CONFIDENTIAL
To: STI (Attn Mr Joseph Wong) [Please pass copies to SES and PA]
From Commissioner (London) (K C Kwong)
Our Reference : DC0822A/LOT 2564
Number of pages : (including this page) One
Date : 22 August 1990
The Gulf Situation
Meeting with Counsellor LIN
As indicated in our fax LOT 2546 of yesterday's date, Counsellor LIN Zhiying of the Chinese Embassy called on me this afternoon as the Commissioner is on leave. He was accompanied by Madam Jiang Chunyan, an attache at the Chinese Embassy.
Counsellor LIN said that, as he had now taken over the portfolio of Madam Zhang You-yun in the Chinese Embassy, he was interested to know the likely impact of the Gulf crisis on Hong Kong's stability and prosperity. I said that the situation in the Gulf was still too fluid for a concrete assessment of its long-term impact. The two-way trade and financial links between Hong Kong and Iraq/Kuwait was not significant and the impact of the Gulf crisis, if any, was more likely to derive from the direct and indirect impact of the increase in the prices of oil. I then drew on the brief provided by ESB and MAB. Counsellor LIN asked if the inflation rate in Hong Kong would be affected and I said that the increase in oil prices could lead to an increase in our annual inflation rate by one percentage point to 9.5%. The meeting lasted for about half an hour.
Comment
It
that me
Counsellor LIN
using was
to seems
the opportunity to show his face, having recently taken over from Madam Zhang. It is interesting to note that he chose to speak in English throughout the meeting, only asking me if I could speak Mandarin (sic) when he was preparing to
leave.
I
HKD,
I
memo to Alan Paul, am copying this
as FCO, understand that Counsellor LIN called on him this morning on the same pretext.
دیم
(K C Kwong)
Deputy Commissioner
1
CONFIDENTIAL