RESTRICTED
AA
23
000
HKC RECEIVED IN ESCISTRY
22 MAY 1982
DESK LAR.
INDET
FROM: P F Ricketts
Hong Kong Department
DATE: 20 May 1992
Там!
cc: PS/Mr Patten
Mr Davies, FED
Mr Burns
PS/Mr Goodlad
HONG KONG: FREEDOM
It
1. The Minister might be interested to note that Zhou Nan has complained to Sir P Cradock about the use by the Prime Minister and Mr Patten of the phrase "maintaining Hong Kong's freedom, stability and prosperity". Zhou asked if this meant that we intended to speed up the pace of
democratisation or to allow UDHK members onto LegCo. seems that the Chinese are concerned that this may signal a shift in our policy on Hong Kong. It is possible that they fear that we may be considering permitting Hong Kong the exercise of some form of self-determination: or at least
that our minds are made up on democracy.
2. Sir Percy has told the Chinese that they should not read too much into these words. The freedoms of the capitalist and liberal society of Hong Kong were those set out in the Joint Declaration. The Chinese Government should not read anything sinister into the word "freedom".
3. The Chinese place a much greater significance on symbolic phrases such as this than we do. In the Chinese political system adding or deleting words from "motherhood" language like this (irrespective of how anodyne the changes
JB1AAC/1
JRB
RESTRICTED