CYPHER CAT A
Gps 240
FM PEKING 260330Z
CONFIDENTIAL
56
CONFIDENTIAL
TO PRIORITY HONG KONG TELNO.36 OF 26.5.78
RELAN
MMOCK
INFO ROUTINE FCO.
30.31
3 MAY 1978
PA
CO
ра
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FOLLOWING FOR POLITICAL ADVISER.
CHINA AND HONG KONG BILATERAL ISSUES.
1. AT MY RECEPTION FOR LORD GLENAMARA'S DELEGATION YESTERDAY
CHANG YI-CHUN AND LI PAO-CH'ENG OF WESTERN EUROPEAN DEPARTMENT
SPOKE WITH SULLIVAN ABOUT WATER AND IMMIGRATION, THEY CONFIRMED THAT THERE WOULD BE NO PROBLEM ABOUT INCREASING THE SUPPLY OF WATER, FOR THE FIRST FEW YEARS' (THIS IS PERHAPS A REFERENCE TO PHASE 1 IN TABLE 11 ATTACHED TO THE MEMORANDUM PASSED BY YOU TO NCNA). BEYOND A CERTAIN, UNSPECIFIED INCREASE, THERE WOULD BE TRANSPORT DIFFICULTIES WHICH THE KWANGTUNG AUTHORITIES WERE AT PRESENT RESEARCHING: THEY WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY BE INTERESTED IN DISCUSSIONS WITH HONG KONG ON CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW PIPELINE IN DUE COURSE.
2. ON IMMIGRATION CHAN AND LI HAD HEARD THAT THE HONG KONG AUTHORITIES HAD MADE A PUBLIC STATEMENT ABOUT THE SOCIAL SERVICE DIFFICULTIES CAUSED BY THE HIGH LEVEL OF LEGAL IMMIGRATION. AT THAT TIME WE HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE REPLY TO A QUESTION IN LEGCO, BUT POINTED OUT THAT THIS WAS A SIGN OF HOW SERIOUSLY THE HONG KONG AUTHORITIES VIEWED THE SITUATION. CHANG AND LI WERE UNABLE TO CONFIRM THAT ANY PRGRESS HAD BEEN MADE IN THE CHINESE REVIEW OF
THE SITUATION, BUT ASSURED US THAT SINCE YOU HAD RAISED THE MATTER WITH SUNG CHIH-KUANG IT WAS RECEIVING URGENT ATTENTION.
DAVIES
FILES
IFKFGD.
FED
MACORTAZZI MNMURRAY
CONFIDENTIAL