TNAG-0589-FCO40-722-Private-visits-of-leading-personalities-from-Hong-Kong-to-UK-1976 — Page 64

(25)

Mr Cortazzi

rtąźzi

CONFIDENTIAL

23/2

HONG KONG

1. Sir Yuet Keung Kan called on me today to ask that the term of

office of the present Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, should be

extended beyond October 1977. He developed the arguments for

this eloquently along the lines of the attached Note, which he

left with me.

2. I told Sir Y K Kan that I was much encouraged to know of the

great confidence that Sir M MacLehose enjoyed in Hong Kong: this

was matched by the confidence felt in him by British Ministers.

His achievements in Hong Kong were much valued here. On the

other hand, it was now virtually an immutable rule that members

of the Diplomatic Service should retire at the age of 60.

Obviously

I would report to the Secretary of State the representations made

on behalf of the Unofficial Members by Sir Y K Kan: and he would

not expect me to express a view on the advice which the Secretary

of State might eventually give to The Queen. But I left him under

no possible illusion that an extension of the Governor's term

of office was to be expected. I added that, in any case, the

difficult nature of the post, with all the internal and external

ramifications that he had explained, was well understood in London.

کا

Cifred 6 HRK 022/3

CONFIDENTIAL

/The