CONFIDENTIAL
GRS 450
CONFIDENTIAL
DESKY 1713OOZ FCO
FROM PEKING 171247Z DEC 84
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 3016 OF 17/12/84
427
see
TOP COPY
никаю 51 040/57
19 DEC 1934
REGISTRY
Action Taken
888 19/42
434
sel
437
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
LN-
PEKING TELNO 2979: PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT: SIGNATURE CEREMONY:
SPEECHES
1. LUO JIAHUAN (MFA) TOLD THOMSON THIS EVENING THAT THE CHINESE HAD BEEN GIVING THOUGHT TO THE QUESTION OF HOW TO REFER TO DENG XIAOPING IN THE PRIME MINISTER'S SPEECH AT THE SIGNATURE CEREMONY. THEY HAD CONCLUDED THAT THE MOST APPROPRIATE WAY OF DOING SO WOULD BE TO OPEN THE SPEECH WITH A SENTENCE ALONG THE FOLLOWING LINES: BEFORE I BEGIN MY SPEECH, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT 4 AM PARTICULARLY PLEASED AND HONOURED TO SEE THAT CHAIRMAN DENG
་
XIAOPING IS ABLE TO ATTEND OUR SOLEMN CEREMONY TODAY.'' THE CHINESE
SUGGESTED THAT THIS SHOULD COME IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PRIME
MINISTER'S OPENING WORDS: 'YOUR EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT LI XRANNIAN,
YOUR EXCELLENCY ETC ...'' LUC EMPHASISED THAT THE WORDING WAS
•
MERELY A SUGGESTION AND THAT THE CHINESE WOULD BE HAPPY TO LEAVE PRECISE PHRASEOLOGY TO US.
2. LUO SAID THAT THE CHINESE HAD ALSO BEEN GIVING FURTHER THOUGHT TO THE QUESTION OF INTERPRETATION OF SPEECHES AT THE CEREMONY. THEY CALCULATED THAT THE TWO SPEECHES WITH INTERPRETATION WOULD TAKE ABOUT 40 MINUTES. THIS WAS RATHER A LONG TIME FOR SOME OF THE OBSERVERS FROM HONG KONG, WHO WERE ELDERLY AND NOT IN THE BEST OF HEALTH, TO REMAIN STANDING. THEY THEREFORE WISHED TO PROPOSE THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO LIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE SPEECHES. INSTEAD, TRANSLATIONS COULD BE DISTRIBUTED TO THOSE PRESENT AT THE TIME OF THE CHAMPAGNE TOAST (TRANSLATIONS COULD BE GIVEN TO THE LEADERS OF EACH SIDE FAR ENOUGH IN ADVANCE OF THE CEREMONY TO ENABLE THEM TO READ THROUGH THE SPEECHES CAREFULLY BEFOREHAND. THOMSON SAID HE COULD UNDERSTAND IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHY THE CHINESE
WISHED TO AVOID LIVE INTERPRETATOION. HE UNDERTOOK TO REPORT BOTH LUO'S SUGGESTIONS ON THE REFERENCE TO DENG AND ON THE INTERPRETATION OF SPEECHES.
CONFIDENTIAL
/COMMENT.