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During your recent visit to Hong Kong when the Chamber had the honour of arranging a luncheon at which you spoke with considerable enthusiasm for the further development of two-way trade between Britain and Hong Kong, you will no doubt have noticed the great goodwill that exists here for Britain and for British efforts to improve the economy. In fact, the Chamber has taken a leading part in Hong Kong in seeking ways and means to assist in this process and to that end, we have organised buying missions which went to the U.K. to purchase British products, assisted the Government and other organisations here in proposing various ways by which British companies could improve their performance in the Hong Kong market, directly assisted many incoming groups of British company representatives selling into the Hong Kong market and in every way possible encouraging British trade and industry to consider Hong Kong as an important and indeed lucrative market.
Our Director has been substantially involved in this function and he has also been, for the past five years, the appointed representative in Hong Kong of the Confederation of British Industry. In this capacity he prepares detailed reports for the CBI and assists incoming British companies to make the right contacts and to improve their access to the market. I may say that these efforts have been successful and I believe the CBI would certainly acknowledge this.
In these circumstances, therefore, the very great disappoint- ment with which the BAA decision has been greeted will certainly discourage those of us who have been working actively in promoting British interests in Hong Kong. I would even go so far as to say that the substantial goodwill for Britain and British institutions which exists in Hong Kong may well be seriously damaged as a result of this apparently biased and unfair decision. I realise, of course, that this particular decision has nothing to do with your Department and quite possibly you may not have been aware of the detailed proceedings which led up to the BAA announcement. But I know you are very much concerned with the development of British interests in Hong Kong and around Asia and I am encouraged by your statements during your recent visit to Hong Kong to believe that you will recognise the problem which I have now outlined and that you will draw this to the attention of your Cabinet colleagues and, I would hope, to the Prime Minister herself.
It would seem to us that the aspirations and hopes of the Hong Kong company, which are strongly supported by all our trade and industrial organisations, could still be realised if the appeal by the company is upheld. Naturally, we do not suggest for one minute that British Caledonian is anything other than an efficient airline
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