CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO DESKBY 10103OZ FCO
TELNO 1865
OF 100942Z DECEMBER 1993
85
145325
MDHIAN 6507
CONFIDENTIAL
Mr Whitney
Tel senti
(Miss Brodes
agrees)
HVC 031/10 TOR COPY Q DIST?
AND TO DESKBY 101030Z HM TREASURY, ODA
INFO IMMEDIATE UKDEL IMF/IBRD WASHINGTON, PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG
UKDEL IMF/IBRD Washington telno 400 and FCO telno 1016: IMF/IBRD 1997 Annual Meetings
Treasury for Cunliffe, Bank of England for Bulloch, FCO for Tebbit (ERD)
1.
We are concerned over the implications of the two suggestions from the Chinese side, that the MOU would need to state that the PRC Government will delegate to the HKSARG the authority for implementing the memorandum and that there should be a reference to a successor to Hong Kong Monetary Authority (as a legal precaution).
2.
On the first point, i.e. para 7(A) and (B) of the MOU described in para 3 of UKDEL's TUR, we are wary of the danger of para. 7(B) being given wider interpretation which would prejudice Hong Kong's autonomy in matters in general which straddle 1997. On the other hand, given that the language in para 7(A) referring to the pre-97 delegation of authority is drawn from the Language we previously agreed as a fallback position, it might be difficult to object to the language proposed by the Chinese for para 7(B).
3. Given UKDEL's helpful explanation in his letter of 2 December that an alternate interpretation could be that the delegation was necessary because Hong Kong was not a member of the Bank/Fund, we propose to circumscribe the context of the delegation by rewording the last part of para 7(B) with -
4.
''the Government of the People's Republic of China will delegate to the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region the authority for implementing its responsibilities to the Organisations and their Members in respect of the Memorandum.''
on the second point, we find that the reference in para B1 of
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