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What about the question of Chinese approval for the British
Consulate General and its complement of staff?
- You will recall that the Joint Declaration makes provision
for the establishment by the United Kingdom of a Consulate General in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Following agreement in principle between China and the United Kingdom during the Prime Minister's visit to Peking in
September 1991, the Sino-British Land Commission formally agreed to the granting of the Colvin House site to the United Kingdom Government for the construction of the future British
Consulate-General.
No reason to anticipate any problems in following through
with the establishment of the British Consulate General.
According to the Joint Declaration, consular missions may be
established in Hong Kong only with the approval of the Chinese
Government. Could they dictate the number of staff in the
British representation?
Not helpful to speculate about hypothetical situations; I
repeat that we do not anticipate any problem.
Chinese Government of course have a large official presence
in the UK.