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financial support there has been no shortage of
Parliamentary visits over the last few years. Although
agreeable and even educational for the participants
I do not think they make a dramatic contribution to
advancing British interests in China. They provide
an opportunity for back Chinese officials to push
their propaganda lines at a captive audience.
5. At present the only outward visits by MP's which
are sponsored by the FCO are:
a.
The all-Party Group which attends the United
Nations General Assembly.
b. The Group which attends the Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) annual congress
c. The Parliamentary Delegate to the United
Nations
d. Whips' visits.
justified
Funds for 1983/4 will anyway be very tight.
If we
had surplus money, perhaps official financial support
for Parliamentary visits to some countries could be
eg, where Ministerial visits are very rare,
China does not in my view fall into this category.
But in my draft I have tried to soften the blow by
reference to the Sponsored Visits Scheme for inward
visitors.
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