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CONFIDENTIAL
Hink 04015
28 MAR 1983
A E Donald Esq CMG
up
Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1
My Tear Alan,
UNITED STATES AND HONG KONG
•
BRITISH High commISSION
P. O. BOX 1812
WELLINGTON
14 March
No 293
I am
90
1983 drafting
wp please vol S&B
Copy please
HKGD to enter
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draft reply, brufing Ser Riskatten en general
Kom
Astraed 2073
My American colleague, Monroe Browne, came to lunch à deux last week. He had been in Hong Kong last month for the Pacific Heads of Mission meeting presided over by Mr Shultz and had clearly been very impressed by Hong Kong and its problems.
2. Browne undoubtedly has a direct line to the White House resulting from his having presided over Reagan's think-tank before his election to the Presidency. He suggested that we should "milk" him if ever there was anything he could do to help over Hong Kong. He said he was not in Wellington for the New Zealanders' blue eyes alone, and implied that he had been given some unspecified Pacific role to play by the President.
3. No doubt you will let me know if, as seems extremely unlikely, there is ever anything you wish to get across to the White House through this rather strange channel. I am only writing to you because I promised Browne I would. Making it quite clear that I was no expert on this subject and speaking out of the top of my head, I said that off-the-cuff the best thing that it occurred to me the Americans could do to help over Hong Kong would be to get their relations with Peking on a firmer footing; so that the Chinese might take some notice of what they said if ever we needed to ask them to weigh in.
Yous ever,
Dick
RJ Stratton
cc: Sir Edward Youde, GCMG MBE, Hong Kong
Sir Oliver Wright, GCMG GCVO DSC, Washington Sir Percy Cradock KCMG, Peking
CONFIDENTIAL