CONFIDENTIAL
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2
ITEMS:
1.
UNNAMED CHINESE OFFICIAL TALKS ABOUT 1997:
The remarks of an unnamed Chinese official in response to questions from West European reporters that China was willing to discuss ways of accommodating British interests in HK after it regained sovereignty were widely reported. He told them in Beijing that 1997 was an important date and accommodating British interests was relevant to maintaining prosperity in Hong Kong. He said sovereignty and administration were inseparable, although what system would operate was another question. The economic system in the territory would remain untouched and prosperity maintained. The official described the confidential discussions with British diplomats as initial contacts rather than formal talks. His remark about accommodating British interests appeared to indicate a softer line than that put forward in several recent Chinese statements. He declined to specify Chinese intentions, saying the British Ambassador would be unhappy. The Reuters despatch said the importance of the date was significant in that China did not recognise any of the so-called unequal treaties. The official said 1997 was an important deadline because of the lease on the NT. without which HK would not be viable. He reiterated China's formal position that China would regain sovereignty when the time was ripe, without a specific time frame.
Commenting on this statement, Ming Pao said since China had made it categorically clear previously that all commercial interests in HK, including British, would be safeguarded, the intention to accommodate British interests as asserted by the Chinese official naturally referred to the British Government's acquired interests and power in HK. The paper envisaged that such authority and interests would be respected during a specific transitional period. Such an arrangement was not based on friendship, but on benefits that China might derive from it. The paper said the official's statement had a diplomatic overtone and was quite different from general remarks to HK businessmen. It was understood that the British Government attached weight to this statement.
2.
TEMPORARY HALT TO TALKS?:
Most papers reported a Reuters despatch saying the talks on HK's future had stopped temporarily in Beijing because the chief Chinese negotiator, Mr. Zhang Wenjing, would be posted to Washington as Ambassador. The pause coincided with the absence from Beijing of the British Ambassador, who flew to HK for talks with Lord Belstead, and the Governor. and later to Bangkok. The talks were expected to resume before the end of the year. The pause prompted Tin Tin Daily News to conjecture that the two sides might need more time to ponder the problems arising from the talks in order to work out a compromise, or a cooling period was needed because too much talking would do nobody any good. The paper believed that HK people wished the talks could cool down or even stop temporarily because the negotiations might cause Hong Kong to collapse during the current economic slump. It would be wiser to have more pauses in the talks and to put back the serious negotiations till HK's economy picked up. This would do everybody good. Diplomats said the short pause in the talks would be natural during the handover period.
CONFIDENTIAL