CONFIDENTIAL
NOTE FOR THE RECORD
I thought that du. Woollacolts
articlena copy which I
attach, war
a pretty muddled
effort.
DFM.
H
E M. Milton. Al have argued, the Chinese
"GUARDIAN" Article on Hong Kong deliver to much profit
from Hi....
T=125/2.
I should perhaps have recorded that I was tackled by TAN Kan of the NCNA at the Australian National Day "vin d'honneur" on 26 January about Mr Woollacott's article in the "GUARDIAN" of 18 January, which was re-printed in the Asian Wall Street Journal here a couple of days later. (It advocated questioning the assumption that Hong Kong's status quo vas in Britain's interest as well as China's.
2512.
2.
By Enterpr
ニプリュ
I was talking to the Singapore Commissioner
when Mr TAN spotted me and I introduced him to Mr Lim,
who left shortly afterwards. After one or two pleasantries,
a thought suddenly appeared to spring into Mr TAN's
mind and he asked me whether I had seen the Asian
Wall Street journal of some days before. Before he
got any further, I realised what was coming and said
jovially that I had indeed seen the article and was interested to note that it had been re-printed in the Asian Wall Street Journal. (My purpose in this tactic was to suggest to Mr TAN that if anyone was to be tackled on this subject it should be Peter Kann, the publisher of the Journal, who happens to share a boat with Woollacott and has been subject to communist blandishments.)
3.
Fir TAN then asked what sort of person Mr Woollacott was and whether he had any support for his view in the UK. I prevaricated on both points as best I could, using the phrase which I remembered having seen that Mr Cortazzi employed during his recent discussions with the Australians, namely, that so long as Hong Kong was useful to China, the status quo would remain and de-colonization was not really an option. Mr TAN then emphasised earnestly along usual lines that Anglo/Chinese relations were excellent, the Chinese vere looking forward to continued cooperation with the British in 1977 and it would be a pity if anything disturbed this highly desirable state of affairs sentiments which I heartily endorsed. I suggested that Mr TAN should not worry unduly since Mr Woollacott was due to go on long leave in a few months time and it was on the cards that he might not return to Hong Kong. Hr TAN laughed and we parted.
сс
H K Dept FCO
FED
F CO
Chancery, Peking
(CDS Drace-Francis) Assistant Political Adviser
22.2.77
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.