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British Embassy
Commercial Department
Electra House 115-117 Esteban St Legaspi Village Makati
Metro Manila Philippines (PO Box 1970 MCC)
Telex PN 3282 (A/B PRODROME PN3282)
Telephone No 89-10-51/8
Mr C T Wood
Hong Kong Department
FCO
Your reference
Our reference
184/2
Date
HKC031/25
14 November 1988
262
Dear Mr. Wood
Enter + pa
etwixi
HONG KONG AGREEMENT:
Ј
REPORTS OF MEETINGS OF THE JOINT LIAISON GROUP
1. Please refer to your letter HKC 031/25 of 29 September seeking our views on the usefulness of the reports you send to posts on meetings of the JLG, I am sorry for the delay in responding.
2.
Hong Kong is an important travel and employment destination for many Filipinos, especially those of Chinese descent, and trading and personal relationships are close. Chancery, therefore finds it helpful to be well informed about what is happening in Hong Kong. Frankly, however, foreign affairs are not one of the stronger points of the Philippine Government (or the DFA). The country is bound up with its own internal problems and rarely looks beyond its borders, even in an ASEAN context. Nevertheless, the JLG reports are useful as background for our attempts to educate the DFA on Hong Kong issues. But their main concern, is the possibility of a flood of immigrants from Hong Kong into the Philppines after the transfer of sovereignty. They are also interested in Hong Kong policies on Indo-Chinese refugees and the Hong Kong visa regime. There is of course a large Filipino population working mainly as domestic helpers in Hong Kong.
3.
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One specific issue on which Commercial Section needs to be kept informed is Hong Kong's progress in signing bilateral Air Services Agreements, FCO telnos 241 and 674 to Tokyo (9th and 10th JLG meeting respectively) were useful in this respect: see, for example, the attached copy of Philip Priestley's letter to DTP of 13 April.
4. In short, we would like to continue to receive your reporting telegrams on the JLG meetings. We will of course bear in mind for the future whether there are any specific points in it on which we should offer you feedback.
Yours ever.
Anneli Conroy.
A E Conroy (Miss) Third Secretary
CC
G H Leicester Esq, UKREP JLG Hong Kong
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