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- 3 DEC 1986
Mr Masefield FED
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CONFIDENTIAL
From: P J Westmacott Date: 19 November 1986
CC: PS
PS/PUS
Mr Gillmore
Dr Wilson
Mr Hum, HKD
Mr Houston PRU
My Litt
правит
59)
TAIWAN
1.
Mr Renton held an office meeting on 18 November to
His aim was to consider our policy towards Taiwan. examine the arguments in Sir Philip Goodhart's recent paper and the request from Lord Kindersley, Chairman of the Anglo-Taiwan Trade Committee (ATTC), to bring his successor, Mr Peter Godwin of Standard Chartered,
him.
to see
2. Mr Renton said he had some sympathy for Sir P Goodhart's view that we should perhaps be doing more with Taiwan, without unnecessarily irritating Peking. In discussion, it was argued that the Taiwanese were adept at feeding their views to Ministers through Parliamentary contacts. There was no evidence to support the argument that Britain's trade with Taiwan was suffering from our present political posture. Taiwanese were simply using it to seek greater diplomatic recognition, and a larger official presence in London.
The
In
3. Mr Renton concluded that he would invite Lord Kindersley and his successor to call and develop their argument that British trade needed concessions by the FCO to the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. advance of their call, you agreed to review the scope for making modest improvements to our dealings with the Taiwanese, taking into account changes which our European partners are making to their arrangements, and the options for dealing with the succession to Mr Heathfield, the present Director of the ATTC, who retires next year.
CONFIDENTIAL
/4.