Mr. James Shepherd Editor
Hong Kong Monitor 88 Tylney Road Forest Gate
London E7 OLY
22 January, 1987
HKK 306/1
RE
2 JAN 1987
MAY
on Taken
jmery
I refer to the December 1986 edition of Hong Kong Minitor in which you published a section headlined "A royal day in Hong Kong",
Underneath the headline appears the byline "Hong Kong Government Office, London" which gives the impression that the article was written for your publication by this office whereas, as I understand it, it was basically a reproduction of a collection of press releases issued by the Government Information Services in Hong Kong and which was collected from this office by one of your reporters.
For your information, press releases issued by the Hong Kong Government can be used without acknowledgement. When publications feel it necessary to name the source of press releases issued by us, it is our policy that this should be referred to at the end of the article, with words such as "This article was reproduced from or based on a press released issued by the Hong Kong Government."
I also noted that your December edition contained an article "Exit Hong Kong" in which you reproduced extracts from Simon Winchester's article in the Sunday Times Colour Magazine.
You may wish to know that large parts of the original article were factually inaccurate or exaggerated, as illustrated by the subsequent coverage in the Hong Kong press and the letters sent to and published by the Sunday Times. Copies of the relevant clippings are enclosed for your information.
Yours sincerely,
bcc: Secretary
Paul Brown
Chief Information Officer
(General Duties)
Kerry McGlynn, GIS Anthony Layden, FCO