Is this on W.P
file?
201
CONFIDENTIAL
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
1 December 1993
BY FAX
Martin Dinham Esq
Government House HONG KONG
Dear Martin
DRAFT WHITE PAPER
1.
London SWIA 2AH
Telephone: 071-
NKB 01116 | Tephon
I enclose the latest text of the White Paper, plus the five annexes, in which we have incorporated all your amendments and suggestions. The main new material is paras 37-44, which as you will see update for Round 17, and cover in detail the point about appointed membership (your telno 1826). I have tracked the point in the third tired of para 5 of that telegram into para 32 - although as I say in a separate letter to Edward Llewelyn on the Governor's statement, we are not convinced that it stands up in terms of the negotiating record.
2. We have submitted this text, in parallel, to the Secretary of State (we have also incorporated one or two of his own. amendments to the Personal Introduction).
3.
In order to be ready to publish early next week (Monday/Tuesday) - if the talks have then irrevocably broken down we need to return the proofs to the printers at noon tomorrow (Thursday). So we shall need to have any final thoughts from you as early in the morning our time as possible, please.
4. There is one policy point in it which you will want to reflect on (in the spare hours you have tomorrow!). The Introduction, and Part IV both say that the Governor will now be consulting LegCo and the Community about the content of second stage legislation. We will of course be in the territory of irrevocable breakdown by the time the White Paper is published. It needs to say something about the way forward on Phase Two. But is it true that you will be embarking on consultations immediately? Or would it be better to say that the Governor proposes in due course to consult
? It depends a bit on
what you think the LegCo traffic will bear.
yes ever,
PF Ricketts
Hong Kong Department
CC N J Cox Esq
PEKING
Zeker.
(Additional paras at the end of Part II only)
mdin.PET.JRB
CONFIDENTIAL