REPORTER: DO YOU EXPECT TO GET ANY ASSURANCES DURING MRS THATCHER'S VISIT?.
LPS: NO, I DON'T THINK THAT THEY WILL BE IN A POSITION BY SEPTEMBER TO HAVE REACHED A FINAL POSITION. WHAT I THINK WILL HAPPEN, AND THIS MUST BE SPECULATION, I DON'T KNOW, BUT WHAT I THINK WILL HAPPEN IS THAT THIS MATTER WILL BE TAKEN ANOTHER STEP FORWARD. BUT I DON'T THINK IT IS IN ANYWAY REASONABLE TO SUPPOSE THAT THE MATTER IS GOING TO BE SETTLED, I AM SURE IT IS NOT GOING TO BE SETTLED, BUT I THINK IT WILL BE TAKEN FURTHER.
REPORTER: WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF MRS THATCHER'S VISIT ?.
LPS: WELL, SHE HAS BEEN INVITIED TO GO TO CHINA. SHE HASN'T BEEN TO CHINA AS PRIME MINISTER, AND RELATIONS BETWEEN CHIINA AND THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND CHINA AND HONG KONG ARE VERY GOOD, AND THE PREMIER MADE THAT QUITE CLEAR TO ME, SAYING THAT HE WAS VERY SATISFIED WWITH THE RELATIONS. THE WAY RELATIONS
BETWEEN US ALL HAD DVELOPED, AND CHINA IS ANXIOUS, I THINK,
TO DEVELOP THEM STILL FURTHER. AND THEY INVITED HER TO GO
AND SHE ACCEPTED.
REPORTER: WHILE YOU WERE THERE DID YOU EMPHASISE THE SENSE OF URGENCY THAT EXISTS IN VARIOUS QUARTERS IN HONG KONG FOR A STATEMENT FROM CHINA AS TO THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG ?.
LPS: YES I THINK WE DID DISCUSS ALL THIS AND I THINK THEY RECOGNISE CLEARLY, THEY KNOW THE DATE OF 1997 AS WELL AS ANYBODY ELSE, AND THEY RECOGNISE IT IS A MATTER THAT CAN'T BE LEFT UNTIL JUST BEFORE THAT AND THEY CAN DO SUMS AS WELL, THEY KNOW THERE'S ONLY 15 YEARS TO GO.
REPORTER: THE TREATY REFERS IN FACT ONLY TO THE NEW TERRITORIES:
IS THERE ANY INDICATION PERHAPS OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HONG KONG 7.
LPS: NO, THIS IS THE POINT. THERE WAS NO INDICATION OF WHAT THEIR POSITION IS. BUT THE REASON I BELIEVE THAT THERE WASN'T ANY
INDICATION IS THAT THEY HAVEN'T YET DECIDED WHAT IT IS.
REPORTER: GIVEN THAT THE WAY MAY NOW BE OPEN FOR NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN BRITAIN AND SPAIN ABOUT GIBRALTAR, WHICH WAS SIMILARY CEDED IN PERPETUITY, DID THEY SHOW ANY INTEREST IN THE APPROACH IN THOSE NEGOTIATIONS ?.
LPS: NO, THEY DIDN'T
REPORTER: WHY ARE THEY RELUCTANT THEN TO GET TO GRIPS WITH
THE PROBLEM ?.
LPS: I THINK YOU MUST ASK THEM.
/REPORTER: YOU
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