GRS 700
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL
HKK 040/57.
RECEIVE REGISTRY
30 NOV 1984
172
FROM PEKING 30072OZ NOV 84
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELEGRAM NUMBER 2859 OF 30/11/84
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
IND
2:4
R
XA
6687
YOUR TEL NO 1463: HONG KONG AGREEMENT:
VISIT: HONG KONG ATTENDANCE
PRIME MINISTER'S
1.
CALLED ON ZHOU NAN THIS MORNING.
I PUT TO HIM THAT PROPOSAL IN PARAGRAPH 4 OF HONG KONG
TEL NO 3529. I AKSED ZHOU FOR CHINESE IDEAS ABOUT THE
DELEGATION OF OBSERVERS. WHOM AND HOW MANY DID THE CHINESE
HAVE IN MIND? IN WHAT CAPACITY WOULD OBSERVERS ATTEND AND BY WHOM
WOULD THEY BE INVITED? WE HAD HEARD THAT THE CHINESE WERE
THINKING IN TERMS OF ABOUT ONE HUNDRED. WE NATURALLY HOPED
TO BE CONSULTED FULLY ON THE ARRANGEMENTS FOR WHAT WOULD
BE A JOINT OCCASION. WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE BALANCED
REPRESENTATION AMONG ANY GROUP OF OBSERVERS.
2. ZHOU REPLIED THAT IN PRINCIPLE THE CHINESE SIDE COULD
AGREE TO OUR PROPOSAL ON THE COMPOSITION OF OFFICIAL
DELEGATIONS. UNDER PRESSURE, HE CONFIRMED THAT THEY WOULD
BE ABLE TO ACCEPT OUR PROPOSAL ON THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE
SECOND CATEGORY MEANT THOSE PERSONS WHO HAD ATTENDED MEETINGS
IN PEKING. I CONFIRMED THAT THIS WAS THE INTENTION.
ZHOU SAID THAT HE LOOKED FORWARD TO RECEIVING THE FULL LIST OF
OUR OFFICIAL DELEGATION. ·
3. ON THE OBSERVER DELEGATION, ZHOU SAID THAT THE CHINESE
SIDE WERE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF CONSULTATION AND HE COULD
NOT THEREFORE GIVE ME SPECIFIC ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS.
HE HOPED TO CONSULT FURTHER WITH ME BEFORE TOO LONG.
HE REPEATED HIS EARLIER VIEW THAT, IF NUMBERS WERE
TOO FEW, THE ARRANGEMENTS MIGHT NOT WORK WELL. HE WONDERED
IF WE COULD (AS I HAD SAID WE WOULD BE PREPARED TO DO)
MAKE SOME SPECIFIC NOMINATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP OF THE OBSERVER
DELEGATION. REPEATED THE POINT THAT ANY LIST OF NAMES SHOULD
BE AGREED BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES. ZHOU REPEATED THAT THEY WOULD
LIKE TO KNOW AS SOON AS POSSIBLE OF ANY INDIVIDUALS WHOM WE
WOULD WISH TO SEE INCLUDED. HE RECALLED THAT MEMBERS OF THE
DELEGATION FROM HONG KONG TO THE NATIONAL DAY CELEBRATION
HAD BEEN INVITED BY THE CHINESE AND IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES.
FOR THE SIGNATURE CEREMONY, THE QUESTIONS OF BY WHOM
AND IN WHAT CAPACITY WERE STILL UNDER CONSIDERATION BY HIS
LEADERS. IN THE MEANTIME, HE HAD NOTED OUR CONCERNS.
CONFIDENTIAL
14.
En