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Mr. Carter
2.
I believe that you wish to discuss Kai Tak.
Sir John Cowperthwaite has replied to your letter at (41) on the substantive file asking him to assess the benefits to Hong Kong of the proposed improvements to the Airport. I am afraid that he declines to make such an assessment. He argues that it would be impossible to make a useful analysis of this sort because it would have to be by guess work. But this is not his real reason: he remains fearful that if the advantages to Hong Kong were found to be considerable then the Treasury would argue from that and from Hong Kong's abundant resources to the conclusion that they should pay for the whole thing themselves. On the other hand he is contemplating taking the matter to ExCo with just such a calculation of Hong Kong's own interest in the matter as we have asked him to provide.
3. This refusal to admit that the improvement of the Airport will be to Hong Kong's own advantage as well as ours is embarrassing. It is true that we no longer contemplate getting all or most of the money Hong Kong needs out of ODM. But ODM is still one of the possible contributors identified by Sir Arthur Snelling and unless Hong Kong is going to have it all her own way ODM are not going to con- tribute to a project which the Colony continue to maintain is of no value to them. I suppose that the necessary funds might be scraped together on the basis of UK advantage alone but the F.C.0. "entrepreneur" will be fighting with one hand tied behind his back.
4.
I think that the real point in Sir John Cowperthwaite's letter lies in his paragraph 4. He is wondering whether they should not now abandon their appeal to HMG "openly and publicly" which would, of course, be the last turn of the screw so far as political pressure was concerned. We have to consider I think whether to allow this pressure to be applied and await the outcome or whether to write again to Sir John Cowperthwaite advising that he defers an approach to ExCo until the exceptional sweep for funds we are about to make has been completed. We have to remember that we have no more than deferred the discussions with the S of S and the Minister for which they have been asked. I suggest therefore that we write again to the FS asking that he be patient a little longer while matters take their course at this end.
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5. The points which Sir John Cowperthwaite makes in his paragraph 6 and 7 have in fact been taken into account. The first the question of the safety of the Airport is not quantifiable in terms of cash. The second the loss to Hong Kong of our restrictive control of Kai Tak air traffic riges is the revers of the coin with which we propose to pay for the advantages to ourselves of the same practice.
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