4. THE CONVERSATION REVEALED AN EXTRAORDINARY DEGREE OF SUSPICION RANGING FROM THE BELIEF THAT THE BRITISH DE-COLONISATION PROCESS BASED ON DEMOCRATISATION HAD INVARIABLY LED TO INSTABILITY AND ECONOMIC DECLINE IN THE FORMER COLONIES AND A FEAR THAT THE UK WAS ENGAGED IN A SIMILAR PROCESS IN HONG KONG: TO A BELIEF THAT HMG WERE SEEKING TO PUT THE BLAME ON THE CHINESE FORLACK OF PROGRESS
ON PASSPORTS. XU'S REMARKS ON THE LATTER SHOW THAT THE CHINESE
HAVE FAILED TO ACHIEVE EVEN THE SIMPLEST UNDERSTANDING OF WHY
BRITISH PASSPORTS GIVE FREER ACCESS TO LARGE NUMBERS OF COUNTRIES
IN THE WORLD THAN DO CHINESE PASSPORTS.
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5. ANOTHER SUBJECT RAISED BY XU WAS SIR PETER BLAKER'S CONVERSATION WITH ZHOU NAN IN PEKING (MY TELNO 2323) WHERE XU ASSERTED THAT SIR PETER HAD NOT CHALLENGED ZHOU NAN'S STATEMENT
THAT OUR PLANS FOR REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT WERE NOT CONSISTENT
WITH THE AGREEMENT AND THAT HE HAD CHECKED THIS WITH SIR PETER
AND GALSWORTHY AT MY DINNER FOR MR RENTON. (THEY SEEM TO HAVE MISINTERPRETED SIR PETER'S CAUTION ON REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT).
6. SIR S Y AND HIS TWO COLLEAGUES TOOK MR XU THROUGH EACH OF THE ISSUES EXPLAINING THE BACKGROUND TO EACH AND THAT THERE WAS NO SINISTER MOTIVE BEHIND ANY OF THESE MOVES. THEY WILL LET ME HAVE A FULL RECORD OF THE CONVERSATION AFTER THE WEEKEND BUT FROM WHAT THEY TOLD ME LATE LAST NIGHT THEY MADE A VERY GOOD JOB OF EXPLAINING THE TRUE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN A PERSUASIVE MANNER.
7. XU CONSTANTLY REFERRED TO THE NEED TO DISCUSS ALL THESE MATTERS SO THAT THE CHINESE COULD MAKE THEIR VIEWS KNOWN. IN FACT, OF COURSE, THE CHINESE HAVE BEEN KEPT INFORMED AND THEIR VIEWS SOUGHT ON MANY OF THE ISSUES HE RAISED. OTHER ISSUES ARE MATTERS
WITHIN OUR RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF HONG KONG AND, WHILE WE COULD WELL EXPLAIN TO THE CHINESE WHAT IS BEING INVOLVED SIR S Y AND HIS COLLEAGUES WERE CAREFUL NOT TO GIVE XU THE IMPRESSION THAT EVERYTHING WE DO MUST BE THE SUBJECT OF
CONSULTATION BEFORE WE DO IT.
8. SHALL BE TALKING TO WILSON AND HIS COLLEAGUES OVER THE WEEKEND ON THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS DISCUSSION BEFORE THE JLG
DISCUSSIONS NEXT WEEK.
YOUDE
HONG KONG AGREEMENT
LIMITED
HD/HKD HD/FED
HD/PLANNING STAFF HD/PUSD
DEP HD/PUSD
RES D (MR WALKER)
PS
PS/MR RENTON
PS/PUS
SIR W HARDING
MR WILSON
SIR J FREELAND
MR J CROWLEY PUSD
COPIES TO: (VIA ADR)
MR ROBERTS NEWS DEPT MR FIFOOT LEGAL ADVS MR MARTIN ASST STAFF
CABINET OFFICE
MR MALLABY CABINET OFFICE MR DR C CHRISTOPHER
CABINET OFFICE SIR P CRADDOCK NO 10 DOWNING ST. MR WOOD LEGAL ADVISERS
CONFIDENTIAL