香港總督府
RESTRICTED
GOVERNMENT HOUSE
HONG KONG
19 October 1991
Rele
+Wis 301/1
Pa
When I was in London earlier this week, we talked about finding a way to alert the FCO to potentially sensitive issues, either domestically in UK terms or in relation to China. On the latter, we will now set up a tripwire system involving Tony Galsworthy pointing out to the relevant policy branch when an issue they are discussing with him for raising in the JLG should be notified to London. It would then be for the policy secretary to take action."
As for matters likely to be sensitive in the UK, we will always do our best. You mentioned that you receive regularly a copy of our list of "politically sensitive issues". But, inevitably, with a territory and a government of this size, there will be issues which crop up from time to time which create resonances in the UK which we have not anticipated, or problems will suddenly blow up quite unexpectedly.
That leads to the important point about how much you in the Department keep a regular eye on what is happening in Hong Kong. Since you are dealing with the Government of a dependent territory you have no chancery reporting on which to rely. I have always assumed however that the Department reads the Hong Kong press and marks up to senior officials and Ministers anything of significance. Is this correct? Such a process should alert you to most issues. The Hong Kong Administration (sometimes to our embarrassment) is a remarkably open system. Very little goes on without.
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