TNAG-2916-FCO40-4191-International-support-from-European-countries-regarding-the--1993 — Page 16

Your Ref:

Our Ref:

Hong Kong Department

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1

REC

2/4

MKD 021

13 DEC 1993

INDE

да

Letter

the.

British Consulate-General

Frankfurt

Triton Haus

Bockenheimer Landstraße 42 60323 Frankfurt am Main

Telephone: (069) 170002-0

Fax: (069) 729553

STRY

bren Taken

Date: 2 December 1993

Dear Department,

VIEWS OF THE GERMAN CONSUL-GENERAL IN HONG KONG

1. I attach a translation of an article which appeared in the 26 November issue of Wirtschaftswoche, a leading German financial and economic weekly, which ascribes to Wolfgang Göttelmann, German Consul-General in Hong Kong, some critical and pessimistic views about Hong Kong's prospects and about China's behaviour after 1997.

2. One assumes that Göttelmann may not have anticipated that his views (assuming he has been reported accurately) would appear in print because they will hardly be well received in Hong Kong, Peking or indeed in Bonn at a time when the Germans are straining hard to persuade Peking to award them huge

contracts.

3.

We have not asked the HKDTC here in Frankfurt whether they have picked up his remarks.

Your ever,

Michael Hall.

M M Hall1

Consul (Commercial)

cc Chancery, British Embassy, Bonn

FED, FCO

Government House, Hong Kong