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HONG KONG
You will recall that under the previous administration we had prepared back in 1969 a paper for the Hong Kong Committee to which we added a further paper this year designed to bring the earlier paper up-to-date and make it more complete in some respects. No meeting of the Hong Kong Committee took place before the General Election. I have consulted the Cabinet Office about what we should do with these papers. They tell me that they must be regarded as dead and that the matter will have to be re- submitted to Ministers de novo.
2. There is a complication in that the original paper K(69)1 was prepared by an interdepartmental committee. The later paper was solely a FCO paper. My own view is that we would do best to submit a paper of our own again and I accordingly submit a draft. It may well be that the rather bald format of options which I have set out is not the best form for a Cabinet paper. I would, however, be grateful if you would look at the attached draft more for substance than for style. Its purpose is more to bring the realities of the situation before Ministers than to ask for decisions. Indeed, the only concrete conclusion to which it comes is that the matter should be kept under review each year by officials.
3. It will be obvious at once that there is a difference between this paper and K(69)1 as commissioned in the aftermath of the 1967 disturbances in Hong Kong. The burden of the earlier paper was how we could decently get out of Hong Kong; the present one which reflects to some extent discussions which I have had with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary on this question pays rather more attention to the idea that we should, if possible, maintain our presence in Hong Kong, even post 1997, if this is at all possible. In other words that there is no objection to a continuing Colonial situation appears to be accepted by Mr. Royle at least, and he says that he believes that the Secretary of State has the same views.
Kinhoffer
(K.M. Wilford)
9 December, 1970
Copies to:
Sir S. Tomlinson Mr. Cradock Mr. Laird
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