XN000022-1990-05-31 — Page 15

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