TNAG-1172-FCO40-1453-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 97

布政司署

港下亞畢道

本署檔號 OUR REF.:

來函檔號 YOUur ReF.:

Mr. Williamsons

M. Mryckis

CONFIDENTIAL

/347

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

Myrtlije (Hugs)

Enter

obs.pl

A E Donald, Esq, CMG

F C O.

onald,

04011

17 JUNINGA

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

Capid to BOD

10 June 1982

وچها

Interesting. Any comment?"

구

First sentence of parn 7 is important.

Astmeld

Dew Alan,

الله

Plas 2316

Visit to Hong Kong by Senator Howard Baker

+96 seef 348)

The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Howard Baker, has

been spending a few days in Hong Kong after his visit to China

He called on the Governor on 9 June. As you would expect, the (360

conversation was chiefly devoted to US/China relations and the future of Hong Kong. The main points are recorded below:-

US/China Relations

2.

11

Senator Baker said that he had been invited to China several times before but had not been able to go. This time the Chinese had been insistent. He thought they wanted to know more about how a Republican majority in the Senate would behave, and "whether the Reagan of 1980 or the Reagan of 1982 was the real Reagan. For the American part, the President had asked him to find out whether the Chinese were really as upset over the Taiwan issue as they seemed. He thought they were, though he was not sure why. Taiwan had not been the main subject of discussion at his meeting with Deng, though Deng had "braced him up" a little on it. Deng had brought up the Taiwan Relations Act and the Goldwater visit to Taiwan (he had asked Baker to pass on an invitation to Senator Goldwater to visit China). job of "switch hitter" on Taiwan had been delegated to Vice Foreign Minister HAN Xu who had "taken his hide off" on the subject of arms sales.

The

3.

Baker thought that Deng had been somewhat reassured by what he had to say about the views of the President, and the clear support in the Senate for a one China policy. But Deng

was clearly anxious for a meeting with President Reagan and he intended to recommend to the President that he should agree to one. How this could be arranged was a matter for others; perhaps it could be done in the margins of some international gathering which both would be attending (he clearly had no particular meeting in mind).

CONFIDENTIAL

/4.