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3. Dr Barreiros said that the Portuguese Ambassador in Peking had also spoken to Chinese officials and had been told that the Chinese
would adhere "scrupuously" to the Joint Declaration.
4. The Embassy pressed further on what concessions the Chinese
might have made towards Macao. There appear to have been no
concessions given in a Joint Declaration/Joint Liaison Group
context. However, the Chinese have apparently given assurances
about financial backing for the Macao airport project. (Lisbon had
earlier reported that the Portuguese were concerned about capital
outflows from Macao).
/ 5.
On the Joint Liaison Group, Peking telno 1248 of 28 June
indicated that the Portuguese were intending to postpone the next
JLG meeting, but had not yet done so. However, given the assurances mentioned in para 3 above, the Portuguese told Mr Drace-Francis that they saw no reason not to discuss Macao with the Chinese. This
presumably means their JLG meeting at the end of July could well go
ahead.
6. Mr Drace-Francis also reported that Chen Ziying, former Chinese Ambassador in Lisbon (and previously Counsellor in London where he was involved in the JLG) had been appointed to a position which would involve him in the Sino-Portuguese JLG. This is presumably also intended as a sign of reassurance: "Don't worry, someone who understands is in charge".
See also Hong Kong telmo 2188 nav attached.
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C T Wood