TNAG-2392-FCO40-3478-Appointment-of-Chris-Patten-as-new-Governor-of-Hong-Kong--Ap-1992 — Page 42

PERSONAL and CONFIDENTIAL

Secretary of State

HKA00/1

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Many thanks & producing all this at very short notice.

Sir J Coles Side copy

Private Secretary

FROM: P F Ricketts, HKD

DATE: 23 April 1992

cc: PS/Mr Goodlad

Mr Burns

24

GOVERNOR-DESIGNATE OF HONG KONG: MEDIA ARRANGEMENTS

A

1. I submit a draft initial statement and supplementaries

for the Governor-Designate's use if he meets the press in the course of 24 April. I am putting this up now, to catch the Secretary of State's box which closes at 1700. I will be discussing the material in parallel with the Governor-

Designate.

2. I will be discussing these with the Governor-Designate

later this afternoon. The present Governor has sent a telegram recommending that the Governor-Designate should make himself available to the press at a very early stage.

It looks like there will not be time to set up a full

satellite press conference. But I recommend that the Governor-Designate should plan to meet the London-based Hong Kong press in the course of the afternoon of 24 April. would forestall a deluge of media requests to the Governor- Designate over the weekend, and get him off on the right footing with the Hong Kong Press Corps. If he does so, I recommend that he should parry questions of substance: the Hong Kong press will no doubt try to lead him into newsworthy statements, for example on standing up to China.

That

KEWADR/1

CONFIDENTIAL and PERSONAL