布政司署
香港下亞畢道
Commercial in Confidence.
GOVERNMent secrETARIAT
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
By Fax
13
OUR REP:
(11) in TIBCR L/M 33/93
*EKM Your Ref :
Annadele Bouch
Hong Kong Department
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
UK
Dear Ms Bouch
20 December 1993
HUB 121/10
L8 FEE 1994
letter to
Theresa
1993, I
Further to your
my - predecessor Ms Tse, and my colleague's tax to you dated 14 December should be grateful if you would ask the Department of Trade and Industry to forward their standard advice to us, and we will pass it on to VTech.
We share your concern at the possibility that the US authorities may seek voluntary evidence from VTech; indeed, this is reflected in the The Protection of Trading Interests Act 1980, which was extended to Hong Kong, and which allows the Governer to forbid the supply of information in circumstances here the authorities of an overseas country require it, or could require it. If VTecn- requests our assistance, and the circumstances warrant it, we should be prepared to invoke this law. However, VTech first decide how it wishes to respond to any US request for information in the first instance.
We would not be in a position to confirm or deny whether VTech has any connnection with Microsoft without ourselves requiring information from
from VTech which would infringe its rights to commercial privacy. However, we are not aware of any such connection.
Yours sincerely
P.Bank
( P D W Bourton )
for Secretary for Trade & Industry
TOTAL P.01