BY FAX (ra Cancer
10 March 1993
SECRET
DIEN EL
Ан
10/3)
HKB
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
WIA 2AH
012/3 Telephone: 011-
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY
15 MAR 1993
File
25
Edward Llewellyn Esq
Government House
Hong Kong
Dear Edward,
DESK OPPIER
REGISTRY
INDEA
PA
Aufion Taken:
DRAFT STATEMENT BY THE GOVERNOR TO LEGCO: 11 MARCH
Many thanks for your two letters of 10 March enclosing the draft statement for the Governor, and supplementaries.
1.
2. In the time available, I have not consulted Ministers on these texts. But for what they are worth, my own comments were as follows:
I believe that, as with the Governor's statement on 5 March, it will be worth doing all we can to deny the Chinese the pretext to argue that the Governor's statement breaches the confidentiality of the talks with the Chinese. In that context, I thought that the two final paragraphs on the first page of the draft statement were rather obviously a comment on the two sticking points in the talks. To reduce that impression while preserving the essential substance, I suggest that you might omit the final two sentences of the paragraph on representation (from "Hong Kong officials have participated....."), and omit the paragraph on publicity since this no longer seems to be a major issue with the Chinese. Both points may well be covered in supplementaries, but the statement itself will then contain a brief but clear reference to our bottom line on representation.
I suggest adding at the end of the penultimate paragraph on page 2 a sentence indicating that introduction of the draft legislation into LegCo would be a separate step, and that no decision has yet been taken on the timing of this. That might just help to keep doors open in Peking.
3.
On supplementary A7, I would suggest making a virtue of our scrupulous observance of confidentiality by replacing your current draft with something like "I have said that there remain only a few points of disagreement which could and should be resolved quickly. Details of the talks will need to remain confidential. But I have set out my approach to the main issues in my statement."
It10.Llewellyn.PETER
JEB
SECRET