Private Secretary (Mr Fall)
CONFIDENTIAL
HKK026/5
RECEIVED IN REGİSTRY
2 5 JUL 1983
DESK OFFICER
INDEZ
PA
REGISTRY
Action Taken
FROM: R D CLIFT, HKD DATE: 19 JULY 1983
cc: PS/Mr Luce PS/PUS
Mr Giffard
Mr Donald
wo
0325/2 CM2517 करडान
VISIT TO LONDON BY GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG AND EXCO UNOFFICIALS: RECORDS
(108).
109).
1.
Your minute of 18 July in reply to mine of 14 July asked whether there were ways in which we could meet EXCO's request to see the record of their meeting with the Secretary ofState in another form. I have discussed this with the Governor on the telephone, explaining No 10's unwillingness to allow their records to be shown, and the Secretary of State's views.
2.
The Governor thinks that he could explain to EXCO that records of meetings with the Prime Minister were never shown to visitors. He would give them an oral account instead. But he still believes strongly that it would be very helpful to London-Hong Kong relations if a gesture could be made by allowing the record of the meeting with the Secretary of State to be shown to the Unofficials. They were pleased with their visit to London, feeling that they were treated as colleagues and not as a delegation of outsiders. He hoped very much that the Secretary of State could agree that, on the rare occasions Unofficials visited London, the records of their discussions with FCO Ministers could be shown to them afterwards. (He did not think that it would create a very good impression
if we just did it on this occasion and told them to take their own note later on).
3.
I support the Governor's view. I think we could present No 10 as a special case to EXCO and still let them see the FCO records under very secure conditions, with a firm statement that there could be no question of querying the text. This would give a much better impression than a full oral account. EXCO have got used to full involvement in exchanges on the future and usually this has been done on paper.
19 July 1983
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Ship
R D Clift
Hong Kong Department
CONFIDENTIAL