SECRET
Live
Hiccoudso
KROLIVED Isto
- 3 SEP 1984
24
IND:
Action Taken
JAL
142119
FROM:
A C GALSWORTHY, HKD
DATE:
31 August 1984
Sir P Cradock
Private Secretary
cc: PS/Mr Luce
PS/PUS
Sir W Harding
Mr Goulden, News Dept
Miss Neville Jones, Planning Dept
Mr Bacon, Parliamentary Unit
Mr Bickford, Legal Advisers
Mr Elliott, FED
Mr Walker, Research Dept
FUTURE OF HONG KONG: WHITE PAPER
I submit Part One of a draft White Paper to be published simultaneously here and in Hong Kong after the initialling of the
1.
agreement at the end of September. Part Two will consist of the Joint Declaration and Annexes themselves, Part Three will be an explanation of those documents, and Part Four will consist of appended relevant documents. The draft incorporates comments from Hong Kong and Peking.
2.
On a particular point the Secretary of State commented to me that he would like to present the fact that the agreement would not be open to amendment as a normal situation with regard to negotiated international agreement. Paragraph 26 does this. I have however for the moment retained the additional sentence explaining that the Chinese Government has stated that it will not accept any amendments. This for two
reasons. The first is that there are precedents for amendment of draft
agreements after comments by national legislatures. The second is that
there is a tendency in Hong Kong to blame the British Government for
this situation.
3. I should be grateful to know how the Secretary of State wishes to
clear the White Paper with the Prime Minister and other Ministers.
One
SECRET