CODE RAD
HKC 020/5
33
UNCLASSIFIED
Mr Bunten, Hong Kong Department
Reference
TAIWAN CONTACTS WITH HONG KONG AUTHORITIES
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1. We spoke about the article published in the Wen Wei Po of 7 November and translated in the SWB of 9 November, which criticized the Governor for meeting Hsu Sheng-fa, a senior member of the ruling Kuomintang in Taiwan.
2.
As I said on the telephone, I had not previously seen any reports of this meeting. From the article itself, it seems to have occurred in the context of a visit to Hong Kong by Taiwan's "Industrial Chamber". This was presumably a return visit for that of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce earlier in the year, which resulted in an MOU between it and Taiwan's Federation of Industries to improve private sector cooperation. Mr Hsu Sheng-fa is Chairman of Taiwan's Federation of Industries (its formal title is the China National Federation of Industries). He is also as the Wen Wei Po report states, a Member of the Central Standing Committee of the Kuomintang, which is that Party's equivalent of the Politburo. He is also a businessman and Chairman of the Prinz Motors Group Corporation.
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3. I would not pretend to know a great deal about Hong Kong's contacts with Taiwan. Hong Kong telno. 1720 of 25 June reported that the position with regard to the issue of visas to Taiwan officials had been liberalized considerably in recent years. the past two years, Hong Kong had issued many visas to Taiwanese officials including some high ranking ones, and so far in 1992, they had issued four visas to officials at Minister or Administrative Vice-Minister rank. The telegram went on to say that in the case of senior Taiwan government officials, Hong Kong still required an undertaking that they would not represent or purport to represent Taiwan or the authorities there; that they came as a private person and would not engage in any activities which might cause embarrassment to the Hong Kong government. The visit of Hsu, in his capacity as the Chairman of the Private Taiwan Federation of Industries, would not appear to be a breach of that policy. Hong Kong has also allowed the Hong Kong Director General of Trade, Donald Tsang, to visit Taiwan in July at the invitation of the Taiwan Board of Foreign Trade, but under the umbrella of APEC.
4.
I presume that the Governor's decision to receive the Taiwan delegation was made in the context of a desire to stiffen up commercial and economic links. Hsu is not strictly speaking a Taiwan government official, despite his high standing in the Party.
5. The Taiwan press, on which the original information for the Wen Wei Po article was based, regularly plays up and distorts contacts between Taiwan and foreign governments and officials in order to give the impression that such contacts are more formal and official than in many cases they are in fact. This article should probably be read partly in that context and partly also in the context of China's desire to criticize the Governor on any
UNCLASSIFIED