CONFIDENTIAL
1. Hu Yaobang said it was a joyous occasion: a day to be remembered. The Prime Minister and Chairman Deng Xiaoping had laid a milestone for relations between Britain and China, which would always be remembered by people alive today and by generations to come. The Prime Minister remarked that there had been so much to do in the two years Chairman Deng had said were available she had never thought it could be completed. Hu Yaobang said the Prime Minister had displayed bravery and far-sightedness. The Prime Minister
said the British side were very pleased that the people of Hong Kong had shown that they acceped the agreement.
2. Hu Yaobang then presented the Prime Minister with a concise edition in Chinese of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and a new English-Chinese dictionary, which was to express the growth in common language among the people of the two countries. The Prime Minister said she would treasure both gifts. / Journalists left at this point and the meeting continued in private.7
TI
3.
The Prime Minister said that it was a very historic day. She was very pleased that quite a considerable number of people from Hong Kong had been present at the welcoming ceremony and would also attend the signing ceremony. She was anxious to give them every reassurance that the agreemen- would be implemented in full by both Britain and China. Hu Yaobang said the Hong Kong people were witnesses. Both he and Premier Zhao Ziyang were very firm and strong supporters of the implementation of the agreement. The Prime Minister said that was very good to know. Hu Yaobang said that there was a Chinese proverb: "one hundred catties of gold may buy fame, but it needs one thousand catties of gold to secure a good reputation. He remarked that failure to implement the agreement would damage Chinese but not British credibility. The Prime Minister said she fully understood his meaning: it took a great deal to acquire a good reputation but far more to keep it. But both sides wished to maintain their good reputation. If by chance anything went wrong people would say that she herself had misjudged the matter and that must not be said of her any more than it must be said of Hu. The interests of the two sides were identical. Hu Yaobang agreed. The Prime Minister continued that she was sure the signature of the agreement would give the people of Hong Kong confidence to face the future. Assurances about their future that Hu, Premier Zhao and Chairman Deng had personally given had provided extra confidence. Hu Yaobang said the Prime Minister could rest assured that the Chinese side would do their best to increase confidence in Hong Kong year by year.
CONFIDENTIAL
/4...