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DSR 11C
Old Commonwealth.
But we would explain that we were
trying to see whether effective assurances could be
devised on the basis of the Chinese proposals, strictly
without commitment on our part; and that we were
optimistic that, on this basis, more detailed discussions
on concrete quest6ion would be possible.
We should
express interest in any feedback from Sino-Japanese
contacts touching on Hong Kong's future. The aim would
be ne more than to make the Japanese feel that they were
being taken into our confidence and to give them an
incentive to pass on more systematically information and
perceptions relating to Chinese thinking on Hong Kong.
If the Prime Minister agrees, we would instruct the
Embassy in Tokyo to approach the Japanese before of the
visit to Japan by Hu Yaobang, the Chairman of the Chinese
Communist Party, on 23 November.
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