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16 July 1991
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PROPOSED CALL BY MR MICHAEL CHECKLAND, BBC, ON THE SECRETARY OF
STATE
1.
Thank you for your minute of 16 July. I have spoken to Mr Irwin, the Head of BBC World Service Television (WSTV).
2.
According to Mr Irwin, Mr Checkland is seeking a call of no more than 15 minutes on the Secretary of State in order to introduce Mr Li. The BBC believe that they are very close to agreement with Hutchvision who plan to launch a five channel television service to Asia via Asiasat, including one channel devoted to BBC WSTV.
Mr Irwin says that the aim of the call is to impress Mr Li, and that the latter has more or less indicated his willingness to sign the deal, once the Secretary of State has given a final touch of reassurance to him on the Government's support for this project. Mr Irwin insists that neither he nor Mr Li want anything further from the FCO beyond what is already included in Miss Spencer's letter of comfort of 13 July (copy attached), which was written with Mr Lennox-Boyd's endorsement, following a call by Mr Li, Lord Derwent and Mr Irwin on 27 June.
3.
The deal between the BBC and Hutchison has been held up on two points. The BBC want to launch an additional entertainment channel as a subscription service, which the Hong Kong authorities are considering. Secondly Hutchison wish to broadcast in Cantonese, although the Hong Kong authorities gave an assurance last year to the existing local TV stations that no new broadcasts would be permitted in Cantonese for three years. The BBC also want to