SECRET
in running a Crown Colony give local interests complete
priority and allow our own to go by default: we cannot for
example allow Hong Kong to do just what it likes about its
£600 million plus of sterling reserves in ways that could
hurt us. But going with the power to tell the Hong Kong
Government to do what we want there would appear to me to be
a concomitant responsibility to have regard to the Colony's
own interests and to strike a fair and just balance between
them and our own. (As a corollary to this attitude it would
be right to expect a less parochial and belligerent approach
on the part of senior Hong Kong officials).
8.
I send this forward to you in Scotland in case you
should be talking to Sir Murray MacLehose (who is of course
exactly the man to help us get this balance right). I feel
that in our discussions with him next month we need to cover
not only the individual issues but also the broad conspectus
of Anglo-Hong Kong relations. We will meantime be giving
more thought to all this in the Department, and will seek to
arrange the programme of official talks with Sir Murray so
as to provide time for the substantial discussion which I
imagine you will yourself wish to have with him.
When Datin
16 August 1973
Copies to:
PS to Mr Royle
PS to PUS
Mr Wilford
Mr Holland Mr Stuart (or)
(Duncan Watson)
* love have plarmed for you
Menang
to see
Sur
on September 11 though this may
веретв
SECRET have to be moved because of the
-5- Copenhagen meeting.
Mind
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