STC
7. The Governor said he thought the Chinese would probably want
to resolve the current row through the Qian/Hurd channel.
said that getting the right message across through leading Hong
Kong and Chinese businessmen was also important.
He
8. The Governor said that leading businessmen were now realising
that as China's economy opened up major investment decisions
would no longer be made simply by political fiat but would
require a more complex balancing of environmental, financial and
social issues. He agreed that meetings and think-tanks wore a
good way of promoting this. STC pointed out that small groups
were usually more effective than large-scale formal meetings.
had in mind to bring small groups of top people to Macao, away
from Hong Kong's inward-looking atmosphere, to reflect on these
problems and to learn from Macao's experiences. He also intended
to institute a regular schedule of visits by the UK
Consulate-General' to Macao to keep closely in touch with the
situation there and with the concerns of the local British
business community. One other possibility was to propose on
Honorary Consul. The Governor said he would welcome this.
9.
Notetakers then withdrew and the Governor and the STC talked
alone for a further hour.
Copies to:
Political Adviser
Hong Kong Dept.
Far East Dept.
Embassy, Peking
ATTC, Taiwan