TNAG-1143-FCO40-1423-Hong-Kong-and-the-Falkland-Islands-crisis-1982 — Page 9

A

116

MICK

020/2

CONFIDENTIAL

10/1

Müürsten

118

PS/Lord Belstead

HONG KONG AND THE AN OPEN LETTER TO

, по шторми No more colll Pewolle/11

16

SOUTH ATLANTIC FUND : EXCO AND LEGCO

phsl

-12/4.

>

1.

You asked for comments on an open letter from Alfred Chan on behalf of the 1997 Action Group to Sir S Y Chung and the members of EXCO and LEGCO, which was copied to Lord Belstead.

2. The letter, which has not yet been received in Hong Kong,

criticises the decision to contribute £2 million to the South

Atlantic Fund. It is contentious in tone, alleging that the decision was hasty, accusing Britain of discrimination against Hong Kong over nationality, textiles, student fees etc and claiming that the contribution would not help negotiations on

the 1997 problem with China in view of China's attitude on the

Falklands conflict.

3. The writer of the letter, Alfred Chan, is known to the Hong

Kong Government Office in London as an active member of the 1997

Action Group, despite an apparently very busy job in Edinburgh

with the YWCA Roundabout International Centre. The group's

purported aims are to arouse Hong Kong people's awareness of the

problems of 1997, to get the UK to recognise her responsibility

for the 2.6 million British passport holders in Hong Kong and to

form a 'political party' to lobby for self-determination. The

group claims to have 40 members, probably mainly students and young professionals in the United Kingdom. The HKGO met the group once and found them to be long-term UK residents, out of touch

with Hong Kong and with limited appeal to Hong Kong people.

CONFIDENTIAL

/4.