this arrangement but the Governor of Hong Kong, in the telegram at (85), considers that publicity before a visit involves greater risks than publicity after a visit, and he points out also that as the ships normally leave Vietnamese waters about 7 or 8 days before arriving in Hong Kong, the 15 day period would give little time to cancel the visit and to make alternative
/arrangements.