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-DEC-1992 13:46
FCO NEWS DEPT
071 270 3734 P.02
Surely China, the last thing that China will want to do, however ch it disapproves of the situation in Hong Kong, is to wreck the economy and prosperity of Hong Kong?
You may
That is what I call, with great respect to economic fallacy, when contrary to lot in the main negotiations in 83/84, the view that economic considerations come first. In fact, the Chinese made it abundantly clear to us then that politics comes first.
remember that they brought Hong Kong to the edge of the most serious financial crisis in September 1983, rather than accept continued British administration. The same rules apply today. This is a matter of national pride, they will not give way. if you had a much more liberal regime in Peking, it does not follow that they would be any less nationalist about recovering Hong Kong. This is the recovery of territory which they think was taken from them in humiliating circumstances. The eyes of the world are upon them, they are not going to back down.
Even
Now, Sir Percy, you're going to make yourself very unpopular with your former boss, John Major, to say nothing of Chris Patten.
Well, I'm sorry if that is so. I don't want to get involved in any way with personalities or anything of that kind, all I want to do is for us to look quietly and coolly at the present situation and to assess the way it is likely to go, and the main thing is to read China correctly.
You see, what they say, what your critics, who know very well what your private views are, and of course now they'll know what your views are because you've made them public. what they say is, here you are, an old China hand, with respect living in the past a bit, much more concerned with cosying up to China than worrying about the prosperity and welfare of Hong Kong. Is that fair?
No, quite unfair and quite inaccurate. The concern throughout has not been, as you put it, cosying up to Peking, it has been the good or ill of Hong Kong, and the calculation throughout has been that if we are to look after Hong Kong, which is a very serious moral responsibility of ours, we must co-operate with China. If we do not, it may please us, it may allow us to strike a heroic pose in Britain, but it will hurt Hong Kong.