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This would give us an
and officials dealing with Hong Kong. opportunity to brief you on all the various sensitivities
before you meet outsiders.
5.
Fortuitously, the present Governor, Lord Wilson, will
be in London for talks next week. You might like to have a session with him on Monday 27 April. I suggest that you also aim to see the Foreign Secretary, Mr Goodlad (who has
special responsibility for Hong Kong) the Permanent Under
Secretary, Sir David Gillmore, the Deputy Under Secretary
dealing with Asia, Sir John Coles and the Assistant Under
Secretary (Asia) Mr Andrew Burns. I will of course be available at any time, and will be happy to provide as much written briefing on Hong Kong and the issues as you wish.
6. The Hong Kong Government will also no doubt want to
make early contact. You might see at an early stage Mr John
Yaxley. He is Head of the Hong Kong Government office in
London. They represent the Hong Kong Government's interests
here, and lobby on issues where Hong Kong has autonomy (for example economic and trade matters). He will be organising
part of the Governor's programme next week, and has long
experience in the Hong Kong Civil Service. I know that Sir David Ford, the Chief Secretary in Hong Kong (who is Head of
the Hong Kong Administration and deputises for the Governor in his absence) will want to come over to see you at an
early stage. The Hong Kong Government have a wide measure of autonomy in running their affairs, and he will be able to give you a first-hand account of how the Hong Kong machine
works.
1.
Other people I recommend you should see early on are: Colleagues with an interest in Hong Kong, principally
the Defence Secretary (given the British Garrison in Hong
Kong) and the President of the Board of Trade (given the
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