PUBLIC RELATIONS SUB-DIVISION
DATE: October 12, 1981
Assessment and Summary of Press Reports on and Reaction to Visit to Hong Kong by Mr. John Nott, Secretary of State for Defence (September 28 to October 3)
Assessment
The five-day visit to Hong Kong (September 28 to October 3) by Mr. John Nott, Secretary of State for Defence, as part of his tour of Middle and Far Eastern countries, became a major talking point in the local Press after he held a Press conference on September 30. This was because Mr. Nott touched on two topics that were of great interest to local residents - defence costs and the long-awaited appointment of the next Governor. His remarks that another Gurkha battalion would arrive in Hong Kong in 1983-84 and that no one had yet been chosen as successor to Sir Murray MacLehose prompted editorial comments from four Chinese papers, which was rather rare if we go back to the records of visits by other ministers or MPs from the UK.
Nevertheless, Mr. Nott's visit apparently rekindled the Chinese Press' grudge over the fact that Hong Kong was paying for most of the upkeep of the British forces here. The three papers commenting on the issue were agreed that the deployment of an additional battalion for Hong Kong was unnecessary.
But even before his Press conference, the Oriental Daily News and the South China. Morning Post expressed interest in Mr. Nott's visit because the two papers had reported that Gurkha soldiers in Hong Kong were being "racially discriminated against." Since a Liberal Peer, Lord Avebury, had already filed a written question with Parliament asking the Defence Secretary to clarify whether under a harsh military rule, Gurkha soldiers in Hong Kong had to report to their seniors within three months when their wives became pregnant, the papers waited eagerly for what the visitor had to say on the issue.
Despite the considerable Press interest generated, members of the public, as always, remained indifferent to both the visitor's remarks and activities here. The only comment on Mr. Nott's presence in Hong Kong came from a former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Royal Navy, Mr. Keith Speed, who was then in the territory on a private visit. But again, Mr. | Speed's views centred on whether recent cuts in Britain's defence costs would affect the size of the British garrison here rather than on Mr. Nott's visit itself.
Press Reports
On September 4, a few papers quoted a Defence Ministry statement as announcing that the Secretary of State for Defence, Mr. John Nott, would visit Hong Kong around early October. Mr. Nott would be on a tour of Middle and Far Eastern countries between September 16 and October 8, the papers said.
Mr. Nott's arrival in Hong Kong on September 28 was covered by most papers the following day. He had just finished a five-day visit to Nepal, the papers noted. During his two-day stay here, the Defence Secretary would visit British forces and meet Government officials before leaving for Indonesia.