SECRET
what would be acceptable for Hong Kong, and what the UK would be able to secure general acceptance of, was an interim extension
He (eg six months) of the existing unilateral declaration.
seemed to envisage that the extension might take the very simple
He did form of changing the date from 31 March to 30 September. not think that Hong Kong would insist on being paid on 31 March although he recognised that other countries might want payment by that date. Equally, however, he saw that if there was to be
payment on 31 March but that the declaration was extended by another six months, the question of a reverse payment would again arise as it had done over the "floating period" of the Agreements
themselves.
4. Me Haddon-Cave emphasised, however, that if the UK extended unilaterally the existing arrangements, we should do so in good
time.
What had made matters very difficult last time was that
the declaration had been left until the last moment. Indeed, he
I did not let him get referred to it as a "stop-gap" affair. away with this. I pointed out that there might be some similarity, for example, between his inability between November and January to let us have his promised views on the one hand, and our difficulty in making a unilateral declaration as early as we might have wished
on the other hand. He said indeed there was a "mirror image"
in the two situations.
He will in
5. I asked Mr Haddon-Cave what his movements were.
effect be Budget-bound in Hong Kong until the end of February.
COMMENT
6.
I have three comments:
1.
The object of my talk was not, of course, to negotiate
/with
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