3
·
A
PS/Mr Luce
CONFIDENTIAL
HKK040/16.
RECEIVES
23
21/12/886)
FROM: RD CLIFT
DATE: 21 December 1983
Mr Donald
Mr Thomson FED
see (87)
MR HAL MILLER MP
1.
Your minute of 15 December asked for advice on how Mr Luce
should respond to the suggestion put to Mr Miller that the
Hong Kong representative of the New China News Agency (NCNA) had
full authority to conduct negotiations on behalf of the
Chinese Government.
(78
2.
We have consulted Hong Kong and Peking on this. Both are
sceptical that the Chinese have given Xu Jiatun any authority
to conduct formal or informal negotiations with ourselves. He
has himself displayed no interest in this and there has been
evidence that he is at times out of touch with events in Peking.
The Governor would in any case not wish to build up Xu's
position by involving him in this way.
3.
I agree with these views. I recommend that Mr Luce should
tell Mr Miller that we doubt if there is any substance in these
proposals and that we would in any case not wish to encourage
them. FED concur.
11
R D Clift
21 December 1983
Hong Kong Department
CONFIDENTIAL