TNAG-2769-FCO40-3986-Hong-Kong-and-the-media-interviews--press-briefings-and-the--1994 — Page 133

CONFIDENTIAL

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MDHOAN 1306

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CONFIDENTIAL

FM FCO

TO DESKBY 23010OZ HONG KONG

TELNO 985

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INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING

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YOUR TELNO 1768: PANORAMA PROGRAMME

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Ms B-J

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1. An arrangement by PUSD to make sure that the Governor was not taken by surprise by anything in the programme, seems to have gone awry.

Apologies.

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2. We are sending a transcript by fax in parallel with this telegram. Although this is the text submitted by the BBC to the DA Notice Secretary, there may be editorial changes before transmission. You will note that although the exchange between Mangold and Baroness Park is accurately reproduced in para 3 of TUR, she did not make the statement on commercial activity attributed to her in the RTHK report (para 1(iii) of TUR). The programme juxtaposes three elements - a claim by a former CIA Chief of Hong Kong Station (assessed by PUSD as nonsense) that intelligence reports were routinely distributed to non-British firms: a claim by a former US Ambassador that agents are planted for commercial intelligence purposes: and some more general comments by Lady Park about rewards to businessmen for their assistance. The programme thereby contrives to give the impression that SIS make extensive use of British businessmen in Hong Kong. The attribution to Lady Park of comment on tasking SIS for information about the Chinese during talks on Hong Kong (para 1(ii) of TUR) is also inaccurate.

3. You have already received by fax (Barnes Jones to Hanson) a copy of the line to be taken by News Department. (The subject did not come up on 22 November). The focus on Hong Kong in the programme owes nothing to any official briefing - quite the reverse. It is important to stress in any comment that the content of the programme is the responsibility of the programme makers alone. Moreover you will wish to emphasis that, although Lady Park was exceptionally authorised to be interviewed, she retired in 1979.

4.

We are also sending by fax the classified background note

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