1 December 1993
SECRET
British Embassy Peking
Edward Llewellyn Esq Government House HONG KONG
(By classified fax: IMMEDIATE)
Pa
りに
11 Guang Hua Lu Jian Guo Men Wai Peking
People's Republic of China
Telephone: 532 1961/2/3-4, 5 Cable: Prodrome Peking
Telex: 22191
Facsimile: 532 1939 ext. 239
4K-B 012/3
Dear Edward
TALKS ON 1994/95 ELECTIONS:
1.
STATEMENT TO LEGCO
Thank you for copying to me your letter of 30 November to Peter Ricketts. We agree with the points in Peter's letter, also of 30 November, and would add only a few other suggestions:
2. Page 2, second full paragraph: It is probably preferable to avoid any focus on the signatories of the Joint Declaration. Both Zhao Ziyang and Lady Thatcher are in bad odour with the Chinese leadership. Perhaps better to say:
3.
"That is surely not what the Chinese and British Governments had in mind when they agreed in the Joint Declaration that the SAR LegCo should be "constituted by elections"."
Page 4, para 1: I think that the problem to which Peter Ricketts refers is in the 4th rather than the 3rd sentence; we too would prefer the deletion ofthe 4th sentence.
4.
Page 4, para 4: The second sentence could be misleading and thus give rise to unhelpful controversy. You might prefer to amend the paragraph on lines such as:
5.
"We also discussed with the Chinese side membership of DBS and MCs. We explained the case for abolishing appointed membership of these bodies, but the Chinese side did not accept it. At one point we understood that they would be prepared to agree to our abolishing the appointed seats in 1994 and 1995 while preserving the right of the future SAR to decide on its own, under Article 98 of the Basic Law, whether to reinstate any of them after 30 June 1997; alas this proved (to be an illusion][not to be the case].
Page 5, 3rd tiret: The message to Qian Qichen did not say anything about increasing the number of elected seats in MCs (though of course I realise that it follows from what he did
SECRET
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