1990-09-21 16:29 BRITISH TRADE COMMISSTUN
852 845 2870
LORD CAITHNESS: I THINK THAT IS AT THE POTHETICAL QUESTION.
MOMENT A VERY
BERNARD FONG: SIR, BUT MANY THINGS FOR HONG KONG
HYPOTHETICAL INCLUDING
ARE
LORD CAITHNESS: RIIT AT THE MOMENT THAT TS ATTLL A HYPOTHETICAL QUESTION.
VPRV
OF
CHRIS GILLETTE, VISNEWS: SPEAKING OF HYPOTHETICAL IN LIGHT EVENTS OF JUNE 4 LAST YEAR, WHAT GIVES YOU THE IMPRESSION THAT THE BEIJING AUTHORITIES WILL TOLERATE AN ELECTORAL SYSTEM RIGHT ON THEIR DOORSTEP AFTER 1997?
LORD CAITHNESS: IT IS WRITTEN DOWN AND AGREED.
JOHN ANDREWS: GIVEN YOUR EAGERNESS AND THAT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO GO TO BEIJING, SHOULD WE TAKE IT THEN THAT YOU FEEL THE TIME HAS COME TO END ALL INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS AGAINST CHINA? AND IF SO, WHY?
LORD CAITHNESS: I THINK IT IS RIGHT TO DEVELOP OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA. YOU ARE RIGHT TO MENTION THE INTERNATIONAL SANCTIONS, AND PARTICULARLY WE ARE CONSTRAINT TO SOME EXTENT BY WHAT WE CAN DO WITHIN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY BECAUSE THE COMMUNITY HAVE AGREED. THERE HAVE BEEN TWO SPECIAL EXEMPTIONS: ONE FOR PORTUGAL IN ITS FRIENDSHIP WITH MACAU, ONE FOR BRITAIN IN ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH HONG KONG, BUT WE WILL SEEK TO IMPROVE THE RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA AND I THINK THAT IWO POSITIVE FACTORS THAT HAVE EMERGED IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST: FIRSTLY, IS CHINA'S VERY CONSTRUCTIVE ATTITUDE IN TRYING TO HELP REACH A SETTLEMENT OF CAMBODIA IN THE PERMANENT FIVE BRINGING PEOPLE то JAKARTA AND TRYING TO GET A RESPONSIBLE SETTLEMENT THERE THAT CAN LEAD TO
SUPREME NATIONAL COUNCIL AND IN DUE COURSE ELECTIONS AND WITH REGARD TO THE GULF, TOO, I THINK IT HAS BEEN VERY POSITIVE THE ROLE THAT CHINA HAS PLAYED.
JOHN ANDREWS: BUT THE REASON, IF I REMEMBER, FOR THE SANCTIONS WAS CHINA'S INTERNAL BEHAVIOUR. ARE YOU THEN SAYING THAT CHINA'S EXTERNAL BEHAVIOUR COUNTS RATHER MORE?
LORD CAITHNESS: I THINK THAT CHINA'S, BOTH CHINA'S INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL BEHAVIOUR COUNT. I GAVE YOU TWO EXAMPLES OF ITS EXTERNAL BEHAVIOUR AND THERE HAVE BEEN CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS ON ITS INTERNAL BEHAVIOUR.
JOHN ANDREWS: I THINK ONE OF THE IMPROVEMENTS IS MENTIONED THE FRONT WITH SIXTY-FOUR PEOPLE EXECUTED IN GUANGZHOU,
AT
LORD CAITHNESS: I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO RAISE THAT! I HAVE ALREADY ANSWERED THAT ONE.
STEVE STINE, ASIAN WALL STREET JOURNAL: CAN YOU TELL ARE SOME OF THOSE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS?
ME
WHAT
LORD CAITHNESS: I THINK THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF ISSUES WHICH CHINA HAS SHOWN A WILLINGNESS TO REFORM THAT WE WISH TO SEEK ENCOURAGE.
ON
TO
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