OCMIAN 8039
CONFIDENTIAL
PP HOKON
FM FCOLN TO HOKON
22170OZ NOV
GRS 620
CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO PRIORITY HONG KONG
TELNO 1857 ...
OF 221700Z NOVEMBER 85
INFO PRIORITY PEKING
170
иклоно/ 28.
TOP OUFL
CONFIDENTIAL
-174
8039 1
YOUR TELNO 2110 AND OUR TELNO 1520: HONG KONG AGREEMENT:
NATIONALITY: PASSPORTS
1.
WE AND THE HOME OFFICE HAVE CAREFULLY CONSIDERED EXCO'S
PROPOSALS ON THE INTRODUCTION OF THE COMMON FORMAT PASSPORTS,
REPORTED IN PARAS 3 AND 4 OF YOUR TUR.
2.
ON PARA 3 OF TUR, THE HOME SECRETARY HAS NOW WRITTEN TO
THE SECRETARY OF STATE CONFIRMING THAT WHILE WE AIM TO PRODUCE
SPECIALLY SOME 500 COMMON EC FORMAT PASSPORTS (CFPS) IN LATE 1987
(TO BE ISSUED TO MINISTERS, OFFICIALS WHO REGULARLY TRAVEL ON
COMMUNITY BUSINESS AND PERHAPS TO MEPS), WE SHALL NOT BE ABLE TO
INTRODUCE COMPUTERISATION AND THEREFORE THE REGULAR ISSUE OF THE
PASSPORT UNTIL 1988. WE HAVE CONSIDERED WHETHER IT MIGHT BE
POSSIBLE TO ARRANGE THE SPECIAL BATCH OF THE CFPS FOR JULY 1987
ENABLING YOU TO TAKE THIS AS YOUR CUE FOR ISSUING THE NEW FORMAT
LOOK-ALIKE TO BN (0)S. INITIAL ENQUIRIES OF HMSO WHO WOULD
PRODUCE THE DOCUMENTS SUGGEST THAT THIS MIGHT JUST BE POSSIBLE. WE JUDGE, HOWEVER, THAT IT WOULD BE UNDESIRABLE FOR THE FOLLOWING
REASONS:
(A)
THE SPECIAL LAUNCH OF 500 OR SO IS AN ATTEMPT TO KEEP TO THE 1987 TARGET DATE FOR INTRODUCTION OF THE CFP WHICH
CONFIDENTIAL
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