CONFIDENTIAL
рок
CONFIDENTIAL
FM BTC HONG KONG
TO ROUTINE FCO
TELNO 122
OF 300854Z APRIL 92
AND TO ROUTINE LISBON
INFO ROUTINE PEKING, HONG KONG
HKC 020/3
146744
MDLIAN 2510
FINAL VISIT TO MACAU
CM
1. I PAID MY FINAL VISIT TO MACAU ON WEDNESDAY 29 APRIL. I TOOK MY LEAVE OF THE GOVERNOR AT A FORMAL BUT RELAXED CALL AND AFTERWARDS HE AND HIS WIFE HOSTED A LUNCHEON FOR MY WIFE AND MYSELF ATTENDED BY TWELVE OF THE LEADING FIGURES IN MACAU AND THEIR WIVES. IT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT ANYONE CAN RECALL, THAT THE GOVERNOR HAS HOSTED SUCH AN EVENT FOR A DEPARTING CONSUL- GENERAL.
2. THE GOVERNOR, GENERAL VIEIRA, WAS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT MACAU'S FUTURE. HE THOUGHT RELATIONS WITH CHINA OVER MACAU HAD IMPROVED AND WERE GOOD. HE THOUGHT THEY COULD BE EVEN BETTER BUT THAT CHINA WAS OFTEN NERVOUS THAT CONCESSIONS IN RESPECT OF MACAU WHICH THEY OTHERWISE MIGHT BE PREPARED TO MAKE, WERE NOT MADE BECAUSE THEY FEARED SETTING A PRECEDENT IN RESPECT OF HONG KONG WHICH OBVIOUSLY WAS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO THEM. THE GOVERNOR STRESSED, AS HE HAS BEFORE, HIS WISH TO SEE THE MAINTENANCE OF VERY CLOSE LINKS BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF HONG KONG AND MACAU, AND BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF BRITAIN AND PORTUGAL OVER HONG KONG AND MACAU MATTERS, SINCE WE WERE FACING SIMILAR ISSUES OVER A SUBSTANTIALLY SIMILAR TIME-TABLE. I SAID THAT I WAS SURE THIS ECHOED THE SENTIMENTS OF BOTH THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG AND THE MINISTERS IN LONDON. COMMUNICATIONS HAD BEEN GOOD BUT CLEARLY
WE COULD ALWAYS DO MORE.
3. THE GOVERNOR AND OTHERS AT THE LUNCH CONFIRMED THAT PROGRESS ON THE MACAU AIRPORT PROJECT CONTINUES. THEY CERTAINLY SEEMED FIRM IN THEIR RESOLUTION THAT WORK SHOULD CONTINUE, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD NOT YET LET THE CRITICAL AND MUCH POSTPONED CONTRACT FOR THE RUNWAY RECLAMATION. I REMINDED HIM OF THE INTEREST OF A NUMBER OF BRITISH COMPANIES.
4. THE ECONOMY OF MACAU CONTINUES TO EXPAND. THE MACAU SKYLINE HAS PROBABLY CHANGED EVEN MORE OVER MY THREE YEARS THAN THAT OF
PAGE
1
CONFIDENTIAL