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HKC 020/6

CONFIDENTIAL

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Mr Ricketts

From:

Sir John Coles

165.

Date:

26 March 1992

CC:

Mr Burns

ст

Hong Kong Department Hong

UK/HONG KONG RELATIONS

NIR

Mr Broadbent,

Economic Advisers

Quite. It will not do much for the

the fox morale of local officers if inept handling

of Peking forces us to concede virtual

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Mr Son 13 Joint administration before 1997.

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a His is Heal where negotiations molt He Chinese are concerned, mang has to form its own cm of wheller proporals are in Whi's test interests, and Ministers have to be satisfied. For

be satisfied. For the rest, it is largel During my visit to Hong Kong I discussed with the Governor our recent exchange of personal telegrams, ending with FCO telno 495 of 16 March about Hong Kong's concern that London may be encroaching on its economic and financial autonomy.

1.

2.

The Governor is satisfied with the assurances e.g. in paragraph 2 of FCO telno 495. I do not think he will comment further on this exchange.

3.

a

questie of watching He precise Janguage

of our

eAchanges Mary Kay

In our talk we were broadly agreed that:-

(a)

Hong Kong's financial and economic autonomy should be respected;

(b)

(c)

it was entirely understandable that London should seek more information than hitherto on economic and financial issues, because we had a direct stake in some specific and limited areas and because we had to handle the Chinese;

but it was wrong for London to question the economic and financial management of Hong Kong since such questioning was indeed an encroachment on autonomy.

MARABR

CONFIDENTIAL

/4.

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