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main pitch should be made with Deng Xiaoping. If Deng were
unwilling to do more than repeat past assurances, it would be open
to Lord Carrington to refer to the danger of delay and put down a
marker to return to the problem soon. However, if the Chinese were
prepared to enter discussions of the problem in detail, the
Secretary of State should ask for official talks, either while
the visit was still in progress or at a later date.
9.
Land Leases.
Should there be early talks on land leases,
C
I suggest that we use the approach in the Governor's Telegram No 1265
of 28 September 1980 and adopted in Annex C of the brief.
10.
Other related issues.
It is possible that the Chinese
may require an early quid pro quo for their cooperation over leases,
particularly in the areas of Chinese representation in Hong Kong
These matters are dealt with briefly in paragraphs
and sovereignty.
9 and 10 of the Essential Facts of the draft brief. The
representation issue is likely to be raised independently.
Sovereignty is dealt with in greater depth in a draft paper on
options for medium and long-term solutions on the future of Hong
Kong, which will be submitted separately in advance of the
Secretary of State's visit. The lines to take on representation and
sovereignty are covered in paragraphs 7 and 8 of the Points to
Make of the draft brief.
11. All of this may come to nought if, as is feared, the Chinese
side-step the land lease issue, either because they see it as
device to engage them on the longer-term future, or because they do
not grasp the urgency of the situation.
In these circumstances, a
different approach may need to be considered.
6 March 1981
1. Morrice
P Morrice
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Hong Kong and General Department
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