GOVERMENT HOUSE HONG KONG.
MON IE AUG 25 10:22
F3.02
24
By fax
布政司署
香港下亞凐畢道
** Our Ret..
*** Your Ref..
J. C. Morris Esq.,
Hong Kong Department,
FCO
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18 AUG 1993
DESK OFFICE!
INDE,
CONFIDENTIAL
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
Lorrain Osman
LOWER ALBERT ROAD HONG KONG
16 August 1993
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We spoke about the article on Osman by Dean Nelson in the Observer on 8 August. I have discussed this with the Acting Governor and the Attorney General.
2.
You asked for a line to take with the press on the allegations attributed to a "senior Hong Kong Government official". We suggest:
"The Hong Kong Government strongly rejects the allegations made in the article. It is inconceivable that any senior Hong Kong Government official should have expressed views of the kind reported."
We shall ourselves take this line. The Attorney General's Chambers are preparing a set of Q & A's which they will fax to you separately by 1709002.
3.
For your information, we have naturally made vigorous enquiries to try to identify Nelson's purported informant. These have drawn a blank, which is what we expected.
As you know, an enormous amount of work was done here to bring Osman to justice. If anything, the prevailing feeling among those officials involved is that he got off lightly. It would be astonishing if anyone within HKG with any knowledge of the case had any sympathy with the views reported by Nelson, let alone was willing to speak to a journalist in such terms.
4.
We strongly suspect that Nelson has fabricated this story. It would not be the first time he has done so. He is well known in Hong Kong, where he has worked in the past for the Sunday Morning Post, and for "window" magazine (from which he was sacked). His reputation for journalistic probity is very low.
CONFIDENTIAL O