CONFIDENTIAL
FM WELLINGTON
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 182
OF 200316Z MAY 93
CONFIDENTIAL
RE
HKD Q1/5
2 O MAY 1993
12
072371
MDHIAN 1585
しい
INDE.
INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG, PEKING
INFO PRIORITY TOKYO, SEOUL, CANBERRA, WASHINGTON, ACTOR
2015-
(9)
YOUR TELNO 59 (NOT TO ALL): NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO
CHINA: HONG KONG
SUMMARY
1. PRIME MINISTER BOLGER SPEAKS HELPFULLY TO THE CHINESE ABOUT HONG KONG. DESPITE SOME DIFFERING EMPHASES ON THE CHINESE SIDE, THEY LEAVE THE NEW ZEALANDERS WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT PROGRESS IS BEING MADE IN THE BILATERAL CHINA/UK TALKS. BUT VICE-PREMIER ZHU FLAGS UP THE PROBLEM OF HONG KONG PARTICIPATION IN AN APEC SUMMIT.
DETAIL
2. CHRIS ELDER, DIRECTOR OF NORTH ASIA DIVISION, BRIEFED DHC TODAY ON HOW HONG KONG FEATURED IN PRIME MINISTER JIM BOLGER'S TALKS IN PEKING.
3. HONG KONG FIGURED PROMINENTLY IN THE TWO-HOUR MEETING BETWEEN VICE-PREMIER ZHU RONGJI AND BOLGER ON 15 MAY, INITIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF AN APEC SUMMIT. ZHU SAID CHINA WAS IN FAVOUR OF THE AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER'S PROPOSAL. HOWEVER, THERE WAS A PROBLEM BECAUSE TAIWAN AND HONG KONG, AS REGIONS, COULD NOT PARTICIPATE. HE ADDED THAT PARTICIPATION ON ANY OTHER BASIS DID NOT SEEM APPROPRIATE IF THE AIM WAS A SUMMIT (ELDER SAID THAT AT ONE POINT ZHU USED THE CHINESE TERM FOR HEAD OF STATE', EVEN THOUGH THIS WAS RENDERED AS 'HEAD OF GOVERNMENT' BY THE INTERPRETER). BOLGER ASKED ZHU IF HE HAD A SOLUTION TO SUGGEST, TO WHICH ZHU REPLIED THAT THERE SHOULD BE DISCUSSIONS THROUGH DIPLOMATIC CHANNELS, BUT THAT 'THE PRINCIPLES' (UNSPECIFIED) MUST BE RESPECTED.
CHINA/UK TALKS