PO/84/18
ང་ལ་
Jukne
SECRET
COPY NO OF
PAGE NO 1 OF 1
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Enter
London SW1A 2AH
9 January 1984
MKK040
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
1J JAN 1984
DEEK OFFICER
PA
RNDEX
Hong Kong
ท
Action Taken
G
attached to 4
In your letter of 21 December you asked for comments on two points which arose during Richard Evans's call on the Prime Minister that morning.
Firstly, the remarks made by the Tongan representative at CHOGM are, we think, misleading. The promise given by the new Chinese Government in the Common Programme of September 1949 to "encourage the active operation of all private economic enterprises beneficial to the national welfare and to the people's livelihood" cannot reasonably be compared with the current Chinese proposals for making Hong Kong a Special Administrative Region with a high degree of autonomy as part of a negotiation with us. The Tongan Government maintains close relations with the Chinese Nationalist Regime in Taiwan. It is possible therefore that the Tongan representative's remarks are based on views expressed by Taiwan officials.
On the Prime Minister's second point about Chinese views on democratic institutions in Hong Kong before 1997, the Chinese have been floating ideas on this subject, and on what might happen after 1997, for some months now. Some of their remarks indicate that they would be happy to see greater progress towards democratization before 1997, while others suggest that they are rather reluctant. I think that, as with us, their views are still crystalising. It is natural enough that these matters should be considered by both sides at this time, and we have no evidence to lead us to make any other connection between the timing of the last OD(K) meeting and the expression of certain Chinese views.
سدا
يسرك
See (19)
41
A J Coles Esq
10 Downing Street
SECRET
(R B Bone)
Private Secretary