CODE 18-77
SECRET
File
Reference
Mr Smith
Mr Burton
Mr Burrows, Legal Advisers
Mr Morris,o.r.
MKK 040/9
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51 Separate 5MAY 1983
PA
DESK OFICER INDEX
No
REVISION OF THE ANNEXES TO THE HONG KONG STU
PEGISTRY
Acton Tahu
кмогу
See @
See (10
1. I discussed this with Mr Morris last week, in the light of the amendments and minutes which followed Mr Hoare's minute of 29 March to each of you. I should be grateful if we could now discuss
action as follows.
2. We need to prepare revised sessions of all the annexes to prepare for possible negotiations with the Chinese. They should be cleared with the appropriate FCO Departments and Legal Advisers (on a need to know basis), although I should like to see them in draft first.
3.
Each annex will be shortened and the new format should be as follows:
4.
Heading (as before);
Present position (as before, but shortened if possible, and brought up to date where necessary; new figures etc);
The effects of Hong Kong becoming a Special Administrative Region of China, but with full British administration continuing. This would involve our recognising Chinese sovereignty over Hong Kong in return for China agreeing to a continuation of our administration. The questions here really
are:
(a) what problems/changes could Hong Kong's new status as a
special region of China create for us?
(b)
ie Does
How important are these problems/changes? their solution depend simply from agreement on a sovereignty administration deal (eg financial questions) or do they raise serious complications of their own (eg citizenship).
(c) What is our preferred position?
(d) What is our bottom-line (ie the minimum we could live
with and still administer the territory)?
(e) What is the likely Chinese attitude? ie What changes
can they be expected to insist upon, would these changes matter to us? How flexible could we expect them to be?
I suggest that we divide the work on the following annexes as follows:
Mr Smith
External Trade
Aviation and Shipping
SECRET
/Mr Burton