GAS 300
RESTRICTED
FM HONG KONG 180957Z FEB 83
TO PRIORITY F C O
RESTRICTED
TELEGRAM NUMBER 248 OF 13 FEBRUARY
ལུམ་པ་༼བས་མཁག་གི་མ་འམར་ „HKK04011
2 | FEB 1983
INFO PRIORITY PEKING, HONG KONG GOVERNMENT OFFICE LONDON
FUTURE OF HONG KONG : PRESS COVERAGE
im
THE COMMUNIST NEW EVENING POST CARRIED AN EDITORIAL ON 17 FEBRUARY HEADLINED ''LOOKING FORWARD TO SIR EDWARD TAKING AN ACTIVE PART IN THE HONG KONG TALKS''. THE EDITORIAL BEGAN BY REFERRING TO MY COMMENT TO THE PRESS, ON RETURN FROM MY RECENT VISIT TO LONDON, TO THE EFFECT THAT I WOULD TAKE PART IN THE TALKS AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME. IT THEN QUOTED THE PASSAGE IN MY LUNAR NEW YEAR MESSAGE WHEN I SAID THAT THERE WERE COMPLEX ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED AND DIFFERENCES TO BE RECONCILED AND EXPRESSED. CONFIDENCE THAT AN AGREEMENT COULD BE REACHED WHICH WOULD RECONCILE THOSE DIFFERENCES.
2. THE EDITORIAL SAID THAT THE MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES CONCERNED THE QUESTION OF SOVEREIGNTY. THE TALKS WERE AT A STALEMATE BECAUSE CHINA WAS INSISTING ON SOVEREIGNTY WHILE BRITAIN ALLOWED THE ISSUE TO DRAG ON. ''SHOULD SIR EDWARD JOIN THE ANGLO-CHINESE NEGOTIATIONS
FINALLY DETERMINED TO BREAK THE SOVEREIGNTY OVER HONG KONG''.
THIS WOULD MEAN THAT BRITAIN IS ICE BY RECOGNISING CHINA'S
3. THE EDITORIAL THEN SAID THAT IN WORKING OUT A SOLUTION, CHINA WOULD CERTAINLY ATTACH IMPORTANCE TO HONG KONG'S WISHES AND SUGGESTED THAT THE 'SELF-RULE' PROPOSAL WAS A DEMONSTRATION OF THAT. IT CONCLUDED : ''WE BELIEVE THAT SIR EDWARD ... WILL RELAY TO BRITAIN THE DESIRE OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG, TO RECOVER SOVEREIGNTY AND MAINTAIN PROSPERITY WHEN HE TAKES PART IN THE TALKS''. YOUDE
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FUTURE OF HONG KONG
LIMITED
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COPIES TO
HD/TED
SIR I SINCLAIR
MR ROBERTS
LEGAL ADVISER
NEWS D
HD/PLANNING STAFF
HD/PUSD
MR COLES NO 10 DOWNING STREE
PS
MR MARTIN
PS/LORD BELSTEAD
PS/PUS
PS/MR HURD
ASSESSMENTS STAFF
CABINET OFFICE
MR GIFFARD
MR DONALD
SIRT BULLARD
HK GOV OFFICE LONDON
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