5. Personally I think it would be preferable that we should inform the Governor of the Japanese approach before he hears of it from another source. However I accept Mr Aston's point (paragraph 11)
on the problem of timing. It would also be useful if the letter reached the Governor after Mr Haddon-Cave's departure. Paragraph 11(c) implies that Lord Nelson would be telling the Governor of the Japanese approach which is quite a different thing from our own proposal. In particular it would not get over the point of our personal/political relationship with the Governor. Nor could Lord Nelson really make the point that HMG would not put pressure on Hong Kong in future if the Japanese wished us to do so because a British firm had become an important sub-contractor. In particular I think the message should go to the Governor in the form of a personal letter and delay increases the possibility that we shall have to send a personal telegram to him. In my view this would raise considerably the apparent level of our denial/explanation. If we had to send to the Governor in response to his approach it would also make the terms of our reply sound much more of a denial than an explanation.
18 April 1974
llows
M Goodfellow
Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department
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