CONFIDENTIAL
Flag A
Flag B
Mr Youde
Sir D Watéon
FS/POS
Watson
21/11
HONG KONG: SIR PATRICK REILLY
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202
8
PARTI
1. Sir Patrick Reilly has written a long letter to Sir T Brimelow
following his visit to Japan and Hong Kong.
2.
The DTI have told me that they are replying separately to the
points that concern them. Within the FCO this department will
concert a reply. This will take some time. A large number of
departments are concerned with the points raised by Sir P Reilly.
We therefore need to send an interim reply.
3.
One point on which I think we should comment now is the question
of Britain's image in Hong Kong, which Sir P Reilly discusses in the
last part of his letter from paragraph 10 onwards. Everything that
he there says is a reflection of the constant themes of Mr Aston.
The latter is an activist who is conscious of his position as the
senior purely British representative in Hong Kong. He is understand-
ably distressed about the criticisms of Britain and HMG which are
commonplace there. He would like to have the means to be able to
answer them. His relations with the Hong Kong Government are not
all that good.
4.
Sir D Watson has examined the problem in his minute of 7 November.
Flag C (5) Sir T Brimelow replied in his minute of 8 November. I think there are
two parts to the question. The lesser is the relative lack of a
general British information effort in Hong Kong. This can perhaps
be dealt with without friction by stepping up the normal information
activities of the Trade Commission as Sir P Reilly suggests. But
CONFIDENTIAL
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