SECRET
had
muine visits, and (3) although it would be necessary to start with umbers small enough for Hong Kong to keep track and for visits to be genuinely short, the numbers could be increased once people had been educated to the new procedures. He asked whether Huang Hua agreed, and if so whether the matter could be discussed in Hong Kong and Guangzhou or in Peking.
3.
Huang Hua said that in the short term the Chinese Government would continue to take measures and make them effective.
They could study Hong Kong's proposals over those wishing to visit, although they thought it would be impossible to reach conclusions during the Governor's visit. If there were aspects that needed consultation then this could take place through Xinhua. There was however an outstanding issue, that China did not have an official representative in Hong Kong. During the KMT period there had been such a representative but the British had refused to agree when the proposal for a representative was made after 1949. The question was still outstanding on the Chinese side. Huang Hua hoped that the British authorities would consider it convenient for the solution of problems as relations became closer. If Dr Owen visited China, they would consult with him further.
4. The Hong Kong authorities were adopting a positive attitude on many questions, and there had been discussions with other ministries. These could continue. Huang Hua mentioned with pleasure the commencement of the through-train service. It was not a new thing but a restoration of a former service, on which Sir Murray commented that it was one minute faster than the old system.
5. The Governor said that he had/talks in Guangzhou about detailed measures and also there had been talks with Li Qiang and others about the scope for developing cooperation on industry, tourism and communications. He agreed that it would be complicated to work out procedures for visits, which would need discussion between officials. This could be done through the Xinhua News Agency. On Chinese official representation, the Governor wished to say something personal.
Zhou Enlai had raised the matter with Sir Alec Douglas-Home in 1972 and had referred to the disabilities arising from the lack of representation. The Governor considered that most of these disabilities had been removed except the name, and he had tried to
/ensure
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