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MDLIAN 9288
RESPECT THE SINO-BRITISH JOINT COMMUNIQUE QUERY. THIS DID NOT PERMIT OFFICIAL LINKS WITH THE TAIWANESE AUTHORITIES.
6.
CHEN SAID NCNA HAD ALSO NOTICED A NEWSPAPER REPORT THAT THE TAIWAN AUTHORITIES WERE PREPARING TO OPEN A TAIPEI INFORMATION AND CULTURE CENTRE IN HONG KONG. THE CHINESE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS REPORT. THE CENTRE WOULD BE UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE TAIWANESE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION OFFICE. IT WOULD THEREFORE BE AN OFFICIAL NOT/NOT A PRIVATE SECTOR BODY. THE CHINESE WERE OPPOSED TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ANY OFFICIAL OFFICE AND ASKED WHETHER THE REPORT WAS TRUE QUERY.
EHRMAN REPLIED THAT HKG'S POLICY HAD NOT CHANGED. THE POLICY
AND OF HMG/HKG WAS THAT OF THE 1972 COMMUNIQUE. HE REFERRED TO, REITERATED, OUR PREVIOUS COMMENTS ON THE GOVERNOR'S MEETING WITH HSU (I.E. IN HIS CAPACITY AS AN INDUSTRIALIST): AND PENG MINGMIN (I.E. HE WAS ONLY TRANSITING HONG KONG AND MADE NO SPEECHES HERE).
8. EHRMAN SAID THAT TSANG PLANNED TO VISIT TAIWAN IN JANUARY IN THE APEC CONTEXT. THE PRC, HONG KONG AND TAIWAN WERE ALL MEMBERS OF APEC: THEIR REPRESENTATIVES MET AT EVERY APEC MEETING. TSANG'S DISCUSSIONS IN TAIWAN WOULD BE NO DIFFERENT FROM THESE. THEY DID NOT REPRESENT ANY CHANGE IN HKG POLICY. EHRMAN FURTHER NOTED THAT HONG KONG'S TRADE WITH TAIWAN WAS GROWING AN AN ANNUAL RATE OF ABOUT 27 PER CENT. TAIWANESE VISITORS WERE HONG KONG'S LARGEST SOURCE OF TOURIST INCOME. TAIWANESE BUSINESSMEN WERE INVESTORS HERE. ALL OF THESE WERE LINKED TO DEVELOPING ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN THE MAINLAND AND TAIWAN. THE CHINESE HAD ALWAYS ENCOURAGED ECONOMIC/TRADE LINKS. MEETINGS UNDER APEC AUSPICES WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THIS HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT.
EHRMAN SAID HE DID NOT KNOW IF THE REPORT OF A TAIPEI INFORMATION AND CULTURE CENTRE WAS TRUE. WE HAD ONLY SEEN THE NEWSPAPER REPORT, LIKE CHEN. HE NOTED CHEN'S POINTS.
9.
10. CHEN SAID HE DID NOT ACCEPT OUR EXPLANATIONS ON HSU AND PENG. NOR DID THE CHINESE SIDE ACCEPT THE TSANG VISIT WAS MERELY AN APEC MEETING. THEY CONSIDERED IT WOULD CONSTITUTE A FORMAL BILATERAL CONTACT WHICH WAS UNACCEPTABLE UNDER THE JOINT COMMUNIQUE. TSANG'S DELEGATION PLANNED TO DISCUSS MATTERS WHICH WERE BEYOND APEC'S SCOPE. EHRMAN REPEATED OUR POINTS. IN PARTICULAR, HE NOTED THAT A WIDE VARIETY OF TRADE AND ECONOMIC ISSUES WERE DISCUSSED AT APEC.
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