Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
DRAFT
LETTER
To:-
Type 1 +
From
Top Secret. Secret.
Confidential.
R. H. J. Steel, Esq.,
Telephone No. & Ext.
H.M. Treasury
Restricted.
Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
.....In Confidence
Department
Copies to:
Mr. W.J. Coe,
B.O.T.
Mr. C. C. Lucas,
Treasury
Mr. O'Brien
(FPAD)
Miss Brown (AMTD)
We have received a report from
John Moreton (who arrived back in the U.K. on 22 June) on the talks which Lord Shepherd and he had with the Governor and Sir J. Cowperthwaite about financial assistance for the development of Kai Tak airport.
2.
In answer to questions about U.K. assistance for this project Lord Shepherd referred at both his opening and closing press conferences to the difficulties in the way of
direct financial assistance from the U.K.
given the present economic restrictions in
Britain; to the pressure on aid funds from more deserving countries; and to Hong Kong's
buoyant revenue. This line was received in
Hong Kong without any strong adverse public
reaction. But I do not want you to think that
because public reaction in Hong Kong was
relatively mild we can regard ourselves as off
the hook in this matter. It must be remembered that in Government circles, particularly among unofficial members of both Councils, there is a very strong feeling that the considerable
benefits we derive from control of traffic
rights at Kai Tak should be matched by some
sharing of responsibility on our part for keeping the airport up to full international standards. If we do not acknowledge and assume
some measure of responsibility, our relations
with Hong Kong on the question of the disposal if traffic rights will grow steadily more
difficult.
3. In discussions with Moreton about a possible ECGD-backed facility on the lines set out in our correspondence with ECGD (of which you have copies), Cowperthwaite rules out the possibility of steering the whole contract into
British hands on the grounds that :-
W(B)L 51-74 33
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
(a)
...