TNAG-1040-FCO40-1290-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1981 — Page 41

THE REFORM CLUB OF HONG KONG

801 FU HING BUILDING,

10 JUBILEE STREET, HONG KONG.

TEL.: 5-450001

ник

04011

“

19 NOV 1981

INDEX

PA

Lord Carrington, M.P

The Foreign Secretary,

Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Downing Street, SW1,

London.

Dear Lord Carrington,

See

231

REFOR

M

KONG

CLUB

236 3

11th November, 1981.

HIOGD.

For advice a difr reply plse

Yausid

بری

P$

PS/M Luce Wr. Daneld

On behalf of the Club, which is a member of the Liberal International, I beg to send you herewith a copy of statement on the Future of Hong Kong, which will be released to the press in the next few days, for your perusal.

See HICK 302/1

19

1981

As it has been revealed in an article by Alfred Sherman, the shadow speech-writer of Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister that if the people of Hong Kong do not think about the long term future of Hong Kong, no one else will do it for them, by implication as I understand it he indicates that the British Government will not be able to negotiate with the Chinese Government on the future of Hong Kong beyond 30th June, 1997.

Our Club therefore exerts its best effort to put up a proposal to start the ball rolling.

See

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Our Club will, after the press release, do its utmost to rally support from the people of Hong Kong, the vast majority of whom are very keen in maintaining the status quo of Hong Kong beyond 1997. Thereafter we shall put the proposal across the board to the Peking Government of the People's Republic of China through the New China News Agency, which is a semi-diplomatic mission of Chinese Government, for its study and consideration.

It is the feeling of our Club that the British Government owes the people of Hong Kong an inalienable responsibility to consult the Chinese Government on our proposal when it is in due course supported by the majority of the people of Hong Kong with solid evidence.

I earnestly request you to be kind enough to forward a copy of our press release to the secretary of Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister to draw her attention as there is in our statement some reference to the article of her shadow speech-writer.

Looking forward to your kind assistance and your written support.

Yours faithfully

250

TOSA)

982

Franers Chaine, Hon. Secretary,

Reform Club of Hong Kong.