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it would be necessary to nudge them further, without giving them the impression that they could use the issue as a level
on us. Mr McLaren pointed out that the Chinese were instinctively suspicious of big projects. The Governor agreed. It was clear, from his discussions in January, that the Prime Minister, Li Peng, had extensive experience of unsuccessful big projects during his earlier career and this affected his attitude towards the Hong Kong project. There was also a widespread fear that the Hong Kong SAR might eventually be saddled with a huge debt arising from the project. It was agreed that Mr Maude's visit would be a good opportunity to try to deal with all these points with
the Chinese.
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