Confidential
Mr Lambert
HKK 9/2
Reference
76
55
1.
The ODA have not of course seen Sir Leslie Monson's letter to the Governor of 4 March and the Governor's reply in his telegram No 229 of 2 April. As you will see, we were prepared to see if we could get agreement to the first £100,000 being used for equipment for the Morrison Hill Institute. At that time it was apparently thought in Hong Kong that the additional equipment for this Institute would cost something like £14,000 and it was accordingly thought that it would not be worthwhile attempting to obtain the cost of this equipment from the grant.
2. If the ODA are prepared to support the allocation of up to £100,000 for equipment for the Morrison Hill Technical Institute we could seek approval of the proposal here which would not, it seems to me, go against the terms of FCO telegram to Hong Kong No 183 of
3 March. The matter would, I think, have to go to Mr Royle. Whether or not the Treasury would have to be consulted would presumably be a matter for the ODA, with whom we would have to co-ordinate the timing of the various steps. I can see no harm in copies of the report being sent to Hong Kong straight away. If the Hong Kong Government wish to ask for part of the grant to be set aside for the Morrison Hill Institute they will no doubt tell us so, seeking our agreement. If we are in a position to make the offer basing ourselves on Mr Gailer's report before anything comes from Hong Kong so much the better.
3. I must confess that I do not fully understand the difference between the work of a technical institute and that of an industrial training centre.
En
E O Lai ra
16 September 1971
N.TS. The info. in para. cho. nor of cance be 6 H. ODA.
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I abou
passed
EV. 199
DD 737719 557664 500M 2/71 GM 3643/2
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