CONFIDENTIAL
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to Anight
28 April 1977
25
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Sir hurray MacLehose GBE KCMG KCVO
Government House
LAST
REF.
HONG LONG
NEXT
REY.
LORD GORON"Y-ROBERTS' MEETING WITH HEUNG YEE KUK DELEGATION
1. I must admit to being more than annoyed by the article that appeared in Wednesday's South China Morning Post about the Kuk▾ Coloration's call on Lord Goronwy-Roberts (your telegram no. 414 refers). As I replied (FCO telegram no. 306) the first paragraph of the SCMP article is a travesty of what happened. The inister was welcoming and used expressions such as "delighted to see you" and "always glad to see visitors from Hong Kong" but at no time did he offer the Kuk or Parry "direct access" or "direct and regular contacts in future" with himself. Unless there was some major error in the interpretation, I frankly do not under- stand how the misunderstanding, if misunderstanding there was, could have arisen at the meeting.
2. It was apparent soon after the delegation left the Office that something was going wrong. James Margach, who now strings, as you know, in Tondon for the SCMP, began ringing up News Department in mid-afternoon and would not be satisfied with our press line. (Sec attachment) He eventually came to see me that evening. From what he said it appeared that the delegation's loader, r CHEUNG Yan-lung, had told him very much more than was in the press guidance that he and I agreed at the end of the dole ation's call on the Minister. It seemed that not only had Ir Choung been saying more than he should, but that some of it
rons. And this point about "direct access" in particular. I made it very clear to llargach what exactly had been said and he left professing to have understood fully.
3. hat then went wrong? I can only assume that Margach had
led his story before he came to see me and that nothing I told him on Tuesday evening was in time to do any good. I also
do o that, since there was only a most uncertain basis for the "access" story, Bob Parry or Cheung himself had the bright idea of boosting the Kuk's (or the delegation's) reputation through the spurious establishment of a direct line to an FCO
Minister.
CONFIDENTIAL
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