220912

HOFO 950/22

TELELETTER TO FCO

PEKING

TELELETTER TO PEKING

GR 200

CONFIDENTIAL

TELELETTER

1. leg

2. Mic Horn's

Mictor's

1 Copy FED Jove Als

Веберь

Дерг

Enter.

do me.

ов

FROM: R.J.T. MCLAREN, POLITICAL ADVISER, HONG KONG

FILE REF: SGD 4/61

DATED 22 MARCH 1983

FOLLOWING FOR: R.D. CLIFT ESQ., HKGD, FCO

COPIED TO:

2/3

2313.

A.C. GALSWORTHY. ESQ., PEKING

}

габ никого 196

|

28 MAR 1933

FUTURE OF HONG KONG: DEACON CHIU PEIRCE'S TELELETTER OF 16 MARCH GAVE AN INDIRECT ACCOUNT, OBTAINED FROM THE AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY, OF DEACON CHIU'S CONVERSATION WITH LIAO CHENGZHI DURING HIS RECENT VISIT TÚ PEKING. DAVID AKERS-JONES AND I HAVE BOTH SPOKEN TO CHIU SINCE HIS RETURN. WHAT HE SAID TO US IS RATHER DIFFERENT FROM THE AUSTRALIAN VERSION THOUGH NOT INCONSISTENT WITH IT. 2. CHIU SAID THAT HE HAD GONE TO PEKING WITH THE RANALD MACDONALD PARTY AND HAD NOT ASKED FOR ANY MEETINGS WITH CHINESE LEADERS THOUGH HE HAD TOLD NCNA THAT HE WAS GOING. HE WAS NONETHELESS MET ON ARRIVAL IN PEKING BY A DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NONA AND WAS TOLD THAT BOTH LIAO CHENGZHI AND ZHAO ZIYANG WISHED TO SEE HIM. THE MEETING WITH LIAO (FOR WHICH HIS AUSTRALIAN COLLEAGUES WERE NOT PRESENT) LASTED FOR SOME TWO HOURS BUT CHIU WAS LEFT SLIGHTLY PUZZLED AS TO WHY LIAO HAD WANTED TO SEE HIM, SINCE HE HAD NOTHING NEW TO SAY. CHIU SPOKE AT SOME LENGTH ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF THE RECESSION AND HOW UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE WAS CAUSING PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE AND CAPITAL TO LEAVE HONG KONG. LIAU'S RESPONSE WAS THE EQUIVALENT OF SO WHAT? CHIU'S IMPRESSION WAS THAT LIAO'S LINE HAD HARDENED SINCE HE HAD LAST SEEN HIM SOME MONTHS AGO, THOUGH HE WAS UNABLE TO GIVE EXAMPLES.

1

3. CHIU ALSO SAW ZHAO ZIYANG WITH HIS AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATES AND THE AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR. WE HAVE REPORTED SEPARATELY

BY TELEGRAM.

W

SIGNED R.J.T. MCLAREN

CHRIS

Share This Page