TNAG-1223-FCO40-1533-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-Macau-1983 — Page 12

CODE 18-77

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Reference

Signing ceremony suspended

10. CM recalls that over the Christmas period (1978-1979) the Chinese and Portuguese ambassadors in Paris worked flat out. Everything was prepared down to the last detail for the signing of the agreement, which was to take place at 9.30am 10 January 1978 (sic)/1979_7. Texts of the agreement had been checked in 3 languages: Portuguese, Chinese, French. The official communique was to be released simultaneously at 13.00 hours (French time) in Paris, Lisbon and Peking. The Portuguese Prime Minister Mota Pinto was to read the Portuguese version himself.

11.

In

On 9 January at mid-day (less than 24 hours before the signing ceremony) CM received a telephone call from the Lisbon MFA informing him that the Portuguese wanted four changes to be made the agreed text. The changes involved one comma and 3 "minor quibbles". The Chinese ambassador agreed to the 3 "minor quibbles" but stated that it was impossible for him to obtain Peking's agreement to the comma in time for the ceremony. /CM explains that since there are no commas in Chinese, the PRC was puzzled by the importance the Portuguese gave to the comma. CM then comments that the Chinese were correct in their failure to see the difference caused by the comma, because there wasn't any! 7.

12. When CM telephoned Lisbon MFA to report that the Chinese could accept three of the four changes but not the comma, he was told that the minister was no longer concerned about these he now wanted to make a different change. CM was instructed that the event of the Chinese refusing to allow the new change the signing of the agreement was to be postponed.

A harsh blow

13. It was understandably impossible for the Chinese to agree to the new modification at the last minute. CM claims that there had been a campaign to prevent him carrying off the "diplomatic prize". The magazine Tempo had accused him of negotiating with China without ministerial authorization, in order to further the ends of the Portuguese Socialist Party. A number of career diplomats (who would remain nameless) were jealous of his success and attempted to sabotage the Sino- Portuguese Agreement The then Foreign Minister Freitas Cruz was a career diplomat 7 Sa Machado (Foreign Minister in the 2nd Constitutional Government) later told CM that he himself had been put under pressure to take the negotiations out of CM's hands. CM was convinced of the innocence of the President of the Republic, Garcia Leandro (outgoing governor of Macau) and Melo Egidio (incoming governor of Macau)in the matter. Their views had not prejudiced the negotiations. The fault lay elsewhere.

14. After the postponement of the signing ceremony there was silence from the Chinese. Rumours began to circulate in Hong Kong and Macau that an alteration in the Macau Statute was imminent. In Portugal plans were made for the Foreign Minister Freitas Cruz to visit Paris.

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