A
4. They asked those they spoke to for their views on
developments in Hong Kong up to 1997 and beyond. All, including the LegCo members, were optimistic about economic and commercial developments in the coming years. Emily Lau's main point was that the UK would have to deliver what it had promised in the
Joint Declaration.
5. John Bayliss has given us three questions which he would ---
like to put to the Minister:
(i)
How can the UK justify handing over the people of Hong Kong to a communist regime in 1997?
(ii)
Hong Kong has had virtually no democracy for the past 150 years; why introduce it now?
(iii)
What do you think Hong Kong will be like in 1997 at
the time of the handover?
6.
Points to make are attached. Although unlikely, should BSN touch on recent remarks by senior Chinese political figures on consequences for UK/China trade, the Secretary of State's meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister and recent exchanges between the UK and China relating to talks, I attach the lines that we have taken with the press.
Jane Radt
Sara Everett
News Department