CONFIDENTIAL
ADVANCE COPY
CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO DESKBY 1513OOZ FC O
TELNO 152
OF 151155Z JANUARY 91
INFO IMMEDIATE PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
116352 MDADAN 3385
PEKING TELNO 39: PADS
I HAVE READ THE AMBASSADOR'S ASSESSMENT WITH INTEREST. ONE
POINT IS THAT I DO NOT THINK THAT WE SHOULD SEE CHINESE COMMENTS OVER THE LAST WEEK AS SIMPLY RELATED TO THE AIRPORT. THAT WAS THE PROXIMATE CAUSE. BUT I FEAR THE REAL AIM IS TO PUSH FOR GREATER ALL ROUND CONTROL OVER MAJOR DECISIONS IN HONG KONG BEFORE 1997.
THIS LOOMING PROBLEM HAS BEEN APPARENT FOR SOME TIME.
2.
THERE ARE ONE OR TWO POINTS OF DETAIL IN TUR WHERE IT MIGHT
BE WORTH ADDING A GLOSS
(A)
(B)
:
I DOUBT IF THE CHINESE STATEMENTS TO THE PRESS ON 12 AND 13 JANUARY IS CONTRADICTION TO THE LINE LU PING HAD TAKEN IN HIS MEETING COULD HAVE BEEN SIMPLY A FAILURE OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS. WHATEVER THE CASE WITH LUO, CHEN ZUO'ER THE NEXT DAY CANNOT HAVE BEEN A MISTAKE
"
IT IS WORTH REMEMBERING THAT WE DID BRIEF THE CHINESE FULLY ON THE PADS PROJECTS BEFORE MY ANNOUNCEMENT TO LEGCO IN OCTOBER 1989 QUITE APART FROM THE SUBJECT BEING ONE OF PUBLIC DISCUSSION FOR AT LEAST A YEAR BEFORE THAT. THE CS BRIEFED ZHOU NAN ON OUR PLANS IN MARCH 1989, AND I ALSO DISCUSSED THEM WITH HIM. ZHOU NAN EXPRESSED GREAT INTEREST IN, AND SUPPORT FOR, A NEW AIRPORT. SUBSEQUENTLY MR MAJOR, WHEN FOREIGN SECRETARY, TOLD FOREIGN MINISTER QIAN IN NEW YORK ON 28 SEPTEMBER 1989 THAT HONG KONG WOULD BE PRESSING AHEAD WITH THE NEW AIRPORT. QIAN MADE NO COMMENT. MR MAJOR HAD ALSO SPOKEN BRIEFLY ON THE SUBJECT TO QIAN IN PARIS ON 30 JULY. WE BRIEFED BOTH NCNA AND THE CHINESE JLG OFFICE IN CONSIDERABLE DETAIL ON 10 OCTOBER 1989. JI SHAOXIANG OF NCNA EXPRESSED GREAT INTEREST IN THE PROJECTS AND REMARKED THAT THE PROJECTED COST WAS CONSIDERABLY LOWER THAN HE HAD SEEN IN THE PRESS. NEITHER HE NOR THE JLG OFFICE MADE ANY COMMENTS ON OUR PLANS. IN DECEMBER THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY BRIEFED A VICE DIRECTOR
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