TNAG-1159-FCO40-1439-Visit-by-Margaret-Thatcher--UK-Prime-Minister--to-Hong-Kong--1982 — Page 45

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OVERSEAS TRADE DIVISION 4/2

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE

1 VICTORIA STREET

LONDON SW1H OET

Telephone Direct Line

Switchboard

01-215 5242 01-215 7877

29 July 1982

RESTRICTED

R JF Hoare Esq

Hong Kong and General Dept

FCO

London SW1

нки

02615

"FB918 Panal

16918

Dear Mr Hoare

PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO HONG KONG: SPEECH TO BUSINESSMEN

Further to my letter of 23 July to Dick Clift, there are one or two changes of nuance which I should like to insert into the draft speech for submission to No 10. If it has not yet gone I should be grateful if you could write these in.

2.

The changes are:-

(a) page 6, in line 9, after "differs" add "in a number of

respects." In line 10 replace "many respects" by "other important respects."

(b) page 6, final paragraph, insert after "3 months" following

additional sentence "The dimensions of our market, Mr Chairman, are the direct consequence of our attachment, which we share with yourselves in Hong Kong, to a liberal trading system: let nobody be in any doubt about that, whatever the periodic strains which that system has to face." Amend existing third sentence to read "Because of our liberal policies, our market is much freer of restrictions than people sometimes argue."

(c) page 8, first paragraph, add at end the following additional

sentence "Hong Kong being Hong Kong, nobody can doubt you will be better able than other economies to make the best of it."

3. If, however, the draft speech has gone to No 10 already perhaps we can have an opportunity later to tidy it up or modify it in other detailed respects eg the statistics will need to be rechecked to take account of revisions or later publications.

Yours sincerely

SA Howard

ppT MUIR

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