RJ Stratton Esq
Colonial Secretariat
Hong Kong
13/
F.
१४
930 8440 x 39
UM 53/1
n.
Appa
o Wott
9 February 197.
2
+
OUR TEL 93: HONG KONG AND UN AGENCIES
1. Thank you for your telegram 91 of 23 January.
2. We promised to write to you giving further details about our suggestion that we terminate the intermittent practice of having an adviser from Hong Kong attached to IMG's delegation to the annual International Labour Conference (our tel 79). The original haste proved to be unnecessary when it became clear that only in the case of a full-scale delegation (rather than an adviser) would a decision have to be reached by the beginning of February.
We
3. The problem in the case of the IO, as in other UN bodies, is how to ensure without provoking the Chinese that our rights in Hong Kong and liong Kong's own interests do not go by default. think that there is nothing for it but to undertake another Whitehall exercise to establish in exactly what fields liong Kong participates in the work of UN bodies, whether independently or as part of a UK delegation.
4. As with the reporting exercise we should need to decide in which fields we attach most importance to continued Hong Kong parti- cipation; and also how far the form of such representation might be modified so as to provide a loss clear target for Chinese criticism. We shall of course seek your comments on what emerges, but you might like to consider the matter at your end in the meanwhile.
5. Turning to the immediate problem of the ILO, we have recently learned that the agenda for this year's main Conference (copy enclosed) will include, apart from the second discussion on Cargo Handling, a new item concerning the Provention and Control of Occupational Cancer. Hong Kong submitted a vory detailed report on this in reply to a questionnaire which, like many others is forwarded to all colonies by the FCO. I understand that it was a very competent and detailed document to some extent reflecting problems peculiar to Hong Kong, but there is no specific mention of Hong Kong in the ILO Report on the topic (copy enclosed).
6. We take it that, in addition to the subjects mentioned in paragraph 2 of your telegram No. 91, you may like to have someone from Hong Kong who can speak to or give advice on the Cancer item. In this context we should be glad to know how much importance you attach to representation this year.
CONFIDENTIAL
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