PA.
V
GRS 380
CONFIDENT HAL
FM PEKING
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 501
Confidential
OF 071029Z APRIL 86
HKKEBOULL
-
RECEIVEDAN REGISTRY
9 APR 1986
REGISTRY
Action Takan
DESK OFFION
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
INDEX
PA
Ay B Yu
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT # MEETING BETWEEN ZHOU NAN AND
STUART YOUNG.
1. STUARY YOUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE GOVERMENT OF THE BBC, WHO IS
PAYING AN OFFICIAL WISIT TO CHIMA, CALLED ON ZHOU NAN ON & APRIL. THE MEETING WAS ARRANGED BY THE LOCAL BBC RADIO CORRESPONDENT, MARK BRAYNE, WHO WAS PRESENT. MOST OF THE DISCUSSION WAS ABOUT HONG
KONG. ZHOU STRESSED TO BRAYNE AFTERWARDS THAT THE CONVERSATION HAD
BEEN OFF THE RECORD.
2. YOUNG ASKED ZHOU WHETHER HE WAS WORRIED THAT POLITICAL REFORM
•IN HONG KONG WAS PROCEEDING TOO QUICKLY, ZHOU REPLIED THAT THERE!
WERE PEOPLE WHO HAD EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT POLITICAL REFORM WOULD
NOT CONVERGE WITH THE BASIC LAW AND THAT THIS MIGHT LEAD TO
CONFLICT.FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS, THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAD NOT
ADVOCATED THE INTRODUCTION OF REPRESENTAT.WE GOVERNMENT. IF THERE WERE ABRUPT CHANGES DURING THE TRANSIT HONAL PERIOD, CHINA FEARED THAT THIS COULD LEAD TO A RESULT WHICH WAS CONTRARY TO THE WISHES OF
BOTH CHINA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM, SOME PEOPLE (HE DID NOT
ELABORATE) HAD EXPRESSED FEARS THAT THESE POLITICAL CHANGES COULD
LEAD TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM. THE EMERGENCE
OF SUCH A SYSTEM WOULD BE HARMFUL TO THE PROSPERITY AND STABILITY OF
HONG KONG. 3. ZHOU REFERRED TO THE WORK OF THE BASIC LAW DRAFTING
COMMITTEE AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THIS AND REPRESENTAT-IVE
GOVERNMENT. HE SAID THAT THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT MIGHT BE FACED WITH
TWO CHOICES: TO ACCEPT UNACCEPTABLE DEVELOPMENTS AS A (NEXT TWO
WORDS UNDERLINED) FANT ACCOMPL›#, WHICH WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE” OR TO REJECT WHAT HAD BEEN DONE, WHICH WOULD NOT BE IN THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG.
4. COMMENT.
WE DO NOT KNOW IN ADVANCE THAT YOUNG WAS TO CALL ON ZHOU NAN.
WE RECE WED THIS ACCOUNT ONLY WHEN YOUNG CALLED ON ME LATER THE
SAME DAY.
CONFIDENTIAL
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