6195 D073528 400M 2/74 Cr.P.C. 839/3
NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Registry No.
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION
Top Secret.
Secret.
Confidential.
Restricted. Unclassified.
PRIVACY MARKING
SECRET
DRAFT
To:-
BRIEF FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Type 1 +
FROM
Telephone No. Ext.
Department
In Confidence
DEFENCE REVIEW: HONG KONG
(a)
Form of Words for Use in the Prime Minister's Parliamentary Statement
If it is necessary to say anything about Hong Kong outside the general pledge to maintain our commitment to the defence of the Dependent Territories, I would propose the following, which has been agreed with the Governor of Hong Kong:-
"There will in due course be consultations with the Hong Kong Government about the level of forces appropriate in present circumstances, and about how the cost of these forces should be
divided in future."
(b) Messages
A message from the Secretary of State should
be sent to the Governor of Hong Kong.
(c) Timing
The message should be timed to reach Hong Kong before 26 November, or, if this is impossible, before 3 December. The Governor has asked that he should be authorised to give prior warning to his Executive Council which meets on Tuesdays.
(a) Content
The Governor has advised that formal consultations with Executive Council should not be begun until May 1975, after the Hong Kong Budget (with increased taxes to pay for his social programme) is disposed of. It will be possible to wait so long because the new arrangements would not, /in any case,
SECRET
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.