TNAG-0752-FCO40-956-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1979 — Page 65

Mr Thompson HK&GD

BRITAIN, HONG KONG AND CHINA

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2 8 JUL 1978

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1. I have the following comments to make on the questions sent to Mr Faulkner by the Canadian Export Development Corporation.

2.

The British attitude regarding the validity of the relevant clauses in the Treaty of Nanking (1842) and the Convention of Peking (1860) and of the 1898 Convention for the extension of Hong Kong

3.

a. Treaty of Nanking - so far as I can judge, Britain historically has regarded this treaty as valid, so presumably regards as valid its perpetual claim to Hong Kong Island;

b. Convention of Peking again, this convention appears historically to have been accepted as valid by Britain, and the claim it embodies to the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutters Island is presumably likewise held to be valid;

C.

1898 Convention the lease is presumably regarded as valid for its duration, but HMG does appear to have reservations in the question of ultimate sovereignty over the leased territories and seems ready to concede that China does retain such sovereignty. Foreign Office guidance sent out in June 1964 (INTEL No 82, 23 June 1964) to certain overseas missions at paragraph 9, urged against making a "wholesale denial of Chinese claims to sovereignty" (over the leased territories). So far as I can tell, that guidance has not been superseded, but it might be difficult to refer to it in replying to an outside inquiry. However, answers to parliamentary questions suggest Government reluctance to commit itself beyond 1997 and could perhaps be quoted. For instance, in a written answer of 10 January 1978, to a question by Mr Hooley, Mr Luard confirmed that HMG had no plans at present to issues leases on land in the New Territories beyond 1997. In a written answer of 30 January 1973, to a request by Mr Cordle for a state- ment on the future development of Hong Kong, with particular references to the expiry of the lease on the New Territories, Mr Royle pointed to "important new development plans" announced by the Governor of Hong Kong in October 1972, which, he said, demonstrated the confidence of the Hong Kong Government and of HMG in the future of Hong Kong. Mr Royle added that he did not anticipate any change "within the foreseeable future". He did not touch on the expiry of the New Territories' lease.

Britain's official response to China's rejection of the "unequal treaties"

The use of the term "rejection" here is, I think, misleading without further qualification. China, has denounced these treaties as unequal but has not rejected them in the sense of moving to abrogate them, although it undoubtedly reserves the right to negotiate on them. It might be worth quoting in some detail from a People's Daily editorial of 8 March 1963, which is cast as a comment on a state- ment issued by the Communist Party of the USA on the Chinese Communist Party, but which should also be seen as a rebuttal of Soviet comments on China. On Hong Kong,

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