SECRET
TSX 1/78
Record of a discussion on Tin Shui Wai in the PA's office on 14 January, 1981
Present:
Mr Li Jusheng, Second Director, NCNA
Mr Tan Gan, NCNA
Political Adviser
Mr Li Ruohe, NCNA
SNT
The PA said that he wished to explain to Mr Li something of the background to discussions which had taken place between and China Resources on Tin Shui Wai so that NCNA could be quite clear about what had been said on our side and why. As he understood it, China Resources had a majority shareholding in the Tin Shui Wai project. Over a period of several months we had been told by a third party that China Resources wished to have a special type of lease for the area. The suggestions had been either for a lease which made no reference to 1997 or for one of 75 years renewable for a further 75 (eg. the same as on Hong Kong Island). Because we were not sure how much weight to put on these approaches by a third party, we had authorised SNT to speak directly to China Resources to find out if these messages had come, as stated, from them. We had also authorised him to explain to China Resources the types of lease which would, in theory, be possible. This he had done in the following terms:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
A lease for an indeterminate period could not be issued without special legislation. (PA added that, as Mr Li and he both knew, suggestions about such legislation had been made by us earlier but had not proved acceptable in Peking.)
A "periodic" lease could be issued without special legislation. This was a lease which would be renewed automatically year on year but with a clause saying that the land might be taken back for the "landlord's" own use or for some public purpose such as road building.
It might be argued that such a year by year periodic
It would lease gave insufficient certainty of tenure. be possible to issue such a lease with an additional clause saying that the Government would not end it for some specified period such as eg. 25 years.
A more straightforward method would be a straight lease, as eg. on Hong Kong Island for 75 years. possible to do this without legislation.
It would be
But there was
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/contd....
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