UNCLASSIFIED
121066
MDLIAN 8852
GOOD SHOW BUT TO ENSURE A SMOOTH TRANSITION. SHOULD THE GOVERNOR PRESS AHEAD WITH HIS PROPOSALS, THERE WOULD CERTAINLY BE CHAOS IN
1997.
8.
ACCORDING TO LU, IF THERE WAS NO CO-OPERATION THE CHINESE SIDE WOULD HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE. CHINA'S POLICY WAS TO SEEK CONVERGENCE AND SMOOTH TRANSITION. BUT THE CHINESE HAD ALSO SAID THAT CO- OPERATION WAS NOT A ONE-SIDED MATTER BUT SHOULD COME FROM BOTH SIDES. IT COULD BE SEEN THAT SINCE THE SIGNING OF THE JD, SINO-BRITISH CO- OPERATION ON THE HONG KONG QUESTION HAD ON THE WHOLE BEEN GOOD. DIFFERENCES AND CONFLICTS HAD BEEN RESOLVED AMICABLY. BOTH SIDES HAD BEEN SLOWLY APPROACHING THE GOAL OF SMOOTH TRANSITION AND CONVERGENCE. THE QUESTION NOW WAS WITH MR PATTEN ASSUMING HIS OFFICE, THE APPROACH HITHERTO ADOPTED HAD CHANGED COMPLETELY. THE CHINESE STILL HOPED THAT THE BRITISH SIDE COULD RETURN TO THE PATH OF THE JD AND BASIC LAW AND ACHIEVE CONVERGENCE AND SMOOTH TRANSITION.
9.
LU REITERATED THAT IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE CONVERGENCE ON OTHER FRONTS WHILE THE POLITICAL SYSTEM WOULD NOT CONVERGE. POLITICAL ISSUES COULD NOT BE ISOLATED AND IT WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE FOR BOTH SIDES TO CONFRONT EACH OTHER ON ONE ISSUE BUT TO CO-OPERATE ON OTHERS. HE CLAIMED THAT THE GOVERNOR HAD NOT HEEDED CHINESE WARNING ABOUT THE DAMAGE TO SINO-BRITISH CO-OPERATION IN ALL ASPECTS BY HIS PROPOSALS. THE GOVERNOR DID NOT AT ALL UNDERSTAND CHINA AND HONG KONG AND WAS ALREADY MAKING A FUSS JUST IN HIS EARLY DAYS IN
OFFICE.
PATTEN
YYYY
MAIN
.HK POLICY
63
DISTRIBUTION
72
PLANNERS
RAD
HKD
PUSD
FED
LEGAL ADVISERS//MS BARRETT
.AND MS BROOKS
NEWS D
PS
PS/MR GOODLAD
SIR J COLES
MR APPLEYARD MR HUM
PAGE
3
UNCLASSIFIED