TNAG-1598-FCO40-2191-Hong-Kong-1987-Review-of-Representative-Government-1987 — Page 173

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FROM: PS/Lord Glenarthur

DATE: 3 December 1987

CC:

Private Secretary PS/Mr Eggar

Mr McLaren

News Dept

PRU

Mr Houston

REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT: VISIT OF MR MARTIN LEE

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Lord Glenarthur spoke separately this afternoon to Lord Cledwyn and Sir Peter Blaker about Mr Martin Lee's forthcoming visit, and gave them the unattributable piece of paper you had provided.

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Lord Cledwyn said that he was no longer thinking of organising a meeting with the delegation in the House of Lords. Instead, he would attend a meeting in the House of Commons at 1100 on Tuesday, 8 December. He had suggested to Lord MacLehose and others that they should attend this if they were interested in meeting the delegation. He expressed gratitude for your piece of paper and said that he would telephone if he had any questions about it.

3. Sir Peter Blaker also said that the piece of paper would be useful. He hoped to attend the Hong Kong delegation's meeting with the British/Hong Kong Parliamentary Group at 1130 on Thursday, 10 December. But there was a risk that his flight back from New York the previous evening could be delayed. In that case the meeting would be chaired by Dr Marek (Labour), whose attitude he described as "sensible". He would not show him the piece of paper, however.

4. Sir P Blaker said that he thought that Mr Lee was playing his hand badly. It was evident that the Catholic Institute of International Relations, who were organising his meetings, did not understand how Parliament worked. They were telephoning "almost everyone", although the number of MPS interested in Hong Kong was relatively small. By organising three separate meetings (one chaired by Sir Bernard Braine under CPA auspices) they merely divided the already limited clientele. He also thought that in Hong Kong terms Mr Lee was alienating the middle ground by pursuing an unduly extreme line. There was a danger that he would come to feel that he had nothing to lose by continuing in this vein, and would become even more intransigent. It was important to try to draw him back into the mainstream of Hong Kong politics. This would not be easy.

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3 December 1987

David Reddaway

PS/Lord Glenarthur

CONFIDENTIAL