TNAG-0842-FCO40-1051-Visit-of-Sir-Murray-MacLehose--Governor-of-Hong-Kong--to-Chi-1979 — Page 3

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CONFIDENTIAL

HKK026/3

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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

RECEIVED IN RE 354 NO. 31

INC

2 1 JUN 1979

DESK OFFICER

PA

H

London SW1A 2AH

20 June 1979

Sir Murray MacLehose GBE KCMG KCVO Governor and Commander-in-Chief HONG KONG

LAST / BR

F

YOUR VISIT TO CHINA

1.

I ought to have written long ago to thank you for your despatch of 11 April, summing up your visit to China. This (together with the detailed records of your meetings with Chinese leaders) was read with the greatest interest here. However, the subsequent processing of the papers then got held up in all the flurry of briefing for new Ministers.

2. I have arranged for copies of the despatch to be sent to those in the FCO and elsewhere in Whitehall who need to see it, but in view of the continuing sensitivity of the leases question we have not given it a wider distribution. For the same reason we have confined printing to the Departmental Series. I am a little sorry about this since a despatch on an event of this significance would certainly command a wide readership. But I hope you will agree that it was right to restrict the circulation to those who need to know.

RJT McLaren

Hong Kong and General Department

CONFIDENTIAL