TNAG-0943-FCO40-1162-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 119

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Mr Donald

Astrald 12/6

Parliamentary Unit

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CONFIDENTIAL

PQ: HONG KONG: NEW TERRITORIES LEASE

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SILY NO. 51

RECEIVED REGALLY NO.

23 JUN 1980

DESK OFFICER

INDEX

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REGISTRY

Action TakeTh

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1. I submit a draft reply and notes for supplementaries to

a PQ put down by Mr Robert Parry MP (Liverpool, Scotland Exchange

Labour) for oral answer on 18 June. Parliamentary Unit have

advised that the Question could be reached.

2. Mr Parry's Question concerns the Lease on the New Territories

as a whole. I do not know on what particular aspect of this

Mr Parry wishes to focus; he last asked two Questions on it in

December 1979. He was in Hong Kong on a private visit over the

Whitsun recess, and is clearly asking a round of questions on

the most contentious subjects affecting the Territory.

3. The Minister is familiar with the problem of leases in the

New Territories by the Hong Kong Government to individual investors.

The Chinese rebuffed a specific proposal we put to them to resolve

it last July. The Prime Minister raised the matter with

Premier Hua Guofeng during his visit last autumn, when Vice-

Premier Deng Xiaoping's statement to the Governor that investors

should put their mind at ease was repeated. Most recently the

issue was raised, though without a suggested solution, by

Sir Philip Haddon-Cave during his visit to China last month.

Since then we have been considering future tactics with the

Governor and with the Ambassador in Peking and I will be submitting

towards the end of the month proposals on this with particular

reference to the Secretary of State's autumn visit to Peking.

CONFIDENTIAL

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