SECRET AND PERSONAL
As to the other matters in the record. I do not think any new ground is broken. Li's remark on the difficulty of getting people to leave China (peragraph 1) and his comparison of Rao with Stalin (paragraph 3) are of slight interest. Generally Id grams to have anoken rather more bluntly than in often the case with Chinese leaders about Mao, Chinabs economy and especially about Talvan. He said (paragraph 12) that China would have to use force to unite Talwan with the Mainland if a move towards independ dre took place there in ir perdonred attempts to negotiate merettate over my verre did not bring Taiwan, back to the fold. As you know, this is not new: China has never abandoned what it seen as the right to use force against Taiwan. But it is a blunt statement. I also compared Taiwan with Tibet, which again Is not new; nor is this Tibet syndrome very encouraging!
Asked about the 17 June artiole on Sino-Soviet relations, I took the ante line as Song Zhi quang had done with Sin P Cradock, .e.. that the timing of the article. was coincidental, and that China's position regarding relations with the Russians had not chanred.
Bilateral matters seem to have taken little time (pare 4). All seemed well, and Il dia not take the opportunity to lecture the Australians on the folly of dereco mieing the "Democratic Kampucheal rime.
I thanked the Australian Ambassador for his record. After replying to his questions about the outlook for the future of Hong Kong and on the question of confidence within the territory I said
we would treat hig record on a personal, P00 haels only. Grateful therefore if you could restrict its circulation accordingly.
Yours
Michael
MW Atkinson
cc Dr D Wilson
HONG KONG
RD CUTE Beg HEG CO
SCORPA OND PERSONAL
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