CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO PRIORITY FCO TELNO 3074
[HK00112
RECEI
23 OCT 1990
TOP COPY
REGISTRY
PA
Action Taken
DESK OFFICER
OF 22120OZ OCTOBER 9NDEX
25/
164253 MDLIAN 0366
PERSONAL FOR PAUL
HKD FROM GOVERNOR
193!
23
ANNUAL REPORT ON HONG KONG
YOUR TELNO 193°
1. AS YOU WILL HAVE REALISED, TUR WAS NOT DISTRIBUTED MORE WIDELY IN MY ABSENCE. HK TELNO 3058 WAS SENT IN IGNORANCE OF THE POINTS
YOU RAISED.
2. I AM SYMPATHETIC TO THE IDEA THAT WE SHOULD TRY TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MAN-HOURS SPENT ON THE PRODUCTION OF THE ANNUAL REPORT.
BUT I AM NOT SURE THAT REPLACING IT BY MY ANNUAL ADDRESS TO LEGCO WOULD BE THE RIGHT ANSWER. MY LEGCO ADDRESS IS INTENDED PRIMARILY FOR DOMESTIC, NOT UK CONSUMPTION. INCREASINGLY, AND DELIBERATELY, IT IS NO LONGER A COMPREHENSIVE SUMMARY OF EVENTS IN HONG KONG
DURING THE PREVIOUS YEAR. IF THE ADDRESS WAS USED AS THE MAIN DOCUMENT, THE COVERING MINISTERIAL NOTE WOULD HAVE TO BE PRETTY LONG. OTHERWISE YOU WOULD FIND MPS COMPLAINING THAT KEY POINTS (EG THE BASIC LAW THIS YEAR) HAD NOT BEEN COVERED. THERE IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY THAT OCCASIONALLY THE ADDRESS MAY CONTAIN POINTS WITH WHICH HMG DID NOT WISH TO BE ASSOCIATED, EG ASPECTS OF ECONOMIC OR SOCIAL POLICY INIMICAL TO A PARTICULAR PARTY IN OFFICE. I WOULD NOT OF COURSE WISH TO GET INTO A POSITION WHERE THE WHOLE TEXT HAD TO BE CLEARED IN ADVANCE, NOR TO ESTABLISH SUCH A PRECEDENT FOR THE SAR.
3. THERE IS A POSSIBLE FOURTH OPTION IN ADDITION TO THE THREE IN
PARA 4 OF TUR. THAT IS TO RESURRECT THE IDEA OF AN ANNUAL DEBATE ON HONG KONG. I REALISE THAT ORIGINALLY THE ANNUAL REPORT WAS, IN PART, INTENDED TO REDUCE THE PRESSURE FOR A REGULAR DEBATE. BUT TIMES HAVE CHANGED. AN ANNUAL DEBATE MIGHT NOW BE SEEN IN HONG
KONG AS MORE REASSURING THAT A REPORT. IT MIGHT ALSO HELP TO MAINTAIN A BIPARTISAN APPROACH TO HONG KONG MATTERS, ALTHOUGH YOU WILL BE BETTER PLACED TO JUDGE THIS THAN I.
4
I SHOULD PERHAPS MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I HAVE NO OBJECTION TO MY
ANNUAL LEGCO ADDRESS BEING PLACED IN THE LIBRARIES OF BOTH
HOUSES, IF THIS IS NOT ALREADY BEING DONE. THIS WOULD CERTAINLY
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CONFIDENTIAL
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