SECRET
Reference.
~
NOTE FOR FILE
FUTURE OF HONG KONG
held by 1.
Mr O'Keeffe and I attended a meeting jat 4.00 pm on 7 January, at tu. which FED and Planning Staff were also represented, to discuss further Chwork on the planning paper on this subject.
2.
We decided that the first step was to ask the Governor of Hong Kong to send us a despatch on "Whither Hong Kong" which would form a basis of the paper.
The Governor should be asked to submit this by the end
of January.
3. The first draft of the planning paper should be done by HKIOD. would contain three sections. The first would outline the future of Hong Kong setting out the case for our present preferred option of maintaining the status quo. Other possible options, which would need to be considered when the time was ripe for discussing the questi on
The second section
with the Chinese, would be contained in an annex.
Society.
would be concerned with the kind of acuity we are aiming for in
If it was Hong Kong and the internal policies necessary to that end. felt necessary to include detailed aims and proposals, for example on the social, or trade union reform, these also would be included in the form of an annex. The final section would be concerned with Hong Kong/UK relations, and ways of mitigating natural strains in that relationship.
We should aim to send a draft of this paper to Hong Kong and Peking by around mid-February. In view of Lord Goronwy-Roberts'
4.
It
interest in this subject we would also aim to show him informally a copy of
the paper in draft form at about the same time.
5. The paper would then be taken by the Secretary of State's Planning Committee in early March.
9 January 1976
CC:
Mr Cortazzi
Mr Larmour
Mr Male
PS/Lord Goronwy-Roberts
CODE 18-77
SECRET
R B Janvrin
Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Dept
Chied 1 HAKO60/548/1