CONFIDENTIAL
Scerbay of Str
7
Private Secretary
The Mimiter ins
Content.
6.5. Dorgy' is
17/11
MAR 017/2
From :, CO Hum
CC
PS/Mr Goodlad
Ministe
Private Secretary
HONG KONG : OPD(K): 18 NOVEMBER
Date : 17 November 1992
Sir J Coles o.r. Mr Davies, FED Mr Ricketts, HKD
1. I agree with Mr Ricketts' brief, which reflects discussion with me.
1
Mr. Hum
Many thanks
2. There are two points in the brief on which Ministers might find it helpful to have an additional gloss. This is because the points were not fully discussed at the Secretary of State's office meeting, but reflect an earlier discussion which Mr Ricketts and I had with the Governor.
3. The first point concerns the handling of possible changes to the Governor's proposals. The Governor confirmed to us that he would be considering carefully any alternatives put forward (in Hong Kong/ on the Election Committee and on functional constituencies, with a view to making possible changes before bills were tabled in LegCo. He suggested that he might follow British precedents in tabling options on these two issues, comprising his original proposals and possible variants. This point is reflected in the Governor's brief.
4. The second point is the question of seeking to re-engage the Chinese. The Prime Minister told Zhu Rongji this morning that we wished to proceed by discussion, preferably in private. I think it follows from this, as well as from our commitment to working on the basis of the Joint Declaration, that we need to make every possible effort to keep our lines open to the Chinese. One possible point at which we might be able to get back into dialogue on substance would be the tabling of any alternatives to the Governor's current proposals. The aim of such dialogue would not simply be the public one of demonstrating that we had made every possible effort to reach agreement. We also have every interest in minimising the areas of difference with the Chinese. Even if at the end of the day agreement is not possible as is all too likely we might be able to do something to temper their eventual opposition to the Governor's package; to lessen the violence with which
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CONFIDENTIAL
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