TNAG-2294-FCO40-3308-Visit-by-Douglas-Hurd--Secretary-of-State-for-Foreign-and-Co-1991 — Page 15

CONFIDENTIAL

(v)

(vi)

and key members of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee

would help.

Mr McLaren, as HMA-designate Peking, would be an

excellent candidate to talk to the diplomatic

correspondents.

It would obviously be very helpful if the Secretary of

State was able to see some of the more important

editors and writers himself. I doubt that he will have

time for many and I would suggest that, at this stage

at least, he should concentrate on Simon Jenkins (Times), Peter Jenkins (Independent), John Gittings. (Guardian) and either Max Hastings or Simon

Scott-Plummer (Telegraph).

(vii) We would then need to plug the gaps. It would

certainly be very useful if you were to talk to Ronnie

Spark, who is about to go to Hong Kong.

In addition to this, it would indeed make sense for the

Secretary of State to do one or two radio/TV interviews just before Easter and for someone again to brief the diplomatic correspondents, especially any covering the visit.

Briefing

7.

For much of this we shall need some very good briefing material, including on the Dalai Lama.

فسان

RF Cornish

CONFIDENTIAL

Page 15Page 16