TNAG-0781-FCO40-985-Involvement-of-Hong-Kong-in-air-services-agreements-1978 — Page 111

+ through

(660

CONFIDENTIAL IMMEDIATE TO PEKING RFI HONG KONG (GOV) AND BOARFE

600

isl

laca

Your Tels 663 and 824′and Hong Kong Tel 1331

HKK 180

RECEIVES

NO. 51

UK/PRC Air Services

INDIN

OFFICER

PA

مله

REGISTRY

Action Taken

1. We agree with you that the proposed continuation of quote charter

unquote services between Canton and Hong Kong will be scheduled services in

Subject to Hong Kong's views we propose therefore to treat

all but name.

We now regard it as a

them as such and to try and extract the maximum negotiating advantage

from that in the context of the ASA negotiations.

short term objective to conclude the Air Services Agreement with the PRC

on the best terms possible, but without of course jeopardising CPA's

earnings in TAIWAN. At the same time we are mindful of those important

considerations for Hong Kong which led them to propose that we should give

permission for the revised quote charter unquote services to commence on

1 December and to continue for three months in the first instance.

2.

the

, subject to my Hong Kong

синеге

We propose therefore that you should approach the Peking authorities

and say that the UK Government has received notification of the discussions

held recently in Canton between officials of CAAC and of the Hong Kong

Government concerning air services between Canton and Hong Kong. You should

go on to say that the frequency and proposed conditions attaching to the

services do not fit in with our understanding of charter services

but are nearly akin to scheduled services.

Accordingly the UK Govt proposes

to treat them as such, and you have been authorised to state that approval

for the services to commence on 1 December and to continue in the first

instance for a period of three months has been given by the UK Department

of Trade. A Temporary Operating Permit in those terms will in due course be

issued to CAAC.