HKK 040/2
Dr D Wilson
Political Adviser
HONG KONG
SECRET - UK EYES 'A'
15 February 1978
** NO. 51
See.
HKK aola
NACZNY
2? FFR 1978
DESK OFFICER
INDEX
PA
No
Take
1. I am not quite sure if you are aware that the old JIC paper on "The Threat to Hong Kong", which was prepared in 1973, is now due for a revision. You may have heard of this before you left London or it may be that you have heard through other channels, I understand that your local IIC has been tasked by JSIS to produce quite a lot of material on the "threat" so it may be that this news is all vieux jeux. Be that as it may, the purpose of this letter is to warn you that you will be approached in the near future by Ken Walker of the Assessment Staff for some economic material on Chinese interest in Hong Kong.
2. At the same time I thought I would let you know that I am about to initiate a new study on what we call, for want of a better word, the "China dimension", i.e. the whole area of our relations with China in and over Hồng Kong. Although we do not, of course, place any great significance on the date 1997, others do, and we are now getting to the stage where certain of the restrictions under which we operate in Hong Kong need re-examining. I shall, of course, give you a chance to comment on our draft at an appropriate stage.
cc:
Mr R Samuel (FED)
Mr K Walker (Cabinet Office)
SECRET UK EYES'A'
JAB Stewart