TNAG-1156-FCO40-1436-Visits-by-FCO-Ministers-to-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 205

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02613

FM PEKING 080748Z JAN 32

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 18 OF 8 JANUARY

INFO PRIORITY HONG KONG (PERSONAL FOR GOVERNOR)

FOR CLIFT

1st carp/1

NIPT: LPS MEETING WITH ZHAO ZIYANG: FUTURE OF HONG KONG

1. WHEN THE LPS MET PREMIER ZHAO ON 6 JANUARY HE RAISED THE QUESTION OF RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA AND HONG KONG, REFERRING TO AREAS OF PRACTICAL COOPERATION E.G. SHENZHEN. PREMIER ZHAO SAID THAT THERE WERE NOW NO DEEP PROBLEMS BETWEEN HONG KONG AND CHINA AND AGREED THERE WAS MUCH GOOD COOPERATION. HE (ZHAO) THEN RAISED THE SPECIFIC QUESTION OF THE FUTURE. HE SAID THAT MANY LANDOWNERS IN HONG KONG WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE FUTURE. YOU HAD RAISED THE MATTER WHEN YOU MET DENG IN APRIL 1981. THE CHINESE HAD NOT STUDIED THIS QUESTION IN A VERY CONCRETE WAY''. BUT HE BELIEVED THE BRITISH SIDE WAS WELL AWARE OF THE CHINESE SIDE'S GENERAL STAND, NAMELY THAT:

(A) CHINA WOULD SAFEGUARD HER SOVEREIGNTY.,

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(B) THE PROSPERITY OF HONG KONG WOULD BE MAINTAINED.

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2. HONG KONG WAS A FREE PORT AND A COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL

CENTRE. THIS WOULD NOT BE CHANGED. HONG KONG'S PROSPERITY COULD

ONLY BE MAINTAINED IF IT WAS A COMMERCIAL CENTRE AND A FREE PORT.

AS TO THE APPROACH TO A SETTLEMENT OF THE ISSUE AND ITS POSSIBLE

FORMS, VERY CAREFUL STUDIES WOULD BE UNDERTAKEN. AT THE

APPROPRIATE TIME CHINA WOULD DISCUSS THE PROBLEM WITH THE VARIOUS CIRCLES'' IN HONG KONG AND ALL THE PARTIES CONCERNED,

AND WOULD TAKE HEED OF THEIR VIEWS.

3. ZHAO RECALLED YE JIANYING'S NINE POINT PROPOSAL FOR TAIWAN.

FROM THIS, CIRCLES IN HONG KONG AND THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT COULD GET SOME IDEA OF CHINA'S THINKING. THE POLICIES NOW

BEING IMPLEMENTED IN THE SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES WERE ALSO RELEVANT. WITH REFERENCE TO AN EVENTUAL SETTLEMENT, CHINA'S POLICIES WOULD BE 'VERY REASONABLE*'.

4. ZHAO SAID THAT WHAT HE AND VICE PREMIER JI HAD TOLD THE LPS REPRESENTED CHINA'S GENERAL STAND. THERE WAS AS YET NO SPECIFIC FORMULA. BUT THE PROBLEM WOULD NOT BE PUT ON THE SHELF UNTIL 1997. AT AN APPROPRIATE TIME THE CHINESE SIDE WOULD DISCUSS WITH

THE VARIOUS CIRCLES IN HONG KONG AND WITH THE BRITISH SIDE.

THAT WAS ALL HE COULD SAY AT PRESENT.

5. THE LPS THANKED PREMIER ZHAO. HE SAID THAT THE PROBLEM WAS

NOT AN IMMEDIATE ONE, BUT THE YEARS WERE PASSING AND THE SUBJECT

HAD COME UNDER DISCUSSION IN HONG KONG, ESPECIALLY AMONG THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY. IT WAS IN EVERYONE'S INTERESTS THAT PROSPERITY

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