4. THE CONVERSATION REVEALED AN EXTRAORDINARY DEGREE OF SUSPICION RANGING FROM THE BELIEF THAT THE BRITISH DE-COLONISATION PROCESS BASED ON DEMOCRATISATION HAD INVARIAPLY 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.
5. ANOTHER SUBJECT RAISED BY XU WAS SIR PETER BLAKER'S CONVERSATION WITH ZHOU NAN IN PEKING (MY TELNO 2323) WHERE XU ASSERTED THAT SIP 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 SY 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 DRC CHRISTOPHER
CABINET OFFICE SIR P CRADDOCK NO 10 DOWNING ST. MR WOOD LEGAL ADVISERS
2 CONFIDENTIAL