11 November 1991
SECRET
HKD 011
112
Sir Michael Quinlan GCB
MOD
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
(12)
London SW1 2AH
From The Permanent Under Secretary of State
Sir David Gillmore KCMG
My
река Микаел,
Michael
HONG KONG: POSITION OF THE COMMANDER BRITISH FORCES ON EXCO
1. The Governor of Hong Kong has sought the Foreign Secretary's agreement that the Commander British Forces (CBF) should cease to be a member of the Executive Council when the present incumbent leaves in spring 1992. Ministers have asked me to write to you explaining the position and seeking your understanding for its necessity.
2. Let me say at the outset that the proposed moved in no way reflects adversely on the Commander British Forces. The Governor has reiterated on several occasions that it should not be taken as any criticism of the performance of the CBF or his predecessors in or out of ExCo. Far from it: during the Governor's period of office they have all been men of high calibre who have provided him with all the support that he could have asked for.
3. Unfortunately, this is not the issue. It is more to do with the changing political picture in Hong Kong and the need to leave as little excuse as possible for the Chinese to seek to have the head of the PLA in Hong Kong on the Executive Council post-1997. The less opportunity there is for this the better. Removing the CBF certainly will not guarantee that the PLA leader will not be appointed to ExCo, but it will at least remove the excuse that the CBF was there before.
4.
From an operational point of view, the Governor advises us that security matters are not generally discussed at ExCo and that the main forum for discussion of such issues is his Security Committee. This meets regularly and CBF is of course a member. In the context of the changing composition of ExCo and the evolving political structure in Hong Kong,
SECRET
/the Governor
Com
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.