TNAG-0068-FCO40-104-Future-of-the-British-Trade-Commission-1968 — Page 6

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SAVING DESPATCH

CONFIDENTIAL

From the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs

To the Officer Adninistering the Government of HONG KONG.

Dato 13 MAY 1908

No. 306 Saving.

Your Saving Despatch No.47 of 28 August 1967.

Appointment of Home Based United Kingdom Information Officer to

British Trade Commission Hong Kong.

We have been giving further thought to this matter and consider that there is a good case for posting a U.K*-based Information Officer to the British Trade Commission in Hong Kong. We are accordingly now seeking your agreement to this proposal in accordance with the undertaking given in paragraph 2 of our Savingram No.551 of 1 June 1967.

2. For the reasons given in the above-mentioned Savingram, the terms of reference for such an officer will need to be very carefully defined. We consider that he should be an Information Officer with all-round experience (rather than a commercial specialist) and that his task should be:-

(i) to increase the vigour and effectiveness of Britain's trade and commercial

effort in Hong Kong;

(ii) to secure a better understanding of British economic policies and

achievements;

(iii) discreetly to promote, in close consultation with the Hong Kong Government,

an understanding of Britain's general, domestic and overseas policies. 3. The officer's main functions will be those set out at (i) and (ii) above; these in effect will amount to an intensification of the work already being done by the locally-engaged Information Officer. We feel that an experienced man (he would probably be a Grade 6 officer) should, in addition and where appropriate, be able to carry out discreetly the functions at (iii) above without embarrassment to the Hong Kong Government; they would, no doubt, be very largely carried out through personal contacts that he would build up with the Press and others.

4. Grateful for confirmation that you see no objection to these proposals and for any comments that you may wish to make on the terms of reference in paragraph 2 above.

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