TNAG-1757-FCO40-2481-Future-of-Hong-Kong-membership-of-the-Sino-British-Joint-Lia-1989 — Page 14

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From:

RJT McLaren

( Back to

Date:

22 November 1988

Cc:

Mr Cooper, FED

Mr Hum

Hong Kong Department

2

НКСОЗ HKC031 2

1 DEC 983

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MR BRIAN HOOK: RESEARCH PROJECT ON JLG

1.

1.

I gave lunch today to Mr Brian Hook (Editor of the China Quarterly etc). He had recently spent three weeks in Hong Kong, where he was once an Administrative Officer. He was struck by the contrast between the evident prosperity of the territory and the strong sense of unease exhibited by many of those to whom he spoke, some of them friends of long standing.

2.

Mr Hook is anxious to be helpful. He believes that the achievements of the JLG so far in Hong Kong and elsewhere, are insufficiently appreciated And he has it in mind to carry out a study for eventual publication (I did not discourage him). In that connection, he would be grateful for an opportunity to talk to someone on the legal side of the FCO, who could explain the background to the JLG's work on legal issues (IROS, localisation etc) and to the drafting of the Basic Law. Could you establish whether Mr Fifoot would be prepared to see him for this purpose? Mr Hook could, I think, be relied upon not to break any confidences.

3.

Mr Hook is anxious to get a Chinese view on the JLG's work and asked my advice as to whether he should approach Mrs Zhang Youyun. I said that Mrs Zhang might suspect that "the British" had put Mr Hook up to approaching her. I rather doubted that he would get very much from her, beyond

an exposition of the standard Chinese line on the JLG. But i did not think any harm would be done. Mrs Zhang would know that Mr Hook was a thoroughly respectable academic.

week

CONFIDENTIAL

RJT McLaren