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FM HONG KONG
TO ROUTINE FCO
TELNO 787
OF 070945Z MARCH 89
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нко HKD 30171
010015
MDLIAN 2918
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INFO ROUTINE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
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TIMES EDITORIAL ON HONG KONG
ON 13 JANUARY THE TIMES PUBLISHED A LEADER ENTITLED QUOTE RETREAT FROM HONG KONG UNQUOTE. THE FIRST SENTENCE QUATED ME AS DESCRIBING HMG'S POLICY TOWARDS HONG KONG AS ONE OF QUOTE SMOOTH CONVERGENGE UNQUOTE BETWEEN BRITAIN AND CHINA. THE LEADER ALSO CONTAINED A NUMBER OF SUBSTANTIAL FACTUAL ERRORS WHICH WERE CORRECTED IN A LETTER TO THE PAPER FROM LORD GLENARTHUR.
2. SINCE THE PHRASE ATTRIBUTED TO ME IN QUOTES WAS NOT ONE WHICH I COULD RECALL USING, NOR DID IT REPRESENT MY VIEWS, I ASKED MY DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES TO WRITE TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES ASKING WHERE IT HAD COME FROM. NO REPLY.
3. FOR THE RECORD, WHEN I WENT TO SEE THE EDITOR AND SENIOR STAFF OF THE TIMES ON 23 FEBRUARY I REPEATED THE QUESTION PUT BY THE DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES. HE SAID HE WAS UNAWARE OF THE LETTER AND WOULD CHECK THE POINT. THE EDITOR LATER TELEPHONED THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE TO SAY THAT HE HAD DISCOVERED THE COMMENT ATTRIBUTED TO ME WAS NOT A QUOTATION FROM ANYTHING I HAD SAID BUT AN EXTRACT FROM AN EDITORIAL IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.
CON CHECKING I FIND THAT IT IS AN INACCURATE VERSION EVEN OF THE OPINION EXPRESSED IN THE EDITORIAL) HE WAS VERY APOLOGETIC AND SAID HE WOULD BE PREPARED TO PUBLISH A CORRECTION. SINCE, BY NOW, SUCH A CORRECTION WOULD HAVE LITTLE IMPACT, I HAVE PREFERRED NOT TO PRESS FOR A PUBLIC RETRACTION BUT RATHER LEAVE THE EDITOR KNOWING THAT HE ALLOWED THE STANDARD OF EDITORIAL WRITING TO SLIP BADLY.
WILSON
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