TNAG-2392-FCO40-3478-Appointment-of-Chris-Patten-as-new-Governor-of-Hong-Kong--Ap-1992 — Page 33

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SECRETARY OF STATE'S INTERVIEW ON THE WORLD AT ONE:

FRIDAY 24 APRIL 1992

Q: The Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, joins us now on the

phone from Oxfordshire. Mr Hurd, can we deal first with

those points raised by George Foulkes that there was not enough consultation and that its going to look like a consolation prize for Chris Patten for losing his seat?

A: Well we've received a huge amount of advice, the Prime

Minister and I, over recent months about this

Q:

A:

appointment, a huge amount of advice from Hong Kong. I think the main worry in Hong Kong through the years now, has been that the British Government is not going to pay

enough attention to Hong Kong. We've now appointed to

the top job in Hong Kong, one of the 4 or 5 top people

in the political life of this country, a personal friend of the Prime Minister's, a personal friend of mine,

someone with whom we've worked intimately for many years

now. Its, I think, an inspired appointment. I'm

delighted that Chris Patten has agreed to take it on.

There are views in the colony which we've gleaned this

morning that there is concern about the way the appointment was handled. There has been something of a

long delay. And the floating of the name of

Chris Patten, who one assumes has had to think long and

hard about it, if he'd not taken the job up it would

have been very embarrassing, wouldn't it?

I entirely agree. Its one of the troubles of living in a democracy that discussions and thinking time which

be should entirely private becomes leaked and I've been

worried in the last week or so that that has happened.

We decided really some time ago that for the last 5 years of Hong Kong's existence as a British colony, you did need somebody who had political authority "and access here. Various names, as you say, were floated

No.

: