CONFIDENTIAL
ROYAL VISITS COMMITTEE
Visit by a member of the Royal Family to Hong Kong
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At its last meeting on 10 October, 1967, the Committee noted
that the Governor of Hong Kong was anxious that a member of the
Royal Family should attend the inauguration of the Plover Cove
water scheme in October 1968 and considered a suggestion that
His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh should visit Hong Kong for
this purpose.
2. The minutes of the meeting record the view that this idea could
at that time only be noted as a possibility for later consideration.
In the course of the Committee's disqussion on the subject, it was
not felt that the Duke of Edinburgh could conveniently fit in a
visit to Hong Kong if he kept to his schedule of flying from
Mexico City to the Galapagos Islands, Brazil, eto. Doubt was also
expressed whether, having regard to possible Chinese reaction to
such a visit, he was the right person for the purpose, since he was
so close to the Throne, The possibility of considering another
nember of the Royal Family was mentioned.
3. Hong Kong is now, in terms of population and economic activity,
by far the biggest of our remaining colonial territories. During
the last eight monthe of 1967 the Colony passed through a very
testing period of Communist confrontation which it weathered with
remarkable resilience. Throughout that confrontation its people
displayed a marked degree of loyalty to the Governor and of public
support for the administration. The key to our ability to continue
to hold the situation there against the persistent efforts of the
Communists to undermine our position is the maintenance of publie
confidence in our intentions towards end support for the Colony.
The Governor, during discussions towards the end of last year with
Ministers and officials in London, urged most strongly the need for
overt expressions of continuing British interest in and concern for
/ the people ..
∙COME