RESTRICTED
FM PEKING
TO ROUTINE FCO
TELNO 282
RESTRICTED
LATE B-J 113 MAJ
OF 2509O6Z FEBRUARY 93
for Japan
Alt kader
ния
24
011700
MDLIAN 6462
fa? TOP COPY Q DIST?
INFO ROUTINE HONG KONG, TOKYO, UKREP JLG HONG KONG, BTC HONG KONG
JAPANESE AMBASSADOR'S CALL ON LU PING, 24 FEBRUARY
1.
THE RECENTLY ARRIVED JAPANESE AMBASSADOR HAS GIVEN ME THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNT OF THE COURTESY CALL WHICH HE PAID ON LU PING ON 24 FEBRUARY. I REPORT IT AS AN INDICATION OF THE LINE WHICH THE CHINESE ARE TAKING ABOUT HONG KONG WITH AN IMPORTANT NEIGHBOUR WHICH HAS MAJOR INTERESTS IN THE TERRITORY.
2. KUNIHIRO SAID HE HAD BEGUN BY REFERRING TO A VISIT TO HONG KONG EARLIER THIS MONTH. THE TERRITORY HAD SEEMED 20 METRES HIGHER THAN IT HAD BEEN WHEN HE WAS LAST THERE THREE YEARS EARLIER. THAT MUST REFLECT HONG KONG PEOPLE'S CONFIDENCE IN THEIR FUTURE. LU PING ASSURED HIM HONG KONG WOULD BE THE SAME AFTER 1997 AND WENT ON TO WELCOME JAPANESE INVESTMENT ON STANDARD LINES.
3. KUNIHIRO REFERRED TO THE IMPORTANCE OF HONG KONG IN THE REGION, SOMETHING OF WHICH HE HAD BEEN WELL AWARE IN HIS PREVIOUS POST AS JAPANESE AMBASSADOR IN JAKARTA. HE THEREFORE HOPED THAT THE CURRENT DIFFERENCES WITH THE UK WOULD BE RESOLVED SOON. LU RESPONDED BY SETTING OUT THE CHINESE POSITION IN FAMILIAR FASHION. THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSALS DID NOT CONVERGE WITH THE BASIC LAW: IF THEY WERE ADOPTED CHINA WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ACCEPT THEM: WHAT WAS NEEDED WAS FOR THE BRITISH TO SHOW GOOD FAITH. ONE THING WHICH KUNIHIRO NOTED AS ABSENT FROM LU'S EXPOSITION WAS AN EXPLICIT STATEMENT THAT THE GOVERNOR'S PROPOSALS MUST BE WITHDRAWN.
4.
LU SAID THAT HONG KONG WAS A BILATERAL ISSUE BETWEEN CHINA AND BRITAIN. KUNIHIRO SAID THAT THE JAPANESE SHARED THIS VIEW BUT HONG KONG HAD A WIDER SIGNIFICANCE AND JAPAN, LIKE OTHER COUNTRIES, HOPED THAT THE CURRENT PROBLEMS WOULD SOON BE RESOLVED. LU SAID THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THE JOINT DECLARATION HAD TO BE RESPECTED. KUNIHIRO SAID THAT THE BRITISH SAID THE SAME THING SO THERE WAS COMMON GROUND AND A SOLUTION SHOULD BE POSSIBLE. LU SAID HE HOPED THE BRITISH SIDE WOULD LEARN ITS LESSON AND STICK TO AGREEMENTS REACHED. (KUNIHIRO SAID HE TOOK THIS AS A SIGN THAT THE CHINESE EXPECTED THE PRESENT DISPUTE TO BE RESOLVED. I SAID IT SOUNDED
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