TNAG-0447-FCO40-512-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 3

HRIOD

CONFIDENTIAL

511

BRITISH EMBASSY,

PEKING.

To me with

Minutes

28 October 1974

1/3

W Bentley Esq

PA

SEE AAB

Far Eastern Department

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

London SW1

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RECEIV. H

REGISTRY No.52

- 6 NOV 1774

FEH 3/301/1

e asexments Staff

Ma

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Bentley

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Martin

b.6. Chamun

7/0

Dear Bill,

I have seen the copies of the minutes of 3 and 7 October by Martin in Far Eastern Department and Andrew Stuart on John Addis' talk at Chatham House.

2. There are a number of points on which I would differ at least in emphasis with John. These will emerge in despatches on Chinese internal and external policy which we are now preparing and I will not jump the gun by dealing with them here.

3. In case, however, you are considering the point on the future of Hong Kong raised by Andrew Stuart in his minute of 7 October I should say I do not myself see any relationship between the areas where China has or has had border differences with her neighbours (Burma, Nepal, India, Soviet Union etc) and the special case of Hong Kong. Nor do I think that Taiwan is a parallel in any way. When the time comes the Chinese will not want an adjustment of frontiers such as has occurred in other cases; they will want Hong Kong back and I do not think that in those circumstances our admitting that we acquired it by means of unequal treaties will affect the terms of a hand- over. To make such an admission in advance of our being willing to arrange such a hand-over and I would have thought would put Hong Kong in an intolerable position.

4. I imagine that all this may be academic for the present, but I thought it would be worth putting this on record just in case.

Yoous

Taddy Youka

Edward Youde

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