CONFIDENTIAL
69162 1
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(B)
(C)
(D)
THE PASSAGE ON THE 1987 REVIEW WOULD END ON A SLIGHTLY MORE UPBEAT NOTE IF THE SENTENCES WERE REORDERED AS FOLLOWS:
QUOTE LOOKING TO THE FUTURE, I EXPLAINED OUR THINKING ABOUT THE REVIEW OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN 1987. WE HAD NO PRECONCEIVED IDEAS ABOUT THE REVIEW. THERE WAS NO PRE-DETERMINED OUTCOME. IT WOULD BE GOING AHEAD AS A GENUINE EFFORT TO SEEK AND ASSESS THE VIEWS OF THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG ON THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE. UNQUOTE.
IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL IN HONG KONG TERMS, AND ADD A FURTHER POSITIVE NOTE, IF THE STATEMENT INCLUDED A BRIEF PASSAGE ON DAYA BAY. THIS COULD BE FITTED BETWEEN THE PRESENT PARAGRAPHS 2 AND 3 AS FOLLOWS:
QUOTE IN MY DISCUSSIONS I ALSO RAISED THE CONTINUING CONCERNS OF HONG KONG PEOPLE ABOUT SAFETY ASPECTS OF THE DAYA BAY PROJECT. I WAS ASSURED THAT THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT RECOGNISED ITS RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE PEOPLE OF HONG KONG AND WOULD MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO ENSURE THE PLANT'S SAFETY. UNQUOTE.
AS SEEN FROM HERE, ONE POSSIBLE WAY OF LESSENING THE RISK OF A DAMAGING ADVERSE CHINESE REACTION WOULD BE FOR THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO MENTION HIS INTENTION OF MAKING THE STATEMENT TO WU XUEQIAN AT SOME APPROPRIATELY INFORMAL MOMENT DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS. HE MIGHT REFER TO WHAT HE HAD SAID ABOUT THAT POSSIBILITY DURING HIS FORMAL DISCUSSION WITH WU AND SAY THAT ON REFLECTION HE HAD CONCLUDED THAT A LOW-KEY STATEMENT ON HIS ARRIVAL IN HONG KONG WOULD HELP TO LOWER THE TEMPERATURE.
PEKING TELNO 1991 REACHED US WITH GARBLES IN PARAS 11 AND 13. IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF PEKING COULD RE-TRANSMIT THOSE PASSAGES.
HOWE
OCMIAN 9162
LIMITED
HKD
FED
NEWS DEPT
PLANNING STAFF
PS
PS/MR RENTON
PS/PUS
MR GILLMORE
MR WILSON
Confidential