CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO ROUTINE FCO
TELNO 1275
OF 18070OZ APRIL 90
INFO ROUTINE TOKYO
CONFIDENTIAL
HKD 345/1
"
REGISTRY
1 8 APR 1990
011017
MDLIAN 4793
ER
PA
REGISTR Action Taken
YOUR TELNO 674: HONG KONG/JAPAN MULTIPLE ENTRY VISAS
1. WE SPOKE TO THE JAPANESE CONSULATE (SEKI) AGAIN TODAY AND PUT TO HIM FORMALLY THE FOLLOWING POINTS.
2. WE WERE NOT PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE FORMAT OF THE NOTES WHICH WERE TO RECORD THE PROPOSED UNDERSTANDING. HOWEVER WE DID NO UNDERSTAND HOW THE JAPANESE PROPOSAL WAS GOING TO WORK IN PRACTICE. THE TEXT THEY HAD PROPOSED DEALT ONLY WITH VISITORS FROM HONG KONG TO JAPAN. BUT IT CONTAINED THE WORDS ON A RECIPROCAL BASIS''. DID THIS MEAN ALL THE CONDITIONS WERE TO APPLY TO JAPANESE VISITORS TO HONG KONG? WHAT SORT OF NOTE DID THEY EXPECT FROM US IN REPLY? WE URGED AGAIN THE ADVANTAGE OF THE FORMAT PREVIOUSLY PROPOSED BY US, WHILE INDICATING WE WERE NOT INFLEXIBLY WEDDED TO THE PRECISE WORDING.
3. WE AGAIN EXPLAINED OUR CONCERN OVER HAVING A CUT-OFF DATE WRITTEN CLEARLY INTO THE AGREEMENT. WE EXPLAINED THAT, AS PROPOSED BY US, THE AGREEMENT COULD NOT CONTINUE BEYOND 1997 ANYWAY. FOR THIS TO BE POSSIBLE WE WOULD HAVE TO CONSULT THE CHINESE. IT WAS IN ORDER TO GET THE ARRANGEMENT IN PLACE QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE THAT WE WERE TAKING OUR PRESENT APPROACH. WE SAID WE HOPED THE ARRANGEMENTS COULD CONTINUE BEYOND 1997, BUT WISHED TO LEAVE NECESSARY DISCUSSION WITH THE CHINESE UNTIL THE REVIEW WE HAD PROPOSED IN
1994.
4. WE SAID WE WOULD BE WILLING TO INCLUDE IN OUR DRAFT EXCHANGE OF NOTES A TERMINATION AT NOTICE CLAUSE (WE OFFERED A SIMPLE TEXT). WE SUGGESTED THAT A COMBINATION OF THIS TERMINATION AT NOTICE CLAUSE, TOGETHER WITH A REVIEW IN 1994, SHOULD COVER THEIR CONCERNS.
5. WE AGAIN POINTED OUT THAT THE DEFINITION OF BUSINESS VISITOR IN THE JAPANESE SIDE LETTER WAS EXTREMELY NARROW ANDS WOULD ELIMINATE THE MAJORITY OF HONG KONG BUSINESSMEN. OF 13,000 OR SO INCORPORATED BUSINESSES IN HONG KONG, ONLY ABOUT 330 HAD ASSESSABLE PROFITS OF OVER HKDOLLARS 50 MILLION PER ANNUM. ONLY 300 WERE LISTED ON THE
1
PAGE
CONFIDENTIAL