Canberra, 20 December 1971
Confidential
As requested, I spoke to Sir Keith Waller about the attached note of 17 December relating to Mr Kibel.1
Sir Keith came to the same conclusion as you, i.e. that it would be best to respond to Mr Kibel at this stage by simply thanking him for his offer to pursue any particular political aspects with the Chinese, but to say that the Government would prefer to let the matter rest for the time being.
I subsequently rang Mr James Kibel and responded along the lines set down by yourself and Sir Keith Waller.
Mr Kibel said the he quite understood the position. However, he said that when he next visited the Hong Kong area (at this stage he did not mention his father’s prospective visit), he would be seeking information on the current attitudes in the Chinese area and would be quite willing to report back any further substantive information that he had received.
With your agreement, I am sending copies of these two notes to Sir Keith Waller and our own Department.
[NAA: A1838, 3107/38/18, xxii]
1 James Kibel spoke to Griffith by telephone, explaining that his father would be in Hong Kong in early 1972, and asking if there were any political issues the Government would like his father to pursue privately with the Chinese.