Mr Rushford
нкк оно
SECRET
12/
/on the draft Order in Council
Legal Advisers (K188)
AR. RUSHFOKL
NEW TERRITORIES LEASES
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1. Thank you for sending me copies of your exchanges with Mr de Winton in the Attorney General's Office, resting with your letter to him of 26 June.
2. I should be reluctant to see changes made in the text of the draft Order in Council unless they are really necessary. I should therefore like to be sure that Mr de Winton fully understands the background to the problem and the reasons why the wording in the present draft has been chosen. Subject to your views, I think it might be helpful if you and I were to have a short meeting with Mr de Winton to go over the ground.
I am reasonably free for the rest of this week.
J
3. During further meetings with the Governor and the Political Adviser we have concentrated on the text of what might be said to the Chinese Foreign Ministry - and left in writing in explaining our intentions over the leases issue. I attach a copy of what
You may emerged and would be grateful if you would look at it. well think that the first two sentences of paragraph 2 are an incorrect statement of the law. If so, I shall be grateful if you would suggest amendments, bearing in mind that we do need to convince the Chinese that there is no real alternative to what we now have in mind.
4. The text of the speaking note is likely to be discussed in meetings between the Governor, HM Ambassador and Mr Cortazzi in Hong Kong on 29 June and could be raised during the Secretary of State's visit on 30 June. It would therefore be helpful to have your early comments. If we can get some indication of the Attorney General's likely views/before then, so much the better.
27 June 1979
Many thanks
Invanden
RJT McLaren
Hong Kong and General Department
SECRET
P.T.O.
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