2
SECRET
Redacted
under FOI exemption 27(1)(a)(c)(d)
BRITISH EMBASSY,
PEKING.
The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey Howe QC MP etc etc etc
Foreign and Commonwealth Office LONDON SW1
12 December 1983
Sir
THE HONG KONG NEGOTIATIONS
1. I shall be leaving Peking later this month and handing over
my task as leader of the British delegation to the Sino-British
talks on the future of Hong Kong to the next Ambassador. In this
despatch I review the negotiations to date and assess their
prospects.
Retrospect
2.
Although there was a long prelude, from 1979-1982, in which
our concern over Hong Kong's future grew and from time to time we
broached the issue with the Chinese, agreement for talks was not
reached until the Prime Minister's visit to Peking in September
1982.
She and Deng Xiaoping then approved a joint statement to
the effect that the two sides would hold talks through diplomatic
channels with the common aim of maintaining the stability and
prosperity of Hong Kong. In one form or another the talks have
now lasted well over a year. They have proved very difficult,
which is not surprising, given the historical background, the
differing political systems represented by the two sides and,
over this issue at least, their great disparity in strength.
But
a further and major complicating factor has been the difference
in approach.
SECRET