68
C.O.
Colonial Office,
Church House,
DRAFT AND RECORD COPY
REGISTERED No.
DRAFT
MR. Mayle
MR.
MR.
ENCLOSURES
FURTHER ACTION
54405/47
LETTER SENT
Dear Coates,
CONFIDENTIAL
|0
Great Smith Street,
DATE
17th September, 1947.
Ansd (21).
We
So far as I can see, the only part of the brief for the Parliamentary Delegation to China (enclosed with your letter F.12222/28/10 of 15th September) which concerns Hong Kong is the section on page 85 headed "Financial Negotiations with Hong long' are examining this and will let you know whether we have any comments and also whether we think it necessary for anyone to be present at the final briefing meeting.
I presume that you have considered the desirability of including in the brief something about the Chinese claim to Hong Kong, and have come to the conclusion that it would be preferable to say nothing on this rather vcxcd and delicate point. It is, of course, entirely a matter for the Foreign Office to decide, but the question may come up to the Delegation in one form or another during their stay in China, and it might avoid embarrassment to them if they had a very brief statement of the facts, together with the suggestion that they might take the line that this see ed to be a matter for inter- governmental discussions and that they were in no position to express an opinion on it. If, on further consideration, you do decide to include something in the brief on these lines, we should be very glad if we could see it in draft.
To
P.D. COʻTES
$7.
/I have
{4264A] Wt. 11439/415 50m. 5/45 C.N.Ld. 748
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