TNAG-0848-FCO40-1058-Future-of-Hong-Kong-New-Territories-leases-1979 — Page 58

CONFIDENTIAL

1.

CHINESE STATEMENTS ON THE STATUS OF HONG KONG

Hong Kong's relations with China are probably on a sounder footing today

than at any time since 1949. The improvements in the relationship between the

Colony and China have been symbolised by the Governor's visit to China.

However, there remains a marked duality in Chinese attitudes towards the

status of Hong Kong. On the one hand, Hong Kong is claimed as inalienable

Chinese territory; on the other, the fact of administration by the Government

of Hong Kong, together with the economic benefits to be derived from the

territory and the day-to-day interdependence of Hong Kong and the neighbouring

Chinese Province of Guangdong (Kwangtung), has led to China's consciously

contributing to (the) stability and maintenance of the status quo.

2. This ambivalence is evident in the substance and the tone of statements by

Chinese officials since 1949. The shifts in emphasis towards claims that Hong

Kong is a part of China or that the status quo should be maintained have

reflected changes in China's view of international strategy and changes in

domestic policies.

3. After 1949, the Chinese People's Government (CPG) adhered to the view held

by the previous Nationalist Government that the status of Hong Kong, and the

New Territories in particular, remained an "outstanding" issue in its relations

with Britain. However, the new Chinese Government made no direct or formal

claim for the return of either Hong Kong as a whole or of the leased territories.

Continuing to regard the Colony as a vestige of British imperialism in China, the

CPG throughout the 1950s nevertheless recognised Britain's de facto responsibility

for the territory and made references to the "British administration in Hong Kong".

Chinese Ministers claimed the right to comment on, and protest at, the way in

which the Hong Kong Government handled its affairs. After delivering an oral

protest to the British Charge d'Affaires and commenting on riots which had

broken out in Hong Kong on 10 October 1956, the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai

(Chou En-lai) told journalists in Peking that the CPG would "not allow such

disorders on the doorstep of China".

CONFIDENTIAL

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