14
THURSDAY, MAY 31, 1990
HONG
KONG PART OF MEMBER STATES AS
THE MEMBERSHIP, UK'S EEC "BECAUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES FOUND THEMSELVES SITTING AT GATT MEETINGS AS THE UK DELEGATION WHICH IN TURN SAT WITH OTHER EEC PART OF THE EEC DELEGATION.
OTHER GATT DELEGATES "SO, AT LEAST DURING MY DAYS IN GENEVA,
A WERE OFTEN TREATED TO WHAT THEY REGARDED AS AN AMUSING SPECTACLE OF
KONG RAISING THE UK FLAG AND UK REPRESENTATIVE ON BEHALF OF HONG
OR TAKE SPEAKING FROM AMIDST THE EEC DELEGATION TO CRITICISE THE EEC A POSITION OPPOSITE TO THE EEC'S," HE SAID.
CHAU
SAID DISADVANTAGE;
THERE WAS,
MOST
MORE
SERIOUS
AND
BUSINESS
WAS
NOT
TOOK
REAL NEGOTIATIONS
MR
A HOWEVER, OF THE GATT'S SUBSTANTIVE CONDUCTED IN FORMAL PLENARY MEETINGS AND THE PLACE IN PRIVATE AND INFORMAL MEETINGS INVOLVING KEY PLAYERS.
A SMALL NUMBER OF
TRADING
'N SPITE OF HONG KONG'S HIGH RANKING AS A
MEMBERSHIP AND FOUND THAT, BECAUSE OF ITS LACK OF FORMAL
NOT INVITED TO SUCH MEETINGS. CLOUT, IT WAS VERY OFTEN
INFLUENCE DEVELOPMENTS SOMETIMES FOUND OURSELVES UNABLE TO AREAS OF IMPORTANCE TO US.
ENTITY, I POLITICAL THUS, WE EVEN IN
"NOT ONLY WAS THIS AN UNFAVOURABLE SITUATION, BUT IT A VERY FRUSTRATING ONE," HE SAID.
WAS ALSO
SAID HONG MẸ CHAU MATTERS WAS EVENTUALLY DECLARATION AND ONE OF THE GROUP WAS THE AGREEMENT ON
THIS
KONG'S AUTONOMY IN TRADE AND ECONOMIC CONFIRMED
SINO-BRITISH JOINT IN THE
OF THE JOINT LIAISON FIRST ACHIEVEMENTS HONG KONG'S STATUS IN THE GATT.
WHEN,
THROUGH THE
UK'S
WAS FIRMLY SECURED IN 1986 SPONSORSHIP, HONG KONG WAS TURNED INTO A FULL, SEPARATE MEMBER.
FOR "THUS IT WAS THAT, WHEN I RETURNED TO THE GATT IN FEBRUARY
BEHIND A THE FIRST TIME IN SIX YEARS, 1 FOUND MYSELF SITTING PROUDLY
HE SAID. 'HONG KONG' SIGN AND QUITE FAR AWAY FROM THE EEC DELEGATION,
"
GENEVA MR CHAU SAID HE ALSO FOUND THAT THE HONG KONG OFFICE IN
AND TRADE OFFICE AND HAD BECOME A FREE-STANDING HONG KONG ECONOMIC
HONG
HEAD
OFFICE HAD BECOME
THAT THE
THE OF REPRESENTATIVE TO THE GATT.
KONG'S
HE SAID THESE CHANGES HAD BEEN BENEFICIAL AND ALSO HONG KONG'S IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO WORLD TRADE COULD NO IGNORED.
PERMANENT
MEANT THAT LONGER BE
IMPORTANT GATT
"OUR PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE HAS ACCESS TO THE MOST INFORMAL GROUPS IN THE GATT. OUR REPRESENTATIVES CHAIR IMPORTANT COMMITTEES, HE SAID.
HAD BEEN SOME VERY
MR CHAU SAID THERE
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES SINCE HE LEFT THE EXTERNAL TRADE POLICY AREA IN EARLY 1984 AFTER THAN FOUR YEARS AS HONG KONG'S REPRESENTATIVE TO THE GATT IN GENEVA.
MORE
/IN 1983