SECRET
UK EYES A
16. After this plenary session it is expected that
negotiations will continue behind the scenes. The
Governor will take soundings to discover how far the
Executive Council and Finance Committee are prepared to
go to meet HMG's demands. There may be a series of
meetings between the Minister and the Governor or between
the Minister and groups of Unofficial members of the
Council and Committee. There may also be meetings between
This has already been
UK officials and the Governor's official advisers.
17. If an agreement can be reached it will be embodied
in a Memorandum of Understanding.
drafted by officials of the two sides meeting in London
and is substantially complete except for the vital details
of the composition of the garrison and the size of Hong
Kong's financial contribution. It includes a provision
for inflation (see paragraph 3 of draft at Appendix B o
Brief E).
UK Negotiating Tactics
18.
Our negotiating tactics will have to be reviewed
when we get to Hong Kong in the light of discussions with
the Governor, CBF and Mr. O'Keeffe of the FCO, who we hope
will be able to give us an up-to-date assessment of the
Hong Kong position. But it is possible to suggest broad
lines which will have to be adopted in the negotiations,
which seem likely to fall into several distinct phases.
19. The first phase will be the Minister of State's
address to the Executive Council and Finance Committee,
which will provide the major opportunity to state HMG's
сазе. The main points to get across are our continued
commitment to the colony; our belief that Hong Kong,
which now enjoys an economic situation comparable to that
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