H of C
Minister
PS
HKA HOOLI
u 3 MAR 1993
YESK SPEER
RY
PA
REGISTRY Action. Timo
HEAD OF THE HONG KONG OFFICE
FROM:
DATE:
A F SMITH
Counsellor (Management)
9 February 1993
CC: Mr Morris (HK Dept)
2,25/2
M6 B, 25/2
for which puke. the BJ
Med 13
1. You should be aware that the Hong Kong Government are planning to appoint a second Minister to Washington later this year (Mr Leung's minute of 3 February attached). I see no problem from our point of view and State tell me they would have no objection. Do you have views?
2. Mr Wiggham's appointment marks the beginning of a move by the HK Government to establish a higher profile in the US. Mr Leung has already told me that they will wish to discuss the modalities of breaking the administrative links with our Embassy at some point in the future so that, well before 1997, they can be totally independent in staffing and financial terms. They are hoping to achieve a quasi-independnet status before the handover so that there can be no question of the Chinese Embassy here taking over the superintending Mission function that we now perform. When the day comes, the State Department will need to be consulted of course and, given their over-bureaucratic approach, this might not all be plain sailing.
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(A F Smith)