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HONG KONG
NOTE OF A MEETING HELD IN THE PUS'S OFFICE ON 9 JANUARY 1976
Present
Sir Michael Palliser
Mr Larmour
Mr Cortazzi
Mr O'Keeffe
9
1.
Sir Michael Palliser said that Mr
Cortazzi's impressions of Hong Kong (recorded in his minute of 19 December) were very similar to
his own.
While progress had been substantial under Sir Murray MacLehose's Governorship, there was undoubtedly much that was still wrong with Hong Kong; from his conversations with the Governor during the latter's present visit to London he had, however, apprehended some of the pressures on any Governor of Hong Kong inhibiting his plans for social progress there. He thought that the Secretary of State would require very careful briefing for his visit to the Far East, both on Hong Kong's external relations, with particular reference to China, and on the prospects for economic and social progress within the Colony. It was easy, but would be wrong, to confuse the external and internal problems as the forthcoming Fabian pamphlet apparently did. His impression was that the Chinese would be very sensitive to internal developments in Hong Kong affecting their stated position on the Colony e.g. the question of election to the Legislative Council; but that otherwise they would regard the management of the Colony as one exclusively for
Mr Larmour and Mr Cortazzi agreed.
us.
2.
Sir Michael Palliser said that on this understanding he had yesterday asked Sir Murray MacLehose for two despatches covering these two separate issues which would need to be produced quickly while Sir Murray's impressions of the political atmosphere at home were fresh in his mind. The paper on Hong Kong's external relations, he understood, would fully take into account the views of HM Ambassador, Peking. Meanwhile, work on the planning paper, also covering both aspects, should proceed with a view to a further discussion with him in the middle of February. He would like to see the paper side by side with
Sir Murray MacLehose's two despatches to see the extent to which first
/perspectives
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