CODE 18-77
SS 8/78
222
Reference
CONFIDENTIAL
Hkko 40|1
Th
Munte sent
PA
Mr Hoare
EPHEMERAL minute now
Distroyed
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: CHINESE RESEARCH VIEWS
1.
31 MAR 1983
= 1AF 34/3
Your minute of 28 March. Zhang Eping's paper, although somewhat out of date, is interesting because of its bias towards cooperation with the UK and the West generally. Of course his assumption that the main aim is to oppose the Soviet Union may have been somewhat modified in recent months. Nevertheless I would guess that it still has a number of backers in Peking.
2. Even so, the paper does not basically depart from the assumption that Chinese recovery of sovereignty will include the exercise of jurisdiction. As with other papers we have seen the main concession appears to be a readiness to accommodate ''British
interests''.
3. I am interested in some of the models mentioned in paragraph 7 of the paper, In particular the reimposition of control over Shanghai and the Panama Canal negotiations. I think that we should ask Research Department to look at these. I suspect that the former will strengthen our impression that the most the Chinese are likely to offer is the right of foreign firms to continue to operate freely in Hong Kong and the holding of some posts by foreigners. The latter may be a bit more revealing. I think there could be some relevance in the transition period agreed between the United States and Panama after the American acknowledg- ement of Panamanian sovereignty.
4.
At the PUS's suggestion, I have already asked Mr Walker to find out details of the Anglo-Egyptian condominium over the Sudan. Would you ask him to add the Panama arrangement to the list. What we require is a note of the main provisions of the administ- ration under the two systems with annotations to indicate any possible significance for Hong Kong. We should try to get this by mid-April.
Min
29 March 1983
R D Clift
CONFIDENTIAL