TNAG-0943-FCO40-1162-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 135

3

на

A

Mr Donald

Parliamentary Unit

PQ:

1.

CONFIDENTIAL

НККоно

046011

RECEIVES

11 JUN PRO

DESK OFF

HONG KONG:

INDEX NEW TERRITORIES LEASE

Ра

Roqu

I submit a draft reply and notes for pielaries to

Appleuth

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

/4.

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