Mr Donald PS/Lord Belstead
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Allos entere ilon.
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RECO2011 May for
RECEIVED IN REGORY NO.
1 JAN 1983
LACK OFFIC
INDEX
FB
pw
Kyou
29/12
षा
88
LETTER FROM MR ROBERT ADLEY, MP
1.
I submit a draft reply to Mr Adley's letter of 13 December to the Secretary of State, cleared with HKGD, Information Dept, PCD and Finance Dept.
2. Mr Adley, who has been a helpful Chairman of the UK/China Parliamentary Group, raises two questions: -
a) the effect on UK/China relations of the Hong Kong
problem;
b) whether the FCO would sponsor a visit to China by an
All-Party Group of Members of Parliament.
3. On (a) one could argue that even if Hong Kong collapses entirely, both Britain and China will continue to exist and the arguments, particularly strategic and commercial, for maintaining good relations will not be weakened. But UK/China relations are not the only factor in the equation, and we should not leave Mr Adley and his colleagues (or their contacts at the Chinese Embassy) with any impression that HMG is proposing to abandon its responsibility to the people of Hong Kong in order merely to keep on good terms with Peking. The attached draft makes this point.
4. On (b) there is no real case for our subsidising a Parlia- mentary visit to China. Even without such financial support there has been no shortage of Parliamentary visits over the last few years (and they do not greatly contribute to advancing British interests in China). At present the only outward visits by MPs which are sponsored by the FCO are:
a) The All-Party Group which attends the United Nations
General Assembly;
b) The Parliamentary Delegate to the United Nations;
c) Whips' visits.
Funds for 1983/84 will anyway be very tight. If we had surplus money, official financial support for Parliamentary visits to some countries could perhaps be justified - eg, where Ministerial visits are very rare. China does not fall into this category.
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