TNAG-2277-FCO40-3276-Hong-Kong-and-the-media-1991 — Page 44

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28 October 1991

Sir David Wilson CGMG

Governor of Hong Kong

Dear Covenor,

CONFIDENTIAL

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Foreign & Commonwealth Office

London SW1 2AH

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Many thanks for your letter of 19 October about an early warning mechanism for issues which are potentially sensitive at this end. We are most grateful for the arrangements you propose.

You ask whether the Department reads the Hong Kong press and marks up to senior officials and Ministers anything of significance. The answer is that we certainly do monitor the Hong Kong press closely here: in addition to the full daily GIS summary, we get copies of the SCMP and the Standard which circulate all round the Department. So we do indeed know what is echoing about in the Hong Kong press. The problem we have found is that this does not always tell us when subjects are going to be put to ExCo, and hence at what moment we need to go to Ministers. On two recent occasions: Telecommunications and RTHK corporatisation: the issue had been around for a long time in the Hong Kong press, but we were unsighted on the timing of ExCo consideration.

So it would be very useful to have the kind of early warning which you proposed. Meanwhile we will indeed continue to mark up the line items of interest from the Hong Kong press (I have today put up to Ministers the editorials in the SCMP and the Standard on your ExCo appointments, which are in marked contrast to the treatment in the British press!).

eve,

Yours Nigel Coro for

PF Ricketts

MAXAKM

CC

CONFIDENTIAL