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PRIORITY HONG KONG TO COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (D.T.D.)
Telno 1701
SECRET
17 November, 1967
RECEIVED IN
ARCHIVES No. 63
Addressed to Commonwealth Office telegram No. 1701 of 17 November,
20 NOV 1967
HWALHI
Repeated for information to POLAD Singapore and Washington.
For Galsworthy.
188
Your telegram No.2334: Hong Kong Border Talks.
Thank you for your comments. We shall await the Ministers' views. I agree that the wording in paragraph 3 is preferable to
ours.
2. Your paragraph 5 is not entirely clear to me. We had not intended saying anything more precise than the formula in paragraph 4 of my telegram No.1698. The fact is that we are seeking instructions (as we were asked to do in Commonwealth Office telegram No.2181) before entering into a commitment; and I am not quite clear what motive there can be for suggesting anything different to the Chinese. They know as well as we do that Hong Kong does not make its own foreign policy and, as you know, I do not believe they should be in any way encouraged to think we can decide matters of foreign relations locally without reference.
Foreign Office please pass Washington 382.
Sir D.Trench
[Repeated as requested]
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