TNAG-0247-FCO40-283-Exchange-of-newsletters-between-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-Off-1970 — Page 24

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

A.

important business here, I would, of course, not wish you to insist. The main point of the exercise is a) that they should be aware that there is a British Trade Commission in Hong Kong whose job is to promote British exports and b) that they should know that I and my colleagues stand ready to brief them on United Kingdom trade with Hong Kong if they so wish. We can do no more.

There have incidentally been reports in the local press of the Secretary of State visiting Hong Kong. If this is correct, he would presumably wish to see my office. you know when this visit will take place?

Do

I have been thinking further about the functions and status of this office and my conclusion is that it was probably a mistake to convert this from a Board of Trade into a Diplomatic Service Post. This has been the cause of much of the trouble in as much as a diplomatic post in a British Colony is an obvious anomaly. As Hong Kong is an integral part of the United Kingdom and Colonies, I can see no good reason why this post should not remain a dependency of the Board of Trade. I realise that the old Board of Trade Trade Commission Service has been abolished and certainly in independent Commonwealth countries it would seem reasonable that the Diplomatic Service should take over their duties. In a United Kingdom dependency like Hong Kong, however, I can see no reason for not posting here a regular Board of Trade officer. I fail to see what a Diplomatic Officer can do here that a Board of Trade officer could not do and he would avoid many of the embarrassments and frustrations which befall a Diplomatic Officer in a British Colony.

There are probably excellent reasons for the change which are not known to me but the above is my own reaction after seven months at the post.

All this has left me no room for more useful comment, although, in fact, we have no serious problems at the moment. I was grateful for your notes on the Industrial Development (Ships) Bill which were very helpful. Fortunately there has been comparatively little local adverse criticism on this subject.

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JKB:jms

Kenneth entween

J.K.Blackwell

in

Senior British Trade Commissioner

2.

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

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