Ms Spellar
Eastern Department
Reference..
186/1
93
44,
KAL-007 COMPENSATION CLAIM
1.
43A
I attach the comments of Hong Kong Government on the compensation claim: as you can see they are content with our proposed course of action. They are holding a further meeting with the next-of-kin this week and I will let you know if anything significant comes out of that.
The last paragraph clarifies the actual status of the Hong Kong victims of KAL-007.
2.
3.
HKG's other comments concern the level of compensation which will be requested. As this will be the subject of a separate submission from NTCD, these questions can be laid aside for the time being. Hong Kong Legal Department are checking their records and will be in touch in due course.
4.
I have just two comments on the draft submission: i) "Hong Kong Government" should be added to the list in para 2 and ii) I feel that there should be a mention of the potential press interest. This might be along the following lines (feel free to adapt): "So far there has been little British or Hong Kong press interest in the findings of the ICAO report, although a television documentary was broadcast in the UK on August 31. However, if the next-of-kin in Hong Kong felt that the British Government was reluctant to promote what they see as their valid claim for compensation, it is entirely possible that they might take their complaints to their Legislative Councillors. Questions in the Legislative Council would lead to press coverage in Hong Kong, and this would be picked up by the British press."
CODE 18-77
Graller Mashall
J N Marshall
Hong Kong Department WH305 270-3287
20 September 1993
cc Mr Smik, NTCD