CONFIDENTIAL
Mr
Grey Gaysworthy
Mr.
M. ¡brane
auch who the Taiv Sentimend
afree
D
RECEIVED
HRK 01113
Isoh
th.
304 November 1984
Liter
408
FROM:
DATE:
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아이
Calla
HONG KONG: MR HAL MILLER MP
1. I had lunch today with Mr Hal Miller. He was in
Hong Kong recently, shortly before the publication of the
White Paper on Representative Government. While there he
had a two-hour conversation with Mr Xu Jiatun of NCNA,
arranged by Mr Zha, a business associate. Xu had expressed
concern about the way in which the Green Paper had been
produced. He had said that the Chinese were suspicious about
British intentions. He had asked Mr Miller to try to ensure
that publication of the White Paper would be postponed since
the Chinese assumed that discussion of further moves on
representative government would take place in the JLG.
Mr Miller had told him that, so far as he knew, the White
Paper was then virtually finalised and would be published
within a very short time. He did not undertake to do anything
to get publication postponed.
2. I told Mr Miller that the Chinese had not in fact
commented adversely either publicly or privately about the
White Paper. We were aware of their concern about the
development of party politics in Hong Kong. We had to tread
a delicate line between consultation with the Chinese (which
would become increasingly important the closer we got to 1997)
and retaining administrative authority within our own hands.
The Chinese were likely to look with greater favour on the present proposals based on functional constituencies than they
would on a system of 'one man one vote'. I accepted that the
Chinese might have felt that we were trying to bounce them
when the Green Paper was produced in the middle of the
negotiations. But, that paper having been produced, the
Chinese knew very well that there would be a White Paper
published well before the JLG started its work.
3. Mr Miller had also seen Mr T K Ann, a former member of
EXCO and now a member of the CPPCC. Mr Ann had reiterated
Peking's concerns about an elective system producing an anti-
/China
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