[ME 3ADL]
CONFIDENTIAL
MR RENTON'S VISIT TO HONG KONG (27-31 OCTOBER 1985)
25. BACKGROUND BRIEF: CONSULATE GENERAL
1. Section XI of Annex I to the Joint Declaration states that
the UK may establish a Consulate General in Hong Kong after 1
July 1997. We have already started to consider the physical
arrangements.
2.
The cost of buying an office building
office building in central Hong Kong
big enough for Our purposes together with the necessary residential accommodation would be prohibitive. We estimate
that we will need office accommodation for 150 staff and
residential accommodation for 36 UK based staff. The PUS
therefore approached the Governor during his visit to Hong Kong in June to establish whether the Hong Kong Government might be
prepared
grant US
concessionary suitable a
building on
to
terms. The Governor suggested that HMS Tamar, Headquarters of British Forces in Hong Kong might be suitable. In our view HMS Tamar is much too large, and its military/imperial connotations
would be unfortunate after 1997.
3.
property
from
Legal advice is that it is reasonable for the Chinese to expect that the present and reversionary interests of the Crown in land in Hong Kong will pass to the PRC (or SAR) on 1 July
1997, and that there is therefore по sure way of acquiring a
secure title to representational
the Hong Kong
Government without the cooperation of the PRC. Once we have
identified a suitable building and agreed terms with the Hong Kong Government
to matter
Chinese. Because of its present
present connotations and its future
suitability for the mooring of PRC naval
of PRC naval vessels ? we very much
doubt if the Chinese would
we will need to
put the
agree to Our
the
occupying HMS Tamar,
even if we wanted to.
4. The PUS will be writing to the Governor about this in due
course. There is no need to raise subject with the HKG at this
stage.
CONFIDENTIAL