TNAG-1255-FCO40-1588-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 169

3. WE ALSO CHECKED WITH MC CULLOUGH'S OFFICE. UNFORTUNATELY

MC CULLOUGH IS UNAVAILABLE BETWEEN 27 NOVEMBER AND 9 DECEMBER.

4. I APPRECIATE YOU HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS ON YOUR MIND, BUT, IN ORDER TO PIN WOLFOWITZ DOWN, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE ABOVE DATES AND PROGRAMME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IF IT WERE A QUESTION OF EXPLORING ALTERNATIVE DATES LATER IN DECEMBER, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT YOU COULD MANAGE.

5. ON AN INCIDENTAL POINT, MC CULLOUGH TOLD US THAT WHEN YOU CAME, HE WOULD LIKE TO GET YOU TOGETHER IF POSSIBLE WITH DICK SOLOMON, WHOSE MONOGRAPH ON CHINESE NEGOTIATING TACTICS YOU RECALL

MC CULLOUGH THOUGHT YOUR VIEWS WOULD BE VALUABLE, THOUGH HE WAS QUICK TO EMPHASISE THAT THEY WERE NOT AFTER BACKGROUND TO THE HONG KONG NEGOTIATIONS, BUT SIMPLY YOUR REFLECTIONS BASED ON EXPERIENCE OVER MANY YEARS. THERE IS OF COURSE NO OBLIGATION, BUT IT WOULD BE A BONUS

IF YOU WERE ABLE TO DO THIS. NO DECISION IS REQUIRED AT THE MOMENT.

6. PLEASE PASS COPIES TO FED AND HKGD, FCO.

SIGNED D M D THOMAS

NNNN

:

THIS IS A COPY

THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN RETAINED IN THE DEPARTMENT UNDER

SECTION 3 (4) OF THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT 1958