GRS 1500
SECRET
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 1460
OF 130955Z APRIL 87
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING
SECRET
YOUR TELNOS 991, 1012 AND 1014: BASIC LAW:
MANY THANKS FOR TURS. OUR COMMENTS ARE SET OUT IN THE FOLLOWING
PARAGRAPHS.
FIRST TUR
2. PARA. 4. WE AGREE THAT WHILST IT MAY NOT BE ESSENTIAL TO INCLUDE
THE REFERENCE POINT IN THE BL GIVEN THE CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES, THE BLOC MEMBERS SHOULD BE MADE AWARE THAT THE TERM PREVIOUS'' SHOULD
MEAN IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE HKSAR''AND
THAT IT SHOULD THEREFORE INCLUDE LAWS ENACTED BETWEEN THE ENTRY
INTO FORCE OF THE JD AND 1 JULY 1997, AND EXCLUDE THOSE REPEALED
DURING THE SAME PERIOD. WE HAVE ASKED OUR INTERLOCUTORS TO HAVE THIS POINT PUT ON RECORD AT THE FORTHCOMING BLDC PLENUM.
3. PARA. 6. TO AVOID AMBIGUITY, WE SUGGEST REPLACING EXECUTIVE. AUTHORITIES'' BY ''ORGANS OF GOVERNMENT''
4. PARA. 7. TO AVOID A REPETITIVE CHINESE TEXT, WE PREFER TO DELETE THE WORD **LOCAL'! ALTOGETHER. FAILING THAT, THE TERM CAN BE SUBSTITUTED BY ''SPECIAL'. AS A LAST RESORT, WE SUGGEST THAT THE
FIRST SENTENCE OF THIS ARTICLE SHOULD BE RECAST ALONG THE
FOLLOWING LINES: '' THE HKSAR OF THE PRC HAS A HIGH DEGREE OF
AUTONOMY.
5. PARA. 8. TO THE EXTENT THAT A CLEAR DISTINCTION IS MADE BETWEEN
AUTHORISATION GIVEN BY THE BL AND ADDITIONAL AUTHORISATION BY
THE CPG FOR THE
CONDUCT OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS BY THE SARG, YOUR FORMULA IS NOT SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT FROM OURS. BUT THE LATTER REQUIRES ONLY
MINIMAL CHANGES TO THE TEXT PROPOSEDHKGJXH XRF JVCV DXXQXDZYLH ZG VMVPJ
CKDWFFZ OM WE TAKE YOUR POINT ABOUT SITUATIONS WHICH MIGHT REQUIRE
JOINT ACTION BY THE MFA AND THE SARG, AND SUGGEST SUBSTITUTING
''.DEAL WITH FOR THE WORD MANAGE'' IN 30TH PLACES IN THE DRAFT
ARTICLE. WE MAINTAIN THAT THIS FORMULA IS ONLY A FALLBACK AND OUR
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE IS TO CONFINE THE MFA OFFICE IN THE SAR TO LIAISON
FUNCTION
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