Restricted
PS/My loaded.
minykter
MR GOODLAD'S DRINK WITH SIR ADRIAN SWIRE, 4 FEBRUARY (1700 HRS)
Points to Make
Seen the note you sent to Sir J Coles on Swire's relationship
with China. Appreciate Swire's are in a very delicate position.
Chinese adopted more moderate tone between Christmas and
Chinese New Year, ruling out some of the more extreme measures
which had been threatened. Some suggestion they went too far
with public attacks on Jardines and loose talk about contracts
and franchises.
-
As expected, they are now making further threatening noises to
coincide with ExCo's consideration of the Governor's proposals.
None of the recent public statements aimed at British firms.
- Aware that Ambassador Ma has been arm-twisting senior UK
businessmen with interests in Hong Kong and China. Does not
square easily with what Vice-Premier Zhu Rongji said during his
visit to London in November about the prospects for Sino-British
trade. Some indication of divergent views on the Chinese side:
important that business leaders do not give Ma the impression
they are push-overs.
Expect draft legislation on Governor's proposals on Election
Committee and Functional Constituencies to be published soon. Will not be High Noon: a lengthy process of debate in LegCo:
some 65 alternative proposals to consider and further proposals
may be forthcoming. Still strong support for Governor's
proposals. We will accept the Council's decision on the eventual shape of the electoral arrangements.
We do not want the dispute to worsen. Have made clear to the Chinese that we are ready to have discussions- could take place in parallel with the debate in LegCo.
gdl.swre.ADM
SLM
Restricted