TNAG-0631-FCO40-779-Effect-of-GATT-Multi-Fibre-Arrangement-on-Hong-Kong-negotiat-1977 — Page 217

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INFO PRIORITY BRUSSELS (FOR BURGESS), UKMIS GENEVA (FOR TSAO),

HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON.

E.E.C TEXTILES.

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1. IN INFORMAL CONVERSATION WITH MILLS (LEADING THE HONG KONG DELEGATION IN BRUSSELS) ON 10 OCTOBER TRAN SAID HE HAD BEEN

HAVING DIFFICULTY WITH THE LOWER ORDERS' OF THE U,K REPPESENTATION IN THE WORKING GROUP, WHO, HE SAID, WERE TAKING AN EXTREMELY HOSTILE LINE TOWARDS HONG KONG, TRAN SAID THAT, THE GOVERNOR HAVING GONE DIRECT TO MINISTERS AND GOT NOTHING CUT OF IT'', THE LOWER ORDERS IN THE U.X REPRESENTATION FELT THAT THE LINE THEY HAD BEEN TAKING HAD BEEN VINDICATED AND WERE NOW EVEN MORS UNFAVOURABLY DISPOSED TOWARDS HONG KONG. HE ADDED THAT THE U.K WAS PRESSING TO MAKE HIS (TRAN'S) AUGUST PROPOSALS FOR HONG KONG TOUGHER STILL.

2. HE ALSO ALLEGED (AS. HAS ANOTHER CONTACT) THAT AT ONE STAGE, IN THE WORKING GROUP, THE GERMANS HAD EXPRESSED ASTONISHMENT THAT A METROPOLITAN POWER COULD TREAT ITS COLONY SO BADLY.

3. TRAN HAS SAID SIMILAR THINGS BEFORE. HAVING YOUR ASSURANCES (IN E.G MY TALKS WITH MR DELL AND MR WILLIAMS) THAT ALLEGATIONS THAT BRITAIN HAS BEEN 'LEADING THE PACK AGAINST HONG KONG ARE UNTRUE, WE HAVE DISCOUNTED WHAT TRAN HAS SAID, AND HAVE NOT EVEN MENTIONED IT TO ANYONE ELSE.

4. BUT I THINK NOW THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW THE SORT OF THING TRAN HAS BEEN SAYING IN CONFIDENCE BECAUSE IF THESE REMARKS BECAME PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE IN HONG KONG, THEY WOULD BE BELIEVED

/BY MANY,

CONFIDENTIAL