CONFIDENTIAL
I C Orr Esq
Assistant Political Adviser
Government Secretariat
Lower Albert Road
HONG KONG
HKCK 361/1
зы зы
RECEIVEU KAUGUIRY NO. I
0 5 NOV 1980
DESK OFFICE/ INDEX
AL JOTẨY
ton Te
16
PA
25.11
31 October 1980
DRAFT FOREIGN COLPENSATION (PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA) (REGISTRATION) ORDER 1980
1.
12
Patrick Willie son has asked me to reply to the coments made in paragraph 1 of Hong Kong Telegram Number 1401 of 24 October and in the enclosure to your letter of 22 October concerning the beve Order, of which two copies of the printed version are enclosed. You will note a few changes fro... the last draft, particularly in Article 4.
2. I should begin by saying that Claims Deportent here will be writing to you in due course about the detailed administrative arrangements.
3. The decision to exclude from the registration bonds denominated in non-Chinese currencies was taken for several reasons, the principal ones being:-
(a)
we consider that the appropriate expert body to pursue the question of a settlement of cleins in respect of these bonds is the Chinese Bond- holders Comittee, and HMG will continue to give diplomatic support to the Committee's efforts;
(b) we and the Chinese Bondholders Comittee would
(c)
prefer a settlement of these bond clai is on an "issue basis" (ie with the Chinese buying out the whole bond issue), as opposed to a "holder basis" where compensation would be payable only to United Kingdo.... holders of such bonds; clearly, we could, in practice, only register bond clais on a holder basis;
the Chinese have indicated that they will not accept any responsibility for these bonds and, although we do not acquiesce in this, it does not appear likely that in the short term we shall be able to persuade them otherwise.
CONFIDENTIAL
/4.