A.
SECRET
appointment
of the
Governor new
and the
of timing
his
arrival
in
once Hong Kong:
these
are
resolved
can
be
finalised in
conjunction
with
the
Kong Hong
paper
and
Peking.
4.
There
is
however
earlier decision is needed.
media
one
limited point
on which an
When
the new
Governor
faces
on
16 January
is it
virtually
asked about the timing of
the
the Hong Kong
be will he inevitable that
the Green Paper which will launch the 1987 publication of Review. The Hong Kong Government has consistently stated At the that the paper will be published in April or May.
considered briefly State's office meeting we Secretary of two alternative options.
5.
as
much
a
be
to
the allow
At the Secretary of State's
entire The first option would review exercise to slip by substantial period, perhaps office
as a year. meeting Dr Wilson and I explained that this did not appear of Hong The Acting overnor in his own 100 ind that such a delay would Kong is very not be publicly acceptable in Hong Kong and would provoke strong criticism with
to be politically feasible.
clear
on confidence. He a serious effect
the LEGCO would agree to neither EXCO nor I believe that this option has to be ruled out.
is certain
that
delay.
6.
A second alternative option would be
into the timetable limited delay Originally we suggested that
for
to introduce a
the review.
the publication of the Green We had
Paper might be allowed to slip from May into June.
the Secretary
in mind in particular the possibility of a meeting between of State and Wu Xueqian towards the end of It the proposed visit to Tokyo. May, during a stopover on
(Peking Telno
China at that
has
will
since
transpired
be
absent
from
examining
003
the alternative possibility
We
refers) that
are now
in
Wu
time.
of a meeting
Bangkok, when both Ministers will be attending the ESCAP meeting towards the end of April.
now There would
seem to
be no significant advantage to be gained from allowing the
CORET