Walter M. Sulke
O.B.E. J.P.
1st Floor, Bonaventure House, Leighton Road, Hong Kong. G.P.O. Box 1317, Telegrams: 'WALSULKE'. Telex: 71871 Telephone: 5-7957288
16th March, 1984
Mr. A.J. Coles,
Private Secretary to the Prime Minister,
10 Downing Street,
London WC1,
ENGLAND. U.K.
Dear MR Coles
It was kind of the Prime Minister to ask you to reply to 15 my speech and comment on it, an action I appreciate.
X
My recommendation to stop talking in Beijing now and let the Chinese make their unilateral announcement is obviously based partly on fear that by force of circumstance the British Government will give away too much in the negotiations, and since these have been secret so far, it is of course very difficult to judge whether the timing of such a decision is right or wrong. However, in my view the British negotiating position would be strengthened considerably if, after a Chinese unilateral announcement, a referendum took place in Hong Kong, which as long as this were guaranteed to be secret would say a resounding "no" to living under communism however sugared that particular bitter pill may be. Inter alia, such a referendum would also mobilise_world opinion. I have just returned to Hong Kong after a rapid swing through several Central European Countries and the United Kingdom, and I must say I am appalled at just how much ignorance there is about Hong Kong and its problems.
One small point: You refer to views about the 1997 problem being expressed in the Urban Council. You may not be aware that in the Urban Council we are not allowed to speak publicly about anything other than Urban Council business which unfortunately makes a proper debate of the 1997 problem in that forum impossible. Which was also the reason why I made my speech to a Rotary Club instead of in the Urban Council.
WMS/FS/43
2
Yours sincerely
Win Sul
(W.M. SULKE)