TNAG-0850-FCO40-1060-Future-of-Hong-Kong-New-Territories-leases-1979 — Page 21

HK future four

indicates Columns 306 & 307. The answers to his Written Questions were made

the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr. Evan Luard.

Mr. Parry adds that there are very strict rules in the House of Commons governing the asking and asnwering of Parliamentary Questions. We may regard a Ministerial reply to such a question as being factually true.

Mr. Parry asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth

Affairs whatk sites for a second airport in Hong Kong have been

examined that do not lie in the New Territories.

Mr. Luard: No site outside the New Territories appeared suitable

to the consultants who undertook the study in 1974 and 1975.....

No such site was examined.

Mr. Parry asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth

Affairs which sites for a second airport in Hong Kong have been

examined that do not involve overflying Chinese airspace on approach.

Mr. Luard: None.

Mr. Parry asked the Secretary for of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he plans to seek to amend the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 to enable Her Majestie's Governmen to guarantee loans raised to finance a second airport or similar large projects in Hong Kong.

Mr. Luard: Her Majestie's Government have no such plans.

Go?

Fact No. 4.

All possible second airport sites lie in the New Territories, they all involve overflying Chinese airspace on approach and no British Government guarantees for the finance are forthcoming.

A hush falls now at the seminar. A distinguished guest is approaching. His eyes are tired/searching long and deep across the border, his briefease

from

bulges with documents from the BBC's Summary of World Broadcasts, Current Scene, China News Summary, Asian Analyst, China Topics and the like. He is a walking, talking compendium of "information" from " reliable sources". He is a China-Watcher an honourable and well-paid breed that flourish somewhere between the third floor of the U.S. Consulate General in Garden Rd. and the Foreign Correspondents' Club. This one is called David Bonavia and he works for the Far Eastern Economic Review. He has considered the problem of the future of Hong Kong and his views are contained in a special feature on that precise