TNAG-0781-FCO40-985-Involvement-of-Hong-Kong-in-air-services-agreements-1978 — Page 51

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FM KING 010900Z DEC 78

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELNO 867 OF 1 DEC

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG

YOUR TELNO 760: ATR SERVICES AGREEMENT

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RECEIVED IN HODINY 13. 51

- 4 DEC 1978

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1, AT A MEETING WITH TSUI MING-TANG, DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF WESTERN EUROPEAN DEPARTMENT THIS MORNING, HEAD OF CHANCERY PUT FORWARD THE TEXT IN PARA 3 OF OUR TELNO 663, PREFACING THIS WITH A REFERENCE TO THE EXPRESSED CHINESE WISH FOR A STATEMENT.

2.

TSUI EXPRESSED GRATITUDE FOR THE TEXT AND AGREED TO PASS IT ON TO THOSE CONCERNED FOR CONSIDERATION. SPEAKING ON A PERSONAL BASIS, HE MENTIONED, WITHOUT SPECIFYING HOW IT MIGHT APPLY, THE PRECEDENT OF THE JAPANESE STATEMENT,' SAID THAT HONG KONG SHOULD NOT FIND IT DIFFICULT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF CONTINUING LOCAL SERVICES TO TAIWAN AND REFERRED THE DIFFICULTY TO CAL AIRCRAFT USING A 'NATIONAL FLAG'' AT AN AIRPORT SERVED BY CAAC. HE SAID THAT THE MAJOR PROBLEM

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WAS SOLVED IN 1972 WHEN HMG AGREED NOT TO PROPAGATE A TWO CHINA POLICY: THERE SHOULD THEREFORE BE NO DIFFICULTY FOR HMG TO FIND A WAY ROUND MINOR PROBLEMS''. GEORGE DEMURRED ABOUT THE RELEVANCE OF THE JAPANESE PRECEDENT (SEMI COLON) BUT AGREED THAT THE MAJOR POLITICAL ISSUE HAD BEEN RESOLVED IN 1972 AND SAID THE PRESENT FORMULA WAS DESIGNED TO DEAL WITH THE PARTICULAR PROBLEM IN THE SPIRIT OF THE 1972 AGREEMENT.

3. ALTHOUGH TSUI WAS SOMEWHAT NEGATIVE, HE CLEARLY WAS NOT EXPECTING ANY ELEMENT OF NEGOTIATION ON THE BASIS OF HIS. PERSONAL REMARKS, AND WE HAVE NOT USED THE FALLBACK POSITION.

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