TNAG-0835-FCO40-1043-Foreign-and-Commonwealth-Office-seminar-on-the-future-of-Bri-1979 — Page 44

CONFIDENTIAL

158

布政司署

香港下亞畢道

*** OUR REF: TS 7/1162/46

來函檔號 YOUR REF.:

WE Quantrill Esq

HKG 025/4

10DEC179

Hong Kong & General Department

F CO

Tee

Bill,

ات.

13

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

3 December, 1979

Miss Fr

10

please let me see with

no und nyt the file

SEMINAR ON THE FUTURE OF DEPENDENT TERRITORIES

821/12

Thank you for sending us a copy of the record of discussions on the seminar held at Sussex University in September.

2.

You may think I am getting too Hong Kong- centred, but I was puzzled to see no reference to this place anywhere in the records. The discussions, and the summary with its reference to the view that Britain should be actively divesting itself of all the remaining colonies, seemed very remote from all the likely scenarios for the future of this particular colony.

3.

I assume that the seminar was really discussing colonies where independence is an option and therefore, by definition, excluding Hong Kong. I see that you are preparing a memorandum on policy towards dependent territories for Ministers and will be sending us a guidance on the subject towards the end of the year. Perhaps it would be worth making sure that Hong Kong's unique status is referred to explicitly in case anybody should get the wrong ideas.

SEE (159

eve

(D C Wilson)

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