CONFIDENTIAL
MANIS 011/3
dur Pasten,
If the new outs
outspokenners
of the "don't rock the Sampan" crew proves increasingly to reflect the vicer
FROM: K A M Saunders
Hong Kong Department
DATE: 19 June 1992
cc: PS/Mr Patten
Sir J Coles
Mr Ricketts the majority (see parra & &
the attached letter), you might just
find the coonrutional issue a lot easier to handle than we've been predicting.
Mr Hum
PS/Mr Goodlad
HONG KONG POLITICAL SITUATION: LOCAL ATTITUDES TO
DEMOCRATISATION
Α
B
1. Mr Goodlad might like to see the attached letter from Mr Paul, which gives a good up-to-date reading of local Hong Kong opinion on the democracy issue. The two broad political camps have now set out their stalls publicly, and are stepping up their campaign to put pressure on us and influence the new Governor, at a time when they suspect key
decisions are being made.
2. The main weapons in the liberals' armoury are their position in LegCo and, their biggest gun of all,
Mr Martin Lee, who is so effective in mobilising
international (western) sympathy for his cause. Hence the two LegCo motion debates due next week and the week after, and Martin Lee's visits to France and Germany this week,
followed by the European Parliament in Strasbourg early next
month. Meanwhile Mr Allen Lee and a delegation of his CRC supporters are in Peking this week. Yesterday's Financial Times reported their meeting with the Chinese Party Secretary, Jiang Zemin and Jiang's remarks about chaos
versus political stability. In their confrontation with the United Democrats the CRC's trump card is the approval and
support of Peking.
KS1ADL/1
SLM
CONFIDENTIAL