HKA C20/2
Jentira Concer 23/11
FROM: P F Ricketts
Hong Kong Department
DATE : 20 November 1992
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cc: Sir John Coles Mr Davies, FED
One footnote to paragraph 7 (b) of Sir John Coles' minute of 19 November to PS/Mr Goodlad, recording impressions of his visit to Japan.
1.
2. Sir J Coles mentions that he picked up a whiff of a feeling in Tokyo that we were pushing democracy too far although that view was not generally advanced to him.
It may just be worth recording that following your briefing of non-EC embassies on 19 November, Mr Takahashi from the Japanese Embassy (who keeps in assiduously close touch with me) came on to see me to ask a couple of supplementary points. He had been very grateful for your briefing but was a bit worried about your suggestion that it would be helpful if friendly countries could find opportunities to make clear their interest as economic partners of Hong Kong in seeing a modest development of democracy there. After some further probing, I was left with the impression that there is some anxiety in Tokyo that the Governor will be looking for public declarations of support for his policy during his visit to Tokyo. Mr Takahashi emphasised that the Japanese would show by the warmth of their reception for Mr Patten their support for his general approach. But he conveyed obliquely that it was not the Japanese style to make public comments on these issues. Any such public comments from Japan would anyway be counter-productive with the Chinese.
3.
I reassured Mr Takahashi that we understood this point and were not pressing for high profile public declarations of support from Japan. We would particularly appreciate anything they felt able to say on the lines you had suggested in their private contacts with the Chinese.
4.
Comment: I am sure that the Japanese will not want to take sides publicly in our row with the Chinese. We cannot put too much reliance on them taking a robust line in private either. But they have been willing to raise Hong Kong in the past and may be prepared to go part of the way again this time. I will mention privately to Mr Hoare this sign of
japanhk.GEN.kr
Japanese concern that they may be pressed in a way which would embarrass them to speak up publicly in support of the Governor's proposals during his visit.
5.
Since drafting the above, I have seen Tokyo telno 818. The references to Japan's "quiet sympathy" confirm the vibes I picked up from Takahashi!
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PS/Mr Goodlad
VISIT TO JAPAN: 9
CONFIDENTIAL
12 NOVEMBER
From:
Sir John Coles
Date:
19 November 1992
CC:
Private Secretary PS/PUS
Mr Hum
Mr Masefield
Mr Beamish
Mr Davies, FED
Mr Hewitt, SEAD Mr Ricketts, HKD
1.
The Minister of State may be interested in a few
general impressions from my visit, supplementing the
reporting by telegram.
2.
No-one
Bilateral relations are in good shape.
referred to the cancellation of the Prime Minister's visit
nor to the other recent awkwardnesses. And my talks could
not have been fuller or, much, franker. We have set out
with the Japanese a menu of possible future bilateral projects and will be working these up further.
3.
But the lack of senior Ministerial visits
continues to be a problem. We are not alone. Other
European countries have cancelled visits recently.
our case it is the one thing that is really lacking in a
But in
CONFIDENTIAL
/remarkably