6/6/5. INDIV.
CONFIDENTIAL
A. F. Toms, Esq.
C.R.E.,
Department of Trade & Industry,
1, Victoria Street,
London, S.W.1.
30 December, 1970.
Thank you for your letter of 14 December about the Haddon Cave visit.
May I make one or two comments on your comments?
Impartiality
In the nature of things, it is difficult to produce concrete instances of any lack of impartiality. The fact remains that the Hong Kong Government are so anxious to demonstrate their independence that Britain, the former supplier of most of Hong Kong's requirements especially in the utilities and major project fields, is bound to suffer.
However, there are some definite indications of anti-British bias, perhaps small in themselves but nevertheless significant. On the underground railway project alone there have been a couple of instances of such an attitude. You will remember that the Commissioner for Transport went to Japan earlier this year to study the Tokyo underground railway system (and was, of course, carefully brainwashed by the Japanese). When I suggested that he might visit the U.K. (at HMG's expense) to see the Victoria Line, I was summoned by the Colonial Secretary and told firmly that such a visit could not be permitted and was, in any case, premature. When I referred to the Japanese trip, I was informed that this was different as the Commissioner only wanted to see how another oriental country dealt with similar traffic problems to those of Hong Kong and when I hesitated to accept this explanation, I was told that the visit to Japan was a mistake, and there was a hint that it had taken place without the Colonial Secretary's permission.
The other example I could quote was when the small fact finding Mission came to Hong Kong in July, consisting of three very
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/senior men in