TNAG-1171-FCO40-1452-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 94

Mr_Stift, HKGD (K246)

cc: Mr Thomson, FED

Mr Donald

HOUSE OF LORDS

DEBATE: LORD RHODES

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Plas 21)5

1.

Further to your submission of 13 May Lord Belstead spoke to

Lord Rhodes yesterday in advance of the debate.

brought with him Lord Kadoorie.

2.

Lord Rhodes

Lord Rhodes sketched the line he proposed to take in the

debate including a suggestion that the Chinese might undertake to give 30 years notice before acting to retake jurisdiction in the

New Territories. Asked to comment, Lord Kadoorie said that no-one in present day China could make undertakings that would last 30

years: this was simply asking for the impossible. But he saw no

harm in Lord Rhodes making the point.

3. Lord Belstead thanked Lord Rhodes for clearing his lines with

us. We did not want to talk about abrogating treaties or making new laws at this juncture. With the visit by the Prime Minister

to China imminent we did not want anything said which might be

misconstrued. With emotions running high on the Falklands this

was particularly important.

4.

Lord Rhodes immediately took the point and agreed to make

only a general reference to the need for and agreement with China

over the future of Hong Kong (which in the event he did).

This

5. Lord Kadoorie then spoke about the future of Hong Kong. would turn on the success of the Special Economic Zones in China,

in particular that adjacent to Hong Kong. This zone must be made

to work. As he saw it once the pace of economic activity over

/the border