CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Galsworthy
HKD
HKR 02715
LEA HEGISTRY
15 JAN 1986
DESE OFFICER
OEX
REGISTRY
PA
Action Taken
AB 16
From: P J Westmacott Date: 7 January 1986
CC:
Sir W Harding
Mr Roberts, News
Department
MR RENTON'S VISIT TO HONG KONG
1.
Mr Renton has seen Hong Kong telno 51 in which the Governor queries the idea of holding a press conference at the airport before he leaves for Thailand on 24 January.
He continues to believe that it makes sense to hold the press conference at this time, for a number of
2.
reasons:
(a) he prefers to hold press conferences at the end of visits, so that he can comment on what he has seen and heard and not just speculate on what he will be doing. Mr Renton feels that Lord Young came unstuck at his press conference in part at least because he gave it too soon.
(b) if he speaks to the press at 6.30 on the evening of 23 January, he will not have heard the views of senior Unofficials.
(c) the answers Mr Renton gives at his press conference are likely to be unwelcome to the Hong Kong press whenever the conference takes place. Holding it earlier rather than later will simply give Hong Kong journalists more scope for doorstepping Mr Renton that evening, and many of them will, of course, be at the airport for his departure anyway.
(d) there is much to be said for having a cut off point (a flight departure) for a press conference at which there are likely to be a lot of difficult questions.
(e) the earlier timing would ensure that the first few hours of Mr Renton's visit would concentrate exclusively on press handling to the detriment of the Minister's and the Governor's other priorities.
CONFIDENTIAL
(13)
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