POINTS TO MAKE
RESTRICTED
Realise that we have disagreements over the scope of the
Governor's proposals, and the handling of them with the
Chinese before they were announced. But hope you accept
that we do not differ on objectives: we want to see fair
and open elections, and to maintain as far as possible a cooperative relationship with China.
We were well aware that the Chinese would object to some
of the Governor's electoral proposals. The vehemence of
their reaction seems to be due to a combination of
factors:
The
Anxiety that the Governor's appointment and his proposals represent a change of British policy towards
Hong Kong. As you know, this is not the case.
1995 elections were always going to be a difficult
issue with the Chinese. The Governor and Ministers
took a political decision that it would not have been
possible to spend months in consultation with the
Chinese (with very little chance of reaching agreement) before making announcements publicly. No other choice, given the level of speculation about this issue in Hong
Kong.
Their conspiracy theory that the Governor's proposals
form part of an international plot to undermine the
Kwan Chinese regime. Very unhelpful that Lee Qian Yew has given this further currency.
Possibly a sense that the Prime Minister was in a weak
position and the British counsels were divided.
RESTRICTED