MAY&Y No. 01
IS JAN 1974
INKK1/2
リュ
Mr Stuart
Mike vans
CONFIDENTIAL
isl
R.E. 1571.
M. Crowdr
PML-1616
LIFE PEERAGES
Diss Kelly Hard P/A ARD
1. I am grateful for the research which has been done on the
question of life peerages for Hong Kong and do not dissent from
your conclusion that this idea is not a starter.
2. I might add that I am less sanguine than Far Eastern
Department about the possible Chinese reaction. If, as
you rightly suggest might be the case, a life peer became
looked upon as some sort of "representative" for Hong Kong in
the British Parliament, then I think the Chinese might suspect
that we were surreptitiously attempting to follow the late French
system under which they used to have representatives of their
territories in the French Parliament and thus that we were
trying to tighten the links between Hong Kong and the United
Kingdom.
Youde
11 January 1974
CONFIDENTIAL