TNAG-0752-FCO40-956-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 183

SECRET

33

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

12 May, 1978

布政司署

香港下亞畢道

*** OUR REF.: TSX 4/60 IV

* Your Ref.:

HKK 040/2

JAB Stewart Esq OBE

Hong Kong & General Department

F C/O

lees

THE CHINA DIMENSION

I Thousanda

11/5

No

19/5.

HKK 040/1-

No. 51

2 MAY 1978

OFFICER

PA

REG.TRY Action, Teken

Many thanks for your letter (HKK 040/2) of

4 May about a paper on the China Dimension.

2.

I am afraid it will not be practical politics to produce a draft from here by the end of the month. I am due to go up to Peking tomorrow for a week. With the best will in the world, there would not be time to write a paper and get it to you by your deadline. It is clearly a subject of great importance and I would like our draft to be carefully thought out before sending it back to London. In addition, I think it would be right for us to work in consultation with Peking on this one, as was done when a contribution was sent from here to the Planning Paper.

3.

I will talk about all this when I am in Peking next week. I think the best I can promise is to let you have a paper as soon as we can.

It will certainly be available well before the summer holidays.

4.

I am sorry if this means that you will have left the Department by the time the draft arrives; but I have no doubt that you will have recorded your views either on paper or in the minds of other members of the Department.

Meanwhile I am sending a copy of your letter, together with this one, to Emrys Davies in Peking.

5.

with best wisher,

CC

(D C Wilson)

R C Samuel Esq (FED FCO) ET Davies Esq (PEKING)

SECRET

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