CONFIDENTIAL
गर्भा
HEB 01211
выс
p.a. Leglo-
(41)
This
Sąda to the Clewebs
M.66
Mill
Secretary of State
In Rickelt. (see below)
PM BILATERAL: HONG KONG
1.
From:
&A 317
PS/Mr Goodlad PS/PUS
Sir John Coles Mr Hum
Mr Ricketts, HKD Mr Davies, FED Mr Bickham
Interesting use of political
channels -saung
time!
in
us much
Edward Llewellyn phoned me this morning at Chris Patten's request. Stephen Wall had phoned Edward to express the Prime Minister's concern at the timing of the Governor's big speech to LEGCO on 7 October, i.e. during Party Conference week. The Prime Minister sees a risk that the same section of the media which will be most critical of the Government's EC policy at the Conference will also seize on any opportunity to criticize the Government's policy on Hong Kong for what it sees as its excessive caution over democracy and over-indulgence towards the Chinese.
2. The Governor is reluctant to change the date of the LEGCO speech on the following grounds: the date has already been announced; he already has diary commitments to visit Peking and Canada in the following fortnight; and he personally doubts whether the Government's critics will find much quarry in his speech.
3.
Edward added the thought that the media would probably be preoccupied with the EC and the economy. Personally, I wouldn't bank on it.
4.
Reading between the lines, I didn't get the impression that the Governor feels desperately strongly about this, but clearly he would undertakes prefer to stick to 7 October.
ite
Prosiem
Z
agra.
HK opinion would
see it as yet another example
of Itk's literests being subordinated
which ed. also
* UK'sporitical ones generate bad publicity 183177
CONFIDENTIAL
сы
MAURICE FRASER Special Adviser