TNAG-1331-FCO40-1758-Future-of-Hong-Kong-test-of-the-acceptability-of-the-Joint-D-1984 — Page 103

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that the Commissioner and his staff have not

been impartial

though a final judgment may

await the test of whether the text of the

Commissioner's report can be regarded as

What do you

impartial as well as accurate.

think?

(a) Can the report of the Assessment Office be

judged to be "accurate"?

It seems to me that the question of "accuracy"

must relate to the report, derived from accurate

analyses and assessments at an early stage.

The main focus of an accurate report must

presumably be the "overall assessment of the

extent of acceptance by the people of Hong Kong

of the draft Agreement"

though the accurate

summary reporting of the views expressed on

the different parts of the draft Agreement will

also be important. We shall see drafts of

the report at the stage when they reach the

Commissioner and, as we have agreed, it will

be sensible to offer general comments (if we

have them), while avoiding any drafting

suggestions. Our problem here may be to

express our own judgment, with independence

and integrity, in a way that does not strain

/credibility