布政司署
香港下亞畢道
HKR
040
***OUR REF.: (32) in TS 7/1162/46 VIII
* YOUR REF.:
50
जौं
こ
PG02614
M W Atkinson Esq MBE
PEKING
61A
GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT
Mili Quade
Mullank
LOWER ALBERT ROAD
HONG KONG
I am
drafting
on their fi dlift to M Dinalda
12 February 1982 €
Jude.
I agree with for Mc Larens
Mr.
HKGD ti entr
%
See 194
De's Michael,
бе
FUTURE OF HONG KONG
FCO
ل)
I was interested to see Peking TelNo 89 to the and Bob Pierce's letter of 2 February which arrived shortly afterwards.
45A
2.
In saying that China hoped to resolve the problem of Hong Kong's future "so as to ensure a continued British presence" ZHONG Xidong was surely stepping a long way out of line. Though this may be what (if anything) the Chinese have in mind - and we hope very much that it is - no Chinese official has been prepared to say so since DENG set out the basic Chinese position in his meeting with the Governor in March 1979. While there is room for another interpretation (para 3 of Peking TUR), ZHONG's much more orthodox remarks to the Managing Director of Reuters (our TelNo 100 to the FCO) suggest to me that he may have been told to stick closely to the Party line in speaking to foreign journalists in future.
Yours ever,
Romni
.49
сс
R D Clift
HKGD FCO
H L1 Davies FED
FCO
(R J T McLaren)
SECRET