TNAG-0576-FCO40-709-Visits-of-UK-officials-to-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 123

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CONFIDENTIAL

Mr O'Keeffe

Mr Cortazzi

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19 JUL 1976

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VISIT TO HONG KONG: MEETING WITH MEMBERS OF UMELCO

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1577

I had a meeting lasting about an hour with a dozen or more members of UMELCO on Monday afternoon, 9 July, the last day of my visit to Hong Kong. I had assumed that the meeting with UMELCO provided for in my programme would not amount to more than an informal get-together with some unofficials, perhaps at the end of one of their regular meetings. In the event, the UMELCO

members had held a meeting of their own in the morning and had returned to their office in the afternoon precisely in order to meet me. Rightly or wrongly I took this as an indication of the importance which unofficials attach to contacts with FCO officials. Sir Y K Kan, the senior unofficial member of the Executive Council, acted as Chairman and did most of the talking on the unofficials' side. Those also present included Dr S Y Chung, Mr P C Woo, Mr Janes Wu, Mr Hilton Cheong-Leen, Dr Harry Fang, Miss Ko and Mr Frimrose, the Administrative Secretary to UMELCO.

2. Sir Y K Kan asked me what issues I would like to raise. Given this opening, I said that I would be interested to know the views of unofficials regarding the Governor's intention, which I said was fully supported by HMG, to widen the social basis of the Legislative Council while retaining its essential (ie non-elective)

character.

THIS IS A COPY THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN RETAINED IN THE DEPARTMENT UNDER SECTION 3(4) OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT 1958

CONFIDENTIAL

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