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etc., that these would be administered by this council possibly in the name of China). Huan said it would be similar to a county council, able to decide on matters relating to Hong Kong. He again stated that Britain could not 'send' people out to Hong Kong. In reply to separate questions, Huan said the law, of course, would be Chinese; the security forces would be integrated with the PLA; the police, as in China, would be locally run (a reiteration of his earlier remarks); the currency would be unified. I asked about the Stock Exchange. Huan said he thought it would be difficult for it to continue operating. During the conversation Huan reiterated that China did not really understand the meaning of 'free port'. The closest parallel of which China had any knowledge was Danzig (now Gdansk).
I asked about Hong Kong's role as travel and communications centre: would China want to see this continued? Ruan replied that this would have to be studied. I noted that many Hong Kong residents were now in a position to take holidays overseas. Would this continue? Huan said yes, Chine would itself be encouraging its citizens to travel as the economy picked up; he thought they would travel in groups
like the Japanese. I asked on what passports Hong Kong residents would travel. Huan said Chinese. Huan said the successful reintegration of Hong Kong would depend on how well the Chinese economy did over the next fifteen years.
To clarify the remarks Huan made at lunch in Wollongon I asked what he meant by the UK's being loath to relinquish its interests. Did he think they might attempt a Falklands type operation? Huan replied no; it was just natural that a country would negotiate strongly for its interests.
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