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he had an interest had been given up to the Swedes and, as the Norwegians had a better case arithmetically than the latter, he expected Hong Kong to give way to them on man-made fibre itoms. He appreciated that Hong Kong could make things awkward for him on timing, but, if they did, the end result could be that there would be no consultations at all and that the cut backs would be announced unilaterally by H.H.G. I could have responded at this point, but felt that he was clearly exceeding his instructions in this last statement and that intervention would serve no useful purpose.
13.
In concluding the interview, Stewart said that he proposed to hand-over the Aide Memoire to the Indians on the following morning (13th August).
19.
The interview was conducted in quite a cordial atmosphere. Stewart made every effort to demonstrate that no animosity was directed at me personally and I had decided also that the best approach to him would be sweet reasonableness. However, Stewart did not disguise his intense irritation with the Hong Kong Government's conduct of commercial relations policy as he understood it (and this seemed to include the Far Eastern Economic Review) and also with what he regards as "the plutocracy which controls the (Hong Kong) textile industry with a programme of expediency" (his words off the record). Although he is reported to be under strong political pressure to reach a settlement with India and Hong Kong and he has little room for manoeuvre, I suspect that his personality predisposes him to try to dictate a settlement of his own choosing, without too much rogard for the niceties of existing arrangements and undertakings. I therefore believe that the force of his remarks on such matters as timing and the relevance of the Heads of Agreement to the current situation reflects his personality rather than instructions from his Minister, who I suspect is unaware of the detailed issues involved.
DHS/MM
(D.M. Sellers)
13th August, 1968.
Hong Kong Government Office, London.
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