(148)
130
Mr Hale (Commodities Dept)
COTTON TEXTILE IMPORTS FROM HONG KONG
2.
Mr Farrow's minute to Mr Ridley of 8 December.
Sir Leslie Monson suggested that we might propose to Mr Royle that it be pointed out to the Minister for Trade in the DTI that the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary is responsible to Parliament for the peace, order and good government of Hong Kong. Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom are not of course responsible in any way for the affairs of the independent members of the Commonwealth.
3. In this connection I am attaching a copy of a letter from the Chairman of the Hong Kong Association to Sir Leslie Monson together with a copy of a state- ment issued by the Chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber. This must clearly be shown to Mr Royle and, indeed, to the Secretary of State.
4. When you have had a chance to read these papers and having regard to our telephone conversation yesterday we had better have another word to decide how we should proceed.
10 December 1971
EMaria Чай
E O Laird
Hong Kong Department
143/€
Mr Laird
It seemed to me that the best way of putting the points in your minute of 10 December to the DTI was to incorporate them in the attached draft of a letter which Mr Keeble (I have not had time to discuss this with him) might send soon to Mr Ridley. I have tried to make the tone neither apologetic nor excessively critical. At the same time, I consider that it sets out the various options that have to be evaluated before we meet the Hong Kong delegation again.
2. I would not have thought it necessary, at least at this point in time, to involve our Ministers in correspond- ence on this subject although, once we have broad agreement on the content of the draft letter, it might
DD 737719 557664 500M 2/71 GM 3643/2
CONFIDENTIAL