1
BRITISH IMDASSY,
PLKING.
A
Aceny 671° Strally is helle
ä Varmen.
minaric. R.E.
6 August, 1978.
1419.
Evans (FEL)
pl. spic.
K.M. Wilford, Esq., OMG
Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
London, S.W.1.
Dear Michail
S
に?
OFFICIAL CHINESE PRESLITATION IN HONG KONG
to
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20
Harvey's letter to Stratton of 23 July asks us begin considering the brief on official Chinese representation in Hong Kong for the Prime Minister'15 visit in January The lcttcr asks in particulel' whether the suggestion modo by Chi P'ong-fei duriDS his visit to London in June for reciprocal represcii- tution of the Hong Kong Government in Canton affectu or modifies our percey tion of Chincsc intentions. It is for Murray MacLehoce to say,hether this varial. makes the proposal any more attractivo to him. far as Chinese intentions in putting for Word the variant are concerned, I should say it is most probably a genuine attempt on their part to get rOUGHO the objections to their proposal put forward fit by Mr. Royle and then by the secretary of Statc and to dress it up in a way that they think may be morc palatable to us I do not see how it can be construed as a sinistor manoeuvre. The variant proposal of reciprocal representation in Canton is however &latively minor matter and the main que.hion is how we recommend that the central issuc should oc dealt with when the Prime Minister comes to Peking in January.
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2. The Prime Minister's discussion of this question with Chou Enlai will be seen by the Chinone to the last court of appeal on the subject. un cach ocenario... that the Chinese proposal for official represent bi has been discussed substantively - Mr. Hoyle's vini. in May 1972, the secretary of State's visit in October last year and Chi 'ong-fci's visit to London in June - the ChincBC have declined to accept OUT negative answer us final and love e sked us to comm-dde,
SLORET
/ the