CONFIDENTIAL
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"With reference to the statement made by the Chinese Representative, the UK Representative wishes to inform the meeting that his Government's views on this question were clearly stated in the letter addressed by Her Majesty's Representative
In New York to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations on 14 December 1972".
J
The delegation should, if possible, confine their response to the circulation of a written document.
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8. If the Chinese do more than make a simple protest for the record or if there are any other doubts, the delegation should formally reserve their position and seek immediate guidance from the FCO, repeating any telegram to Peking and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's Nomenclature in UN Documents
9. The Chinese have objected in the past in certain UN organisations to references in documents which they regard as implying that Hong Kong is an independent country.
They have similarly objected to references to the "Government of Hong Kong" In order to forestall Chinese objections of this kind, the UK delegation should check all relevant, documents for references to Hong Kong likely to cause offence to the Chinese. Where it is necessary to refer to Hong Kong it should be described
of
+
as a
territory (This term was suggested by the Chinese themselves and is entirely acceptable to HMG.)
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10. If there is reason to believe that the UN Secretariat concerned is unaware of the difficulty over Hong Kong, the delegation should endeavour to discuss the matter informally with them before documents are issued. If it is not possible for the delegation to avoid the inclusion of unsuitable references to Hong Kong, the matter should be referred to the FCO immediately.
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