TNAG-0368-FCO40-414-Visits-of-UK-Government-Ministers-to-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 47

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6. I have telegraphed BTC Hong Kong, copy to you, summarising the movements of yourself, Mr Davies and Mr and Mrs Galsworthy from London to Hong Kong to Peking, with Hong Kong accommodation and subsistence details, Mr and Mrs Galsworthy will stay in Hong Kong with relations; Mr Davies has suggested that for you and himself, the Hong Kong Hotel might be better than the one chosen by BTC, being near Kowloon Station for your early start on the 20th.

7. I have shown you as staying at the Peking Hotel from the 20th onwards, having seen Peking telegram CREDA 32, paragraph 2, from Mr March.

8.

Reference paragraph (a)(iv) of your letter; may I take it that apart from reserving VIP suites at the day-time stopping points on the commercial flights to and from Hong Kong and Singapore, neither Minister wishes to be met by the respective Missions but simply wants to stretch his legs?. I also wonder if, as I understand, BOAC are contemplating bringing in Flight BA 920 to Hong Kong on the 24th ahead of its normal schedule, that this means that one or more of the normal stop- overs might be omitted?

9.

I am writing to you separately about the BOAC Ministerial Charter flights.

Living Accommodation

10.

This, as I understand it at present, is shown in the table at Appendix I.

Working Accommodation (Peking)

11. I am asking the Embassy at Peking to make an office available in Chancery for each Minister, if required. We shall ask for a suite for each at the Peking Hotel, a sitting-room of which can, of course, be used for non-confidential work (see paragraph 13 below). I note that no personal secretaries are included in the Delegation; may I take it that there will be no call on the Embassy secretaries for dictation?.

Communications

12. We spoke about the question of cypher shifts and agreed that with the open direct telex line from the Exhibition site to London and with the expectation that little in the way of classified telegrams to and from DTI is to be expected, the Ministerial Visit will not cause the Embassy communications staff to work much longer hours than usual. It is also not anticipated that the Embassy switchboard will be recuired to work long hours, I am sure that the Embassy have already foreseen these items but will ensure that they know about this. I will also see that a list of useful telephone numbers is included in material circulated to Delegates in Peking.

CONFIDENTIAL

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