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welcomed.
Most leaders of Hong Kong opinion want Britain
both to stand up for them with Peking and to work for a smooth cooperative relationship: in their eyes we rarely
get the right balance between these objectives. There remains much suspicion that Britain has its own agenda, ie a bilateral interest in good relations with
China, irrespective of Hong Kong concerns. There are
also doubts about Hong Kong Government (HKG) and Foreign
Office competence in handling Peking.
Some people feel that the Airport MoU compromises Hong Kong's autonomy and gives Peking too much say in a Hong Kong project. More regret that the MoU is a London/Peking deal and that there was little visible Hong
Kong involvement in the final stages of the negotiation. But the general mood, if not euphoric, is one of
considerable satisfaction with the MOU and with the boost
it has given to confidence. For ease of reference I
enclose copies of the airport briefing prepared for the visit to Peking (Annex E).
Against this background and as opportunities present
themselves, the Prime Minister may wish:
to make clear that Hong Kong was the central reason
for his visit to Peking and is at the heart of
Sino-British relations;
to point out that some in Britain have criticised
his decision to go to Peking, two years after Tiananmen,
but that he understood most people in Hong Kong thought him right to do so, to work for their future and the
success of the Joint Declaration;
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