CONFIDENTIAL
T.:
Director of Commerce and Industry, Hong Kong.
From: Counsellor (Hong Kong Affairs), Geneva.
Memorandum No. 143
File No. GVA/10/8/1
My memo. No. 141 of 16 October, 1970.
U.N.C.T.A.D.
Date: 16 October 1970
Special Committee on Preferences
Position of Hong Kong
This memorandum records various exchanges I had during the course of the recent meeting of the Special Committee on Preferences which were relevant to Hong Kong's position. Naturally, the nature of this meeting necessitated adopting a lower profile even than usual. The object was to get through it without anything being said or done which would further prejudice Hong Kong's position. This limited aim was achieved, in that the discussion on beneficiaries still leaves the position formally open and in the hands of the donor countries. In other words, that particular ball has been gently patted back into the OECD court.
2. However, as I keep on reiterating, the maintenance of this fermal position is far from implying that all is well from Hong Kong's point of view. It is not the case that the avoidanos of damaging statements on Hong Kong's position across the negotiating or "consulting" table means that donor countries will be committed to include her in their schemes. The danger now is that nothing ⚫f real substance will ever be said on the subject of beneficiaries in a multilateral forum and that the individual donors will then quietly draw up their own lists which will, in virtually all cases, exclude Hong Kong. The real advantage in getting through the UNCTAD formalities in this way is that UNCTAD is not the best forum in which to argue out this question. But we (i.e. HMG and the HKG) will now have to risk having it out within the OECD before final decisions are taken in capitals or we will face the greater risk of adverse decisions being taken which will be very difficult, if not impossible, to reverse.
3. In general, my impression is that the whispering campaign against Hong Kong continued unabated in the corridors and in some of the group meetings of the "77". Heng Kong was, however, not alone. I heard various neises to the effect that privately most of the 77 would be only too glad to see Yugoslavia excluded and none of them supports Israel. The developing countries would not weep many tears either for Korea and Taiwan but, in their cases, I find no real inclination amongst the donor countries to exclude them. The U.S., in particular, is positively committed to their inclusion on political grounds. U.S. officials are privately als very worried about Mexico but again politically they can do nothing about her.
4. To turn to Hong Kong as such, I will record seriatim what was said to and by me.
CONFIDENTIAL
/United States
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