TNAG-1077-FCO40-1327-Broadcasting-in-Hong-Kong-proposed-BBC-relay-station-1981 — Page 65

Fidsey

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RECEIVED IN RASTEY NO. 51

- !!! 1981

DESK OFFICER

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Enter Mr. Willingning 6.2.0

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Jo.

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Lord Nicholas Gordon Lennox

Mr Donald Mr Mills

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INDEX

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REGISTRY Action Taken

Mr Clif

HKGD

Mr Flower

NO MOSTA Pay 712

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POSSIBLE BBC RELAY STATION IN HONG KONG

Mr McLaren

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Mr Castle-Smith

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See 25

1. Mr Howard, the Chairman of the BBC, has written again to the Secretary of State urging him to ask the Hong Kong Government to pay the whole cost of this relay station and suggesting that it could be operational by 1983/84. These requests are so far-fetched that it would seem appropriate for the Secretary of State to send a cautious reply to prevent future misunderstandings. I submit a draft with which the other departments concerned concur.

2. Mr Howard seems to have an obsession with the Hong Kong station which BBC management may not share. When Mr Ridley saw Mr Muggeridge of the BRC on 23 June it was left that we would assess the many political and technical difficulties and then, in consultation with the BBC would prepare a letter from the Secretary of State to the Governor giving our views on the whole project. Mr Ridley made no commitment that we would lean on the Governor to make any financial contribution. But he said we might be able to argue that Hong Kong's domestic radio services would benefit from the station and that a better BBC service to China might induce a better Chinese attitude to Hong Kong (in fact both these arguments may be hard to sustain). Our present thinking is that there may be a case for asking the Hong Kong authorities to supply the land free of charge or at least not to insist on a full commercial rent. But there would seem no basis for persuading Hong Kong to pay much more towards a total cost of some £7 million and we would need to approach them very carefully, with advance confidential consultation with the Governor, to get even that.

3. The capital programme at present envisages construction of this station between 1985/86 and 1988/89. But approval of the whole programme is contingent on the BBC making the required cuts in vernacular and other current services by 1982/83. At present there is no indication of the BBC's willingness to do this and they are clearly mounting a parliamentary campaign to seek to reverse the reductions. Though some reshuffling of the capital programme is conceivable, it would be almost impossible in engineering terms to "have the relay. operative in 1983/84", as Mr Howard suggests.

K&Michael.

5 July 1981

K G MacInnes Inf Dept G 4/3 233 4337

CONFIDENTIAL

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