Mr Seaton Mr Warren
Cc: M
Reference
29
Mr. C 124
16
завишей!
Would yout
there
Are you tripsing to Mr Ripley's letter
as to contribute, along
like us
inies
?
Jo
1316
IBB PROMOTIONAL WORK IN HONG KONG AND TAIWAN
1.
I have two comments to make on Mr Ripley's letter of
5 June to Mr Smith-Laittan. The first is that the restrictions on the IBB's promotional activities in Taiwan are conditioned by the need to avoid giving the Chinese legitimate cause to complain that we are involved in governmental dealings with Taiwan. Nobody, I think, is fooled into believing that the IBB is not connected with the DTI. The point is that we have encouraged the IBB to conduct promotional activity in Taiwan in such a way as emphasize the essentially commercial nature of the activity and to play down any "political" aspects - ideally, to the point of disappearance. Hong Kong seems to me to raise different and more difficult problems. I assume that our concern here is not to give the Chinese cause for complaint that we are encouraging Hong Kong firms to disinvest away from the colony in the years before 1997. Although I do not know the full background to this subject, it would seem to me that furtive attempts by a department of HMG to interest Hong Kong companies in investing in the UK must run a serious risk of arousing deep concern in Peking when the Chinese get to know of them as they inevitably will. If we are seeking to attract investment in the UK from Hong Kong for sound commercial reasons, why should we not do so openly, saying loud and clear that investment abroad is essential to Hong Kong's continued (and highly successful) integration into the world economy, and has nothing to do with politics?
12 June 1991
Lanni
L Bristow
Butes
Far Eastern Department
menys
je
The mann sensitivity is vis-a-vit Hong Kong itself fire should not be feen encouraging investment antide HK, in the run up to `97, at a time when there are fearr alent inverter confidence, there is some sensitivity vis-à-vis the Chinese, but the arrangemeds pupated COMIACUT to a private punctual session would probably be acceptable. The wider, Hong Kong,
sensitivity a fos HK is comment on but I would hope a satisfacky solution camé, be found. The current self-denying ordinance maker little sense.
सितई
ASS 1266