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Acceptability
9. Also circulated paper to colleagues on acceptability.
Difficult issue. Need to be able to demonstrate to Parliament
that consultation has been genuine and is acceptable to
people of Hong Kong, but avoid provoking Chinese.
Referendum clearly out of the question. Only real option
a mixture of active and passive sounding of opinion as set
out in paper.
10. Faced by real problems if results of consultation not
clearly positive. Need to consider what more can be done
to educate Hong Kong people on realities of their position
and constraints within which we have negotiated. Must also
consider when and how our proposed method of consultation
should be announced.
Further Ministerial statement on
progress of talks helpful perhaps if I visit Peking and
Hong Kong in July.
11. Two MPs in debate called for Select Committee on
Foreign Affairs to visit Hong Kong. Likely to provoke Chinese.
Questions about how they would assess opinion. I would
not favour this.
Hong Kong Department
22 May 1984
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