TNAG-1038-FCO40-1288-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1981 — Page 177

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RESITYS & ELSASTRY #2. 51

2 2 APR 1981

FM PEKING 0707197-APR 81

TO PRIORITY FCO

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REGISTRY Action Taken,

7/4/is/ AW

TELEGRAM NUMBER 272 OF 7/41.

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INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG (FOR GOVERNOR)Į TOKYO (FOR PRIVATE SECRETARY)

PERSONAL FOR DONALD, AUS

FUTURE OF HONG KONG

1. AT DINNER AT THE RESIDENCE ON 3 APRIL DURING LORD

CARRINGTON'S VISIT KE HUA, CHINESE AMBASSADOR IN LONDON, ASKED ME WHETHER THERE WERE ANY QUESTIONS RAISED DURING THE VISIT WHICH WE DID NOT THINK RESOLVED. I SAID, SINCE HE MENTIONED IT, THERE WAS THE HONG KONG QUESTION. HE ASKED WHETHER WE HAD ANY CONCRETE PROPOSALS. I SAID THAT HUANG HUA HAD MADE

A SIMILAR SUGGESTION BUT THAT DENG HAD LEFT THE IMPRESSION THAT HE WAS NOT KEEN TO SAY MORE THAN HE HAD ALREADY DONE ON THIS SUBJECT. KE HUA SAID THAT THE TWO OF US MIGHT HAVE AN INFORMAL TALK DURING THE VISIT TO XIAN. HE WOULD BRING AN INTERPRETER.

2. AFTER DISCUSSION WITH THE FOREIGN SECRETARY, IT WAS AGREED THAT I SHOULD PURSUE THIS. A TALK IN XIAN PROVED IMPOSSIBLE SINCE WE WERE BOTH TOO OCCUPIED, BUT KE HUA INVITED ME TO SEE HIM AT THE HOTEL IN SHANGHAI WHERE WE WERE BOTH STAYING ON THE EVENING OF 5 APRIL. LI CHUAN SHEN OF WEST EUROPEAN DEPARTMENT

WAS PRESENT AS INTERPRETER.

3.

I REMINDED KE OF THE BACKGROUND TO OUR MEETING AND HE SAID WE SHOULD TALK INFORMALLY AS BETWEEN FRIENDS. I BEGAN BY SAYING I WAS A LITTLE PUZZLED AT THE APPARENT CONTRADICTION BETWEEN HUANG HUA'S AND DENG'S REMARKS. THE FIRST HAD SEEMED TO INVITE CONCRETE PROPOSALS, THE SECOND HAD NOT, KE SAID THERE WAS NO CONTRADICTION. DENG WAS TALKING ABOUT THE GENERAL PRINCIPLES, ON WHICH THE CHINESE POSITION HAD BEEN CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT, BUT THERE WOULD BE MERIT IN MORE DETAILED INFORMAL

DISCUSSION.

4. I THEN ASKED HIM TO GIVE HIS EXPLANATION OF DENG'S REFERENCES TO TAIWAN. DID THIS MEAN THAT POLICY ON HONG KONG AND TAIWAN HAD TO BE KEPT IN PARALLEL? HE DID NOT DISSENT THOUGH PROFESSED TO FIND THE CONCEPT AT FIRST A LITTLE DIFFICULT TO GRASP. HE THEN ASKED HOW I EXPLAINED THE REFERENCE TO TIBET. I SAID THIS WAS WHAT I WAS HOPING HE WOULD ELUCIDATE.

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