TNAG-0943-FCO40-1162-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1980 — Page 290

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CT NO. S

24 MAR 980

is

RE

GRS 250

SECRET

FM HONG KONG 211055Z MARCH BØ

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 429 OF 21 MARCH

INFO PRIORITY PEKING

MIPT: HUANG HUA AND LEASES

مال

1. I HAD A BRIEF PRIVATE WORD WITH HUANG ABOUT LEASES. I PREFACED

MY REMARKS BY SAYING THAT I HOPED THERE HAD BEEN NO MISUNDERSTANDIN WE HAD NOT PROPOSED EXTENSION OF THE LEASE ITSELF: WE WERE TRYING TO DEAL WITH AN INTERIM PROBLEM SO AS TO HOLD CONFIDENCE UNTIL IT WAS TIME TO CONSIDER LONGER TERM ARRANGEMENTS. THAT PROBLEM EXISTED AND WOULD HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH. I SUGGESTED HE SEEK ADVICE FROM THE BANK OF CHINA WHICH WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE IMPLICATIONS OF MORTGAGES ETC. AND WOULD KNOW THE PROBLEMS WE

HAD POSED WERE REAL. HUANG CONFIRMED THAT THERE WAS NO MISUNDERTAN-

DING. HE HAD NOT THOUGHT WE WERE TRYING TO EXTEND THE LEASE ITSELF. HE DID NOT COMMENT FURTHER.

2. I TRIED TO DRAW HIM ON WHETHER THERE WAS POLITICAL AS WELL AS ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE BEHIND DEVELOPING SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES ACROSS THE BORDER. HE TOOK UP THE ECONOMIC POINT BUT EVADED THE

POLITICAL ONA.

3. HUANG DID NOT RAISE OFFICIAL REPRESENTATION. I MADE

A POINT OF SYAING THAT WE HAD EXCELLENT RELATIONS WITH NCNA.

MACLEHOSE

FILES

HK+QD (4)

FCD

SEAD

JNU

NEWS. D

PS/LPS PS/MR BLAKER

MAL CORTA 2.3-1

MA MURRAY

THIS TELEGRAM

WAS NOT

ADVANCED

OID

PS

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