SECRET AND PERSONAL
file
23
HKB 026/2
ABCADR
From:
A R Paul
Hong Kong Department
Date:
7 February 1989
Mr McLaren
HONG KONG:
CALL BY THE GOVERNOR ON THE PRIME MINISTER
1.
I submit a first draft of the paper which has been commissioned in advance of the Governor's call on the Prime Minister on 22 February. It seeks to explain our current objectives for Hong Kong and the progress we have made in achieving them.
2.
The paper is longer than I had originally envisaged, but this is not a subject which can be easily treated in a concise or superficial way. I fear that such treatment would result in a trite or unconvincing piece of work. As you will see, I envisage three detailed Annexes to the paper: these are being produced (they
will in any case come in very useful for the Foreign Affairs Committee enquiry).
3.
On the Basic Law (para 8) you will see that I have anticipated the decision which Ministers have yet to take that we shall need to press the Chinese for improvements to the section on the future political system. However, I sense that Ministers will certainly wish to do so (indeed the Secretary of State has already raised the matter in general terms with the Chinese Ambassador).
4.
The paper does not deal with nationality in any great detail. There could be scope for some (limited) modification to our nationality policy (eg along the lines suggested by Mr Henry Keswick). But I consider this to be beyond the scope of the
present paper.
ARPanc
A R Paul
SECRET AND PERSONAL