A
GRS 310
SECRET
FROM PEKING 0205052 MAR 83
TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
TELEGRAM NUMBER 17 OF 2/3/83
SECRET
TOP COPY
HKK 040/5
Н
9 MAR 1983
REPEATED FOR INFO TO ROUTINE FCO WASHINGTON (PERSONAL FOR AMBASSADOR)
m
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WASHINGTON TEL NO 463 TO FCO AND YOUR TEL NO 87:
FUTURE OF HONG KONG:
US DELEGATION
1. JOHNSON AND HIS DELEGATION CALLED ON ME LATE
LAST NIGHT FOR A DRINK. THEY ARE WORKING ON A PROJECT
**CHINA IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS''. JOHNSON DID NOT SEEM WELL
BRIEFED ON HONG KONG AND HAD HAD ONLY A VERY
INSUBSTANTIAL EXCHANGE ON THE SUBJECT WITH WANG BINGNAN.
WANG HAD SAID THAT THE PROBLEM WAS SIMPLE: HONG KONG
BELONGED TO CHINA AND CHINA WOULD HAVE IT BACK. HE HAD HAD NO
ANSWER WHEN JOHNSON ASKED HOW THEY WOULD DO THIS AND AT THE SAME
TIME MAINTAIN CONFIDENCE.
2. I GAVE JOHNSON A GUARDED BRIEFING, SAYING THAT
WE WERE NOW TALKING TO THE CHINESE ABOUT THE FUTURE
AND THAT WE HAD A COMMON INTEREST IN FINDING A SOLUTION. BUT I
EXPLAINED THAT THE CHINESE WERE DEEPLY IGNORANT ABOUT HOW THE
ECONOMY WORKED AND THAT THIS WA A MAJOR PROBLEM. ANOTHER PROBLEM
WAS THE SERIES OF LEAKS FROM THE CHINESE SIDE TO HONG KONG VISTORS
AND THE PRESS, WHICH HAD CAUSED CONCERN IN HONG KONG. THAT SAID,
THE ECONOMIC BAROMETERS IN HONG KONG LOOKED BETTER NOW THAN THEY
DID SOME WEEKS AGO.
SECRET
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