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8. GEC will be following these developments closely because James Chiu, the Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, is also the Chairman of GEC Hong Kong. Lord Prior may press for the Chamber to be charged peppercorn rent. A senior GEC official, Mr Lippet, recently told an Under Secretary at the DTI that the two previous Senior British Trade. Commissioners in Hong Kong had promised that the Chamber would be charged a "cheap" rent. Neither Mr Lippet nor the DTI official were aware that Mr Goodlad had written to James Chiu on 28 May to say the Chamber would have to be charged a fair rent. Mr Lippet also cited arrangements with BSCC, the British Chamber in Moscow, as a precedent. DTI recently gave BSCC a one off grant to help the BSCC move to new premises, but no assistance has been given with rent and in any case the BSCC is not located in the Embassy building.
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