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full range of British interests in Hong Kong including reporting on political developments there in the same way as other British missions. Preparing for this role will be the most sensitive part of the exercise. We need to reconcile two conflicting objectives:
not undermining the Governor as the single source of advice to Ministers on Hong Kong issues until 1997. The Governor has accepted that members of UKRep JLG should do some informal political reporting on Hong Kong provided that this is copied to him. But for the SBTC or his staff to engage in visible political work in Hong Kong would rapidly be noticed, and could send confusing signals about where the centre of political authority lay.
giving SBTC the tools he needs (in terms of staff and of political contacts around Hong Kong) to perform effectively as the Senior British representative in the territory after 1997.
15. The BTC have, at Ministers' request, already made a start in discreetly expanding their range of contacts. The BTC now has an information officer with a brief to promote HMG's policies in Hong Kong (which are not always identical to HKG's). The former senior British Trade Commissioner, Mr Heap played a more visible role as SBTC. In part this was a natural consequence of the dramatic increase in major project business in Hong Kong, which involved Mr Heap in frequent contact with the most senior British businessmen and bankers and in lobbying HKG on behalf of HMG. Mr Heap also widened the circle of his entertaining, for example introducing visiting British Ministers to local Hong Kong politicians as well as to business figures. Mr Day has continued this informal expansion in his areas of interest while avoiding any suggestion of undermining the Governor.
16.
Part of the preparation for the SBTC and his staff to play a full political role after 1997 will be ensuring that they are adequately briefed on all aspects of British interests in Hong Kong. It would be helpful on this for the BTC to have its own separate secure communications well before 1997, at present these pass physically through Government House (resource implications listed under paragraph 17 below).
17.
The political reporting role has resource implications.
In terms of staffing:
- a new DS5 post as the core of the future chancery section should be created by about 1996. This should be a Chinese language speaking post to enable the officer to develop a wide range of contacts in Hong Kong. In advance of 1997, the job description should nominally be economic/commercial.
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