The Rt Hon Sir Frederic Bennett, DL
No 2, Stone Buildings
Lincoln's Inn
London WC2A 3XB
Thank you for your letters of 5 and 7 April with your
impressions of China and Hong Kong. I am grateful for the approach you took in your meetings with the Chinese Vice-foreign
Minister and with officials from the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs
Office.
You will have seen that we were able to announce last week that
talks with China on Hong Kong electoral issues would start on 22
April.
This is a welcome development. We and the Governor have made plain since October that we wished to discuss with the Chinese
side the proposals which the Governor put forward with our full
support. Our aim in the talks will be to reach an understanding
with China on arrangements to ensure that the elections in 1994
and 1995 are fair, open and acceptable to the people of Hong Kong. If that proves possible, we and the Governor will recommend the outcome to the Legislative Council.
The changes which have been achieved in the Chinese economy
since the beginning of the Open Door policy are indeed impressive. While Britain may not have done as well as some of
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