PERSONAL
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
HICK
012/1
UNCLASSIFIED
RJT McLaren Esq
Political Adviser
Government Secretariat
HONG KONG
Telephone 01-233 3184€ DEC1Y61
Your lefarence
¡Our reference
HKK 280/2
Date
~ pilliz
18 December 1981
Dem Robin.
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS
1.
2.
5
Thank you so much for your letter of 5 December.
I did in fact seriously consider writing to Philip Haddon-Cave about the suggested replies in Hong Kong Telno 1084 but decided instead to convey our feelings through David Ford. I am most grateful for your action on this. It is good to know you are keeping a weather eye on our interests. It is not only the length of replies which wants watching. There is also the question
of political judgement in the light of parliamentary and other realities. We did not frankly think the comment on reply A on the MFA in Hong Kong Telno 1084 was very. helpful given the obvious constraints on HMG.
3. At the same time, I am grateful for the work which Hong Kong departments put into these questions and the speed with which quite diverse subjects are co-ordinated. I realise that there is frequently very little time for Hong Kong to reply on a PQ but we do give as much notice as we can often leaving ourselves less than two hours to submit them.
Jons
Did
R D Clift
Hong Kong and General Department
PERSONAL