ford
Mr Wilford
21/2/1
1.
SECRET
DISCUSSIONS WITH THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG
I attach the draft of a possible DOP paper which might
be discussed with the Governor on 11 September. An important
topic which is missing from the draft is nationality and
immigration. This is the right context for discussion of
this question, but the classification problem makes it
difficult to do so, and we are anyway unsure how the
ministerial and official discussions over the next few days
are going to go. It might be necessary to brief the Secretary
of State to raise the question orally.
2.
The references to sterling in the draft will need to be
tightened up when we know what is in the Chancellor's message
and how Hong Kong react to it.
3.
Finally it is, as you have forecast, difficult to be
precise enough for a submission to DOPC on the intangible
question of relations with Hong Kong. Our general theme must
be that our freedom to compel them to put our interests first,
is in practice limited, and that too many points of friction
make good government difficult. We can try to get Ministers
to agree that, although their separate departments deal
separately with disputes with Hong Kong, they should pay heed
to the total effect on our interests. Where our vital
national concerns are involved, conflict may be inevitable,
but where they are not we should at least consider it possible
/that we
SECRET