CONFIDENTIAL
G
Flag A
The question of
He 3 coramal
لله
Flag B
he could ask to see Mr Royle. I have so far held him off.
4.
Yes.
We have now had a telegram from Hong Kong about these
discussions (Hong Kong telegram No 1218). This is cryptic.
But it appears to mean that ExCo have decided to go ahead
(subject only to the passage of an amending bill through
LegCo), with an invitation for tenders for both the two new
channels, to be issued about the end of January, or up to a
fortnight later. (I understand that this was what Mr Watt
told Mr Royle during his visit to Hong Kong.) There seems
however to have been an uneasy compromise on the timing of
the third channel, in that the period for the return of tenders
than for this channel is to be somewhat longer for the second.
5.
The Governor expects to make a public announcement on
22 December, but for the meanwhile has asked that we tell
Colonel Stirling (and presumably RTV) no more than when the
invitation to tender is likely to be issued. He has also
suggested that all discussions on TV are better left to him
in Hong Kong.
6. We can at the moment tell Colonel Stirling nothing for
his comfort. He will not be satisfied merely with the lengthening
of the period for the return of tenders for the third channel,
and even this cannot, without ignoring the Governor's request
for confidence, be revealed to him until after the public
statement on 22 December. Nothing is reported by the Governor
about TVB's request for a review of transmission frequencies,
but Mr Watt has denied Colonel Stirling's claim that this has
not already been fully discussed with the company's engineers.
CONFIDENTIAL
/7.