P Cradock Esq CMG
PEKING
SECRET
нкконо
WWW. 51
RECENED T
1 & AFP 1980
DESK OFFICES
IN233-3184-
29/4 H
HKK 040/1
18 April 1980
HONG KONG:
NEW TERRITORIES LEASES
1. Since receiving a copy of Murray MacLehose's letter to you of 22 February we have started to look at some of the possible implications legal and otherwise of his ideas, including the way in which we should respond if the Chinese did react as envisaged in his paragraph 18. We need to do this, partly in order to clear our own minds and partly in anticipation of the Secretary of State's visit to the Far East in the autumn. We are however reluctant to go very far until we have your own views on the problem. I appreciate that you are very occupied by a constant stream of visitors to Peking, but if you could let us have something by the middle of next month, I should be most grateful.
2. One related issue, to which the Governor alluded in para- graph 18 of his letter, is that of official representation by China in Hong Kong. We will of course need to look carefully at this, taking account of the fact that we have already acquiesced in the Chinese request to establish a "Hong Kong Visa Office of the MFA of the PRC" last year; the Chinese were informed about this through the NCNA Office in Hong Kong (Hong Kong telegram No 1120 of 7 August 1979). Any thoughts which you have on this angle will of course be very helpful.
RD Clift
Hong Kong and General Department
ос
Sir Murray MacLehose GBE KCMG KCVO, HONG KONG Mr McLaren FED/FCO
SECRET
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