TNAG-1431-FCO40-1914-Sensitivity-review-of-FCO-records-on-Hong-Kong-1985 — Page 31

CODE 18-77 AWO Ltd. 7/84

HK 2 ADV

Mr Powell HKD

Mr Ehrm

HKD

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference..HKK. 44.4.7.1.........

62 3112

REVIEW OF HONG KONG RECORDS

1

❤

I attended the meeting in LRD today with Mr Purves of Hong Kong Government and representatives of PUSD and Security Department. The main purpose was to enable Mr Purves to elaborate on the Hong Kong Government's concerns:

a) release of Hong Kong-sensitive documents here; arrangements for scrutinising UK/Hong Kong documents in Hong Kong before 1997.

b)

2.

and

sensitive

We reached no conclusions on either: (b) in particular will have to await Miss Blayney's forthcoming visit to Hong Kong; but Mr Purves le ft no one

in any doubt as to the magnitude of the task out there.

3.

seem harmless

useful in impressing upon sensitivity over matters the incident of the 1954 great detail. Mr Purves

of

On (a) the meeting was I think those present Hong Kong's acut-e that from here may Cabinet papers was dissected in also made the point that aside even from the elapse of time between now and 1997, the development

representative government is likely to heighten local sensitivity to such issues: in other words, sensitivity would increase, rather than the reverse. I added my own caveats about the need for us to err on the side of caution, particularly now, when we were still finding our

way in a new post-Agreement phase.

4. Miss Veitch indicated that s ome

30 FCO/Colonial office files had already come to light this year which she would, under Our latest guidelines, have to refer to HKD (mostly on defence and immigration). I repeated the need for us to see too much rather than too little, at least until we had the feel of things. (The papers will start coming soon, often with LRD deadlines of 14 days or less, by the way!) Miss Blayney mentioned that MOD had their own procedure, but had now been strictly upbraided to exercise great care with Hong Kong papers.

5.

6.

>

In all a useful meeting from Hong Kong's viewpoint, for reasons at para 3. Mr Purves gave a good presentation of the new "Hong Kong dimension"

on this issue.

the

30 July 1985

емы

CE Leek Hồng Kon

CONFIDENTTAL

THIS IS A COPY

THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN CLOSED FOR

40 YEARS UNDER FOI EXEMPTION NO... 27 (+).........

Departmentнк кужил

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

02 AUG 1985

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