SECRET
Secret
43)
DSB
(Attn Mr R Allen)
а
28/4
← PAO(S) 29/64
in clarta 29/4
M
An calcething
exchange
be pertantly pace PS/GH
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Num.
My Bunter HED me Davies, FED
К
W
MECHAIMAN.
Laft 24/4
This is to record what I told you over the telephone, that I had lunch on 20 April with John Ni of the Chung Hwa Travel Service. This was at the invitation of a mutual acquaintance, Dr Liao Kuang-sheng of the CUHK. At the outset I made a little statement to the effect that this was a purely personal initiative rather than a Government one. HKG retained its cautious attitude towards encounters with Ni. He quite understood this, as indeed he expressed understanding for our point of view, and our political situation, at many points in the subsequent conversation.
2.
The
Our talk was mostly general, but Ni took the opportunity to raise three specific subjects with me. first was his request that Chung Hwa be again given an airport pass. He said that they had had this facility in the past, but it had been taken away from them without explanation. He said
he had two concerns. Firstly, there were now a large number of sometimes elderly travellers from Taiwan, mostly going to the mainland, who did not have entry permits for Hong Kong and were sometimes (flight delays, etc.) stuck for long periods of time in the transit area. A pass would enable him or his staff to offer assistance to people in these circumstances. The second reason was the increasing number of Taiwanese VIPS who came to Hong Kong. He felt himself at a disadvantage in not being able to greet them in a suitable manner. I dodged this question, pleading ignorance. When I asked if the pass was something given to consular representatives, Ni said that a number of private companies also enjoyed this privilege, and not just airlines. On your advice, I am asking the Airport Security Committee whether they have a list of those with this privilege. If it is large, then it might be justifiable that a
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