Mr Cortazzi
PS/Lord Goronwy-Roberts
CONFIDENTIAL
العامة
Во
Ay Bo 15/4
400074
6
FLAG A
HONG LONG: VISIT BY DELEGATION FROM THE HEUNG YEE KUK
1. Mr Robert Parry MP (Labour
made
Liverpool, Scotland Exchange
Division) wrote to the Secretary of State on 9 March to ask whether Lord Goronwy-Roberts will be prepared to meet a
delegation from the Heung Yee Kuk, the rural consultative council in the New Territories in Hong Kong, who are planning to visit the UK in April.
2. The question of a visit by members of the Heung Yee Kuk to the UK has been known about for some time. Mr Parry himself put
down a question on 31 January asking whether the Secretary of State or Lord Goronwy-Roberts would meet a delegation to discuss the question of land compensation in the New Territories and other related matters. (Mr Parry visited Hong Kong for five weeks in August/September 1976 and spent most of his time looking into matters of interest to the Heung Yee Kuk.) Mr Luard replied that he knew the Minister of State would be prepared to consider meeting a delegation if he were asked to do so. The department learned last week that the delegation from the Heung Yee Kuk proposed to leave Hong Kong on 15 April and wished to see Lord Goronwy-Roberts FL. G B (Hong Kong telegram no. 254 of 10 March). Lord Goronwy-Roberts'
Private Office informed the department that the Minister of State would be prepared to meet the delegation, assuming a convenient time could be found. (The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, then Mr Anthony Royle MP, saw the last delegation from the Heung Yee Kuk that visited the UK in June 1973.)
3. Mr Parry sååd in his letter that the Heung Yee Kuk had told him that their delegation planned to arrive in the UK on 2 April, which did not square with the information provided by the Hong Kong Government. With the agreement of Lord Goronwy-Roberts' Private Office the department therefore sent a telegram to Hong Kong saying that the
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