R&R
Our reference: 6/6/5. INDIV. Your reference:
Dents
CONFIDENTIAL
BRITISH TRADE COMMISSION IN HONG KONG 7th Floor, Shell House, Queen's Road, Central, HONG KONG Mail Address: P.O. Box No. 528, Hong Kong
Cable Address: "Uktrade Hongkong" Telephone- 230176
RECEIVED IN
REGISTRY No.51
25/1131
25 NOV 1969
HKX6/548/3
>
61
12. Stewart
The same bleat,
and except that Mr. Blackwell
week have made a
useful suggestion al-
may
21 November, 1969. X. we might
discon when the
pressure of other
Commitments is
I see from my calendar that I have already been here three months, although, in fact, it does not seem so long. I am also reminded that I have not given you any sign of life since I arrived here, for which my sincere apologies.
I see from the files that you and Michael Hannam used to exchange periodic "news letters" and if you are agreeable, I would like to continue this tradition.
If, however, you have other ideas, I am quite willing to fit in with them. I do think, however, that it is essential that we keep in touch in some way, as this seems to be one of our few ways of seeing that we are not forgotten in the F.c.o! As primarily a commercial post, we are, of course, in daily touch with the Board of Trade, E.C.G.D. and similar bodies but our relations with the F.C.0. are necessarily much more nebulous and there are doubtless good reasons why they should remain so.
I imagine you do not really need a summary of our commercial work in these letters and I shall, therefore, reserve them for more general questions.
Ever since my arrival I have been struck by the conflict between the need (and our duty) to put the British case before the Hong Kong public in questions concerning U.K./H.K. relations and our lack of up-to-date information on these subjects. I arrived to find a mini crisis in our relations with Hong Kong on our hands as a result of the Commonwealth textile tariff proposal and yet my office had had no briefing on this subject except what they had been able to obtain from the Hong Kong Information Services. I had to face a barrage of questions and complaints with little or no knowledge of H.M.G.'s line other than what my Information Officer had been able to glean from the press and the Hong Kong authorities.
W.S.Carter, Esq.,
Hong Kong Department,
Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London, S.W.1.
LAST
R
M. lon
24/11
62)
CONFIDENTIAL
Every effort is made to ensure that the information given herein is accurate, but no legal responsibility is accepted for any errors or omis- sions in that information and no responsibility is accepted in regard to the standing of any firms, companies, or individuals mentioned.