CONFIDENTIAL
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02014
011251
MDLIAN 1806
55
CONFIDENTIAL
FM BTC HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 348
OF 08123OZ
AUGUST 89
INFO PRIORITY PEKING
INFO ROUTINE LISBON, HONG KONG
HONG KONG PERSONAL FOR POLITICAL ADVISER
MACAO
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TOP COPY Q DIST ?
1 A LEADING HONG KONG BUSINESSMAN, DANIEL KOO (WHOSE INTERESTS ARE PRIMARILY IN RETAILING), TOLD ME OVER LUNCH ON 8 AUGUST THAT THE IDEA OF PURCHASING AN EXTENTION OF A LEASE FOR HONG KONG IS BEING GIVEN SERIOUS CONSIDERATION IN HONG KONG CHINESE CIRCLES. (THIS
IS AN IDEA WHICH HAS A NUMBER OF BACKERS E.G. MY LETTER OF 6 JULY
TO HEAD OF HONG KONG DEPARTMENT ENCLOSING THE TEXT OF A SIMILAR PROPOSAL PUT FORWARD BY ANOTHER LEADING BUSINESSMAN HERE, HELMUT SOHMEN, WHICH HE HAD SENT TO ME).
2. KOO SAID THAT AN EMISSARY FROM MACAO WAS IN PEKING THIS WEEK TO
PUT OUT FEELERS TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT AT A HIGH LEVEL TO SEE WHETHER THERE MIGHT BE ANY MILEAGE IN IT. ALTHOUGH THE EMISSARY IS FROM MACAO, AND ALTHOUGH HE WILL BE ASKING QUESTIONS IN RESPECT OF THE LEASE FOR MACAO, ACCORDING TO KOO THE APPROACH IS BEING ORCHESTR- ATED BY A NUMBER OF LEADING HONG KONG FIGURES WHO WOULD WANT TO
PROPOSE SOMETHING SIMILAR IN RESPECT OF HONG KONG IF THERE WERE ANY POSITIVE SIGNS IN RESPONSE TO THIS MOVE. KOO SAID HE HIMSELF BELIEVED THE ATTEMPT WORTH MAKING AND WITH A BETTER CHANCE OF SUCCESS THAN MANY MIGHT THINK, GIVEN THE BLEAKNESS, AS HE SAW IT, OF CHINA'S ECONOMIC FUTURE, BUT HE THOUGHT THE MOVE WAS BEING MADE TOO EARLY.
3. HE WOULD GIVE NO FURTHER DETAILS. I ASKED IF STANLEY HO WERE INVOLVED SINCE HE IS BEHIND MOST THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN MACAO, BUT KOO SAID HE WAS NOT.
4. SO FAR AS I AM AWARE, AND SO FAR AS OUR FILES TELL US, KOO HAS NO RECORD OF ANY INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICAL MATTERS AND I CANNOT JUDGE WHETHER THIS REPORT IS OF ANY SIGNIFICANCE. KOO SAID THAT THE APPROACH WAS BEING HANDLED COMPLETELY OUTSIDE GOVERNMENT CIRCLES, IMPLYING THAT IT WAS NOT KNOWN TO THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT.
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