TNAG-2276-FCO40-3275-Hong-Kong-and-the-media-1991 — Page 89

Miss Spencer

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pa

Media

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COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

HAB 301/1

JUN 1991

From: R H G Davies

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Information Department

Date: 14 June 1991

cc: Mr Harris

Miss Saunders, HKD

BBC WORLD SERVICE TELEVISION AND HUTCHISON

1. I have spoken as you suggested to BBC World Service TV (Mr Macdonald, Head of Development) but it has not really taken us

any further forward. WSTV are talking to Hutchison and would like to come to an agreement as soon as possible, but Mr Macdonald did

not try to impress on me that there was any serious urgency about

this from the BBC's point of view, or any need to reach a decision by a particular date. The BBC would like the programmes to be

broadcast in Asia in Cantonese, but this is not in itself a major

consideration for them. How important Cantonese really is to

Hutchison in the context of the proposed deal Mr Macdonald said he

could not tell.

2.

I think we can only go back to Hong Kong and ask them to take

the possibility and advantage of introducing WSTV into Asia fully into account when reviewing broadcasting policy. I also think that

it would be worth floating the idea that, if granting Hutchison a

general licence to broadcast in Cantonese is too great a concession,

they should be given a licence just for the one BBC-fed channel.

Shall I draft something on these lines in consultation with Hong

Kong Department? We also need to go back to Lord Derwent and Mr Li

Can this wait until after our next exchange with

at some stage.

Hong Kong?

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