CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 3014
OF 120952Z OCTOBER 90
AND TO IMMEDIATE PEKING
CONFIDENTIAL
аквогорі 3026/21
18 OCT 1990
Tax out
K
P415710
INFO IMMEDIATE UKREP JLG HONG KONG, BTC HONG KONG
31
38
132710 MDHIAN 3805
PEKING TELNO 1399: POSSIBLE VISIT TO HONG KONG BY VICE-FOREIGN MINISTER TIAN ZENGPEI
1. I SHOULD CERTAINLY LIKE TO RESPOND POSITIVELY TO CHEN ZIYING'S INFORMAL APPROACH TO SIR A DONALD. OUR EFFORTS TO GET SENIOR CHINESE TO VISIT HONG KONG ARE ALL TOO OFTEN IGNORED (OR, MORE PROBABLY, SUBJECT TO OBSTACLES ERECTED BY THE STATE COUNCIL).
2. SUBJECT TO YOUR VIEWS, I SHOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE TWO POSSIBLE SETS OF DATES: EITHER THE WEEK BEGINNING 19 NOVEMBER OR THE WEEK BEGINNING 17 DECEMBER. I WILL BE IN HONG KONG DURING BOTH WEEKS AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO HOLD TALKS WITH TIAN AND TO GIVE HIM DINNER IN EITHER. WE WOULD OF COURSE BE HAPPY TO ARRANGE ANY OTHER CALLS
OR VISITS THAT HE WANTED.
3. I
ENTIRELY AGREE WITH SIR A DONALD THAT WE SHOULD EXPRESS THE
HOPE THAT TIAN WILL COME ARMED WITH SOME PIECE OF GOOD NEWS. REALISTICALLY, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT HE WOULD BE IN A POSITION TO SAY ANYTHING DEFINITE ON PADS IN MID-NOVEMBER. IN DECEMBER THAT MIGHT JUST BE POSSIBLE. BUT I WOULD NOT RATE THE PROSPECTS AS
HIGH. IF TIAN WERE TO PREFER NOVEMBER, WE WOULD HAVE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO PRESS HIM FOR MOVEMENT AT JLG XVII, E.G. ON ASAS.
-
B
4. FOR YOUR BACKGROUND INFORMATION, I AM AWAY FROM HONG KONG FROM 13 - 20 OCTOBER, 27 NOVEMBER - 1 DECEMBER AND 4 - 9 DECEMBER. PRINCESS ALEXANDRA WILL BE HERE FROM 2 8 NOVEMBER AND THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH FROM 15 16 NOVEMBER. APART FROM ALL THIS, I AM ALREADY PARTICULARLY BUSY IN THE WEEKS BEGINNING 22 OCTOBER AND
29 OCTOBER. AND EVEN IN THE WEEK BEGINNING 19 NOVEMBER AND THE PREVIOUS WEEK, I ONLY HAVE ONE FREE EVENING AT PRESENT.
WILSON
YYYY
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CONFIDENTIAL