CONFIDENTIAL
102364
MDHOAN 0273
ULD BE ENORMOUSLY HELPFUL IF YOU WERE ABLE TO TELL THE CHINESE LEADERS THAT THE WHOLE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY HAS A CONTINUING INTEREST IN HONG KONG'S STABILITY, PROSPERITY AND FREEDOMS AFTER 1997 AND THAT CHINESE BEHAVIOUR IN THAT RESPECT WILL BE ONE
TOUCHSTONE OF HER GROWING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY.
I MADE A DETAILED EXPOSITION TO LI PENG ON THE ISSUE OF HUMAN RIGHTS. I RAISED A SERIES OF INDIVIDUAL CASES AS WELL AS HUMAN RIGHTS IN TIBET AND THE FREEDOM TO PRACTISE RELIGION. I HANDED OVER A DETAILED LIST OF CASES AND WE ARE BRIEFING YOUR EMBASSY HERE IN LONDON ABOUT THEM. LI PENG RECOGNISED THAT HE COULD NOT
AVOID A DISCUSSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND SAID THAT THE CHINESE
GOVERNMENT WAS PREPARED TO TAKE DELIVERY OF OUR LIST. I AM SURE
THEY HOPE THAT THE MATTER WILL NOW GO AWAY BUT I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF US KEEP UP THE PRESSURE, JUST AS WE KEPT UP THE PRESSURE ON THE SOVIET UNION IN THE PRE-GORBACHEV PERIOD
WHEN, DESPITE ALL THEIR REBUTTALS, THE SOVIET AUTHORITIES DID QUIETLY START TO RELEASE INDIVIDUAL DETAINEES.
LI PENG RAISED WITH ME THE QUESTION OF THE SOVIET UNION. HE WAS
AT PAINS TO POINT OUT TO ME THAT EVENTS IN THE SOVIET UNION HAD
NO RELEVANCE TO CHINA BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH IDEOLOGICALLY SIMILAR, THE TWO COUNTRIES HAD BEEN AT LOGGERHEADS FOR MUCH OF THE LAST 40
YEARS AND THEIR ECONOMIES WERE VERY DISSIMILAR. I MADE THE POINT THAT THERE WAS AN INCREASING, INEVITABLE AND IRREVERSIBLE FEELING THROUGHOUT THE WORLD THAT GOVERNMENTS MUST BE ACCOUNTABLE TO
THEIR PEOPLE.
AS A MEMBER OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL, CHINA WANTS DIALOGUE ON INTERNATIONAL ISSUES. BECAUSE WE HAD SPENT SO MUCH TIME ON HONG KONG WE WERE NOT ABLE TO COVER THE BOARD, BUT I FOUND LI PENG WELL INFORMED ABOUT INTERNATIONAL EVENTS, INCLUDING DEVELOPMENTS IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY. I DID DISCUSS WITH HIM IN SOME DETAIL
OUR PROPOSAL FOR A REGISTER OF ARMS TRANSFERS AND I URGED HIM TO
SUPPORT THE RESOLUTION WHICH THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY WOULD BE TABLING IN THIS YEAR'S UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY. HE WAS REASONABLY
FORTHCOMING THOUGH HE SAID THAT THE REGISTER MUST BE BALANCED AS
BETWEEN COUNTRIES AND THAT ARMS CONTROL MUST BE BALANCED AS
BETWEEN DIFFERENT WEAPONS SYSTEMS. THE CHINESE SAID THEY HOPED TO ACCEDE TO THE NPT SOON, PERHAPS BY THE END OF THE YEAR.
I FACED QUITE A LOT OF DOMESTIC CRITICISM FOR GOING TO CHINA AT
ALL BUT I AM GLAD THAT I DID. I NEEDED TO DO SO FOR THE SAKE OF
HONG KONG BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH CHINA AS
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