COPIES TO:
MR PAUL
MIDO MARSDEN
MR MORRIS
MR STONE
MIDO HANCOCK
CONFIDENTIAL
From:
Date:
PS/Mr Maude
5 March 1990
140
CC:
нко 3404
PS
Mr McLaren
Special Advisers
Mr Whitehead, News Dept
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1 1 MAY 1990
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Mr
Paul, HKD
PA
Action Taken
多
3
HONG KONG
1. You and Mr McLaren attended Mr Maude's regular weekly meeting on Hong Kong this afternoon. The following points emerged:
i) Mr Maude would be grateful to see the ideas you are working up on concessions that might be built into the MR MORRIS Nationality Bill eg the possibility of those granted
IN HAND
DONE
citizenship giving a "moral commitment", before the OD(K) meeting (now postponed from 6 March). Mr Maude was not attracted by the idea of holding back passports.
ii) We should let Hong Kong know that we do not consider there is any inevitability about increasing LEGCO's size in 1991; we would be sympathetic if they wanted to keep it at 56. Mr Maude was happy with your draft telegram, which has issued.
iii) Mr Maude agreed that there was some merit in waiting to make any announcement on international support until one or two other EC countries were clearly on board. The Department's initial advice was that involving South Africa in our lobbying exercise would be counterproductive, but Mr Maude wanted to look further at this.
iv) We should consult the Governor by telegram about the possibility of a joint press conference between him and Mr Maude on 9 March.
v) Mr Maude agreed that, in response to the latest comments from China about our nationality package, we should brief the press along the lines suggested by Hong Kong.
CONFIDENTIAL