Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted. Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
In Confidence
DRAFT LETTER
To:-
J. Cowperthwaite, CMG.,
OBE.,
Colonial Secretary,
HONG KONG
Type 1 +
102
From
Telephone No. & Ext.
Department
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
signi
W(B)L 51-74 33
Nise West
Plse law for despatch by Friday's bag.
2613
Judging by reports reaching us, it seems
there may be some slight revival of interest
and of opinion in Hong Kong in favour of the
Tunnel project.
Montagu, after visiting Hong Kong last
month, told me of his intention to see what
could be done to re-establish the project on a
fresh financial footing; he talked in terms of
an injection of new finance from outside Hong
Kong. He mentioned the high cost of the mass
transit proposals as a factor leading people to
look more favourably on the tunnel and, when
I asked him how widespread this attitude was,
said it was to be found in unofficial members
of both Councils. We have since seen a report
of P.C. Woo's contribution on this subject to
N.P.# ん
the Budget debate. However there are no
developments known to us which would indicate
that the project could proceed on the basis at
present conceived. And the deadline you set
the Tunnel Company in your letter of 18 December
is near at hand. You may therefore shortly be
considering with the Company the terms of an
announcement about abandoning or shelving the
project.
It would ease a few consciences here,
I think, if your decision were to be the latter
I imagine too that the Company might be reluc-
tant at this stage to write off its existing
investment in the project.
Whatever...
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