in Canton.
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the precedent of Mr Kwok's appointment by the KMT. He also
offered reciprocal representation for the Hong Kong Government
The Secretary of State replied in accordance with
an Aide Memoire which stated inter alia: "the time is not
ripe for a change in the pattern of your representation in
Hong Kong. I would therefore ask you not to press your
› proposal"
8.
The Chinese continued to raise the matter:
(a) Wang Dong, Head of West European Department, MFA, with
Sir John Addis (November 1973);
(b) Leng Xiaoping with Mr Heath (May 1974);
(c) Song Zhiguang, Chinese Ambassador in London, with Mr Youde
(June 1974);
(d) Qiao Guanhua,then Foreign Minister, with the Secretary of
State (May 1976).
The Governor's Visit, 1979
9. In March 1979 when Sir Murray MacLehose visited Peking,
Foreign Minister Huang Hua raised the representation issue
with the Governor, citing the KMT precedent, and said they
would probably wish to return to it during the Secretary of
State's visit to Peking. The Governor said that he understood
means had been found to solve most of the practical diffi-
culties the Chinese authorities had encountered resulting from
the absence of official representation, and was confident that
He said he believed any remaining problems could be solved.
the time would come when it would be appropriate for the
Chinese to appoint a representative, but to do so at present
might affect confidence in Hong Kong.
Unofficial Representation
10. Since the time of the disturbances in Hong Kong in 1967, the local office of the New China News Agency (NCNA) has assumed the role of an unofficial channel of communication
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