CONFIDENTIAL
IMMEDIATE
We
4. He is however attracted to the idea of visiting Tibet.
recognise that this could be controversial. To go there could be interpreted by some Tibet supporters as endorsing China's claim to sovereignty, which HMG have not accepted. (We are consulting Legal Advisers about the recognition implications). If he did visit Lhasa he would need to speak up firmly on human rights. In your estimation, what is the likelihood of the Chinese agreeing to such a visit? We believe that a Minister from a third country (? Latin America) did recently visit Tibet.
We are aware of the recent visit by the delegation from the European Parliament.
4. If Tibet were included, presumably a short programme in Chengdu would also be possible if only to fill the time between flights. We note what you say about few British interests in Sichuan, though in the past the province was the top priority for the Embassy in S and T cooperation (Adrian Johnson may recall).
5. Beyond that, Lord Caithness likes the idea of the Nanjing / Shanghai corridor and, as indicated above, Guangdong, with Fujian
as a fall-back.
6.
A rough itinerary subject to flight availability might be: -
25 November
26 November (am)
26 November (pm)
27
-
29 November
30 November
1/2 December
3 December
4/5 December
6/7 December
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Fly to Peking
Peking (plus ? Tianjin) Changdu
Lhasa
Changdu / Nanjing
Nanjing
Shanghai
Guangdong