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FLAG A
RECORD OF A CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE PRIME MINISTER AND PREMIER
AO ZIYANG AT THE GREAT HALL OF THE PEOPLE, PEKING ON THURSDAY
23 SEPTEMBER 1982 AT 0900
Present:
Prime Minister
H.M. Ambassador, Peking Governor of Hong Kong
Mr. F.E.R. Butler
Mr. A. Donald
Mr. A.J. Coles
Mr. G. Clark
Mr. A. Galsworthy
Mr. R. Peirce
H.E. Premier Zhao Ziyang
Mr. Huang Hua
Mr. Zhang Wenjin
Mr. Jia Shi
Mr. Ke Hua
Mr. Wang Benzho Mr. Lu Ping
Mr. Wang Changyi
Mr. Cao Yuanxin
Mr. Zheng Yaowen
1
Invited to open the discussion on bilateral questions, the
Prime Minister made the statement at Annex A to this record.
Mr. Zhao Ziyang said that he had listened very carefully to the considerations advanced on the British side. The Hong Kong question was an issue left over from history. China considered
that the time had come when the issue must be settled.
It was
ready in a spirit of friendship to seek the co-operation of the British Government and resolve this problem properly. In order to enhance mutual understanding and arrive at a proper solution, he wished to expound China's views very candidly. The entire Hong Kong area, including Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, were part of Chinese territory. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, its Government had stated that this problem, left over from history, would be settled in the proper way when conditions were ripe. Pending this, the status quo in Hong Kong was to be maintained. 140 years had elapsed since 1842 and 33 years had gone by since the founding of the People's Republic. By 1997, about 155 years would have elapsed more than one and a half centuries. So it could be said that conditions were now ripe for settlement of the Hong Kong question.
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