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v) As part of the support which could be provided from Hong Kong relatively cheaply, Mr Watt cited the Hong Kong Government Annual Review. He thought a thousand copies made available to the Hong Kong Offices and also the Embassies would be very useful.
4. Mr Watt pointed out that, whilst his recommendations were minimal, they would cost a certain amount of money which he thought would be particularly difficult to obtain in present financial circumstances.
5. In answer to a question, Mr Watt said he did not see how responsibility for looking after Hong Kong's interests could be transferred to one member of the staff of British Missions. At present, Hong Kong interests are looked after through the information, commercial, and political sections of the various Embassies/Consulates General. If one man were to be responsible, this implied it would have to be at Counsellor or Ministerial level. This, he thought, would be impracticable in practice. Neither did Mr Watt think it would achieve the desired result.
He agreed that if Hong Kong's image were to be improved, the impetus for this had to come from Hong Kong in the shape of better material, greater local (i.e. Hong Kong) coordination and that the dissemination of such material could be done equally, if not more effectively, through the various Hong Kong organisations already operative in the EEC countries.
4. It was agreed that no action should be taken in London until we heard further from Hong Kong. Opportunity would be taken of Mr Jordan's visit to London on 4 April to keep him abreast of these developments.
ellow
M A Goodfellow
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean Dept
1 April 1974
Cc:
Mr R D Hart (European Integration Dept (External)
E 111)
Mr NW H Gaydon, OBE
(Guidance & Information Policy
Dept G67/3)
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