Mr Stewart HKD
c.c.
In katten
feels
१५
Draft Submission Dim
...7/12
PS/Lord Goronwy-Roberts
Mr Cortazzi
Mr Male
Legal Advisers
STATUS OF HONG KONG
In view of the limited time available, Mr Luard decided to
accept the revised draft parliamentary reply submitted in response to Mr Hooley's question for priority written answer on 15 November (copy attached). However, he has noted that Sir Colin Crowe's letter of 14 December 1972 (also attached) states only that "the views of my Government about [the legal status of Hong Kong] are
well known". This is not much help to Mr Hooley.
2. Mr Luard accepts that there may be a case for avoiding, at this juncture, a public re-statement of our view of the status of
Hong Kong. He would, however, like to know when we last made a definitive statement on this point, when it was made and the terms
of the statement. He would also like to ensure that Mr Hooley
received a substantive reply to his original request, perhaps in the form of a letter. May I ask you to prepare a suitable draft? You may think that it should be cleared with Lord Goronwy-Robert's
office.
A F GREEN
16 November 1976
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Private notes are available after approval.