SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
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PRIVACY MARKING
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DSR 11C (Revised 5/87)
companies look to the Senior British Trade Commissioner,
and to the influence and authority of the British
Government which that office embodies, for support and
assistance. I do not see how a high profile
businessman, however uninhibited and ruthless, could
He would be unable to do
promote a comparable service. much more for British companies than the companies could
do for themselves.
Our recent decision to upgrade the post of Senior
British Trade Commissioner was widely welcomed, both in
Britain and Hong Kong, as a mark of our commitment to the territory and our recognition of its commercial and
It would hardly be
economic importance to Britain.
consistent with our greater commitment to Hong Kong, nor
would it be understood, if we
were
to hand over the tasks
of the Senior British Trade Commissioner to a businessman
and if his office were to be partly financed by the
private sector. Nor would I agree that a Trade
Commissioner who was not a Government official would be able to operate without attracting any of the resentments which, as you point out in your letter, tend to exist in Hong Kong. Such sensitivities are unalterable facts of life in Hong Kong which the identity of the Trade
er
Commission could not change. Commission
You advocate a review of our present attitude
towards allowing Hong Kong residents into the UK.
not clear how radical a review you would envisage.
I am
/But