TNAG-1230-FCO40-1543-Visit-by-Richard-Luce--Minister-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Com-1983 — Page 89

Minister

THIS IS A COPY

THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR

40 YEARS UNDER FOI

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EXEMPTION NO. 27, 40

Tim Eggar, Member for Enfield North, called back this afternoon. He said that there is tremendous expectation in Hong Kong about your visit and about what you would say. Given the degree of expectation, Mr Eggar thought that anything you would be able to say during your stay would come as something of an anti-climax. However, he thought you would wish to know that the many people to whom he spoke set great store by a reference, if it were possible, about the importance of possession of Hong Kong and the importance of taking the interests of the people into account in discussions with the Chinese. Mr Eggar thought it might be appropriate to say something along the lines of the remarks made by the Prime Minister when she visited Hong Kong last year. Mr Eggar had only spent two days in Hong Kong, but he stressed that he had met a fair cross-section of people, both friends and others, and had gained a strong impression that there is an almost complete collapse of confidence in the Colony. He added that Mr Heath had not helped. The people badly needed some form of reassurance from a person in authority. Mr Eggar himself was very worried at the way things were going.

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frenzied build-up of expectation can the request

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mich has both privical sense &

and which can be used by the Hag king press and the establishment for the coming

monks. I think it would be wrong