XN000022-1993-04-02 — Page 5

FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1993

position then changed and China then proposed that we could only have discussions about political development in

in Hong Kong, provided that I threw overboard the proposals that I'd already made. And, that was by and large the Chinese position through the winter. It was accompanied by a good deal of rhetoric and a good deal of the colourful language mentioned by the chairman. es we turned our That was the position through the winter. proposals into legislation. In February, the day before we were to publish that legislation, China responded to our latest should have talks with them about my suggestion that proposals, by saying that would be a good idea. The day before, therefore, we were to publish our bill on political development, we received a response from Chinese officials, suggesting that there should be talks about talks. And, those talks about talks, which we would have liked to concluded sufficiently rapidly, to begin the real talks on the 24th of February, went on for a number of weeks.

we

We were prepared, we were very happy to talk to Chinese officials on the basis for which they argued when they responded to us at the beginning of February. We were prepared to have talks on the basis of the joint declaration, on the basis of convergence with the basic law, which is the mini-constitution which China has agreed for Hong Kong after 1997, and on the basis of any relevant understandings

between agreements

governments. Unfortunately, those talks about talks brokF down on three

1.su.

our

Firstly, even though we'd been talking about talks for several weeks, we were still unable to agree a date when real talks should take place or even to agree a date when we could announce a date for talks to begin.

Secondly, unfortunately, we had not reached agreement with China on one other matter, which in my view, we should be able to agree pretty rapidly. And that was on the secrecy of talks. There was no disagreement between us that the content of the talks, while they were taking place, should be confidential, should be secret But, what like other, or like most other diplomatic exchanges. we found difficult to believe that it was possible, as Chinese officials were urging us to actually hold the talks in secret. I didn't see how we could send officials off to the airport in Hong Kong to travel up to Peking if stopped at the airport to explain that they were off to see their mother-in-law or off for some other domestic purpose. It seemed to me impossible that we could actually keep the holding of talks a secret between Britain and China, but I don't, honestly think that is a very serious issue.

The third matter, which was more important, was the position of And that Hong Kong government officials in the British Team. introduced a totally new precondition for talks, not something which has prevented talks on other matters, like the negotiation of the joint declaration for the last decade or more. unfortunately, that disagreement remains The position today.

THC to remind you, before think it's, perhaps, useful for underlining our position on this issue, I think it's important

not China, for me to remind you that it was Britain,

And I

that

/PROPOSED THE