TNAG-1238-FCO40-1551-Future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 8

CODE 18-77

CONFIDENTIAL

Reference

Mr Cox/Mr Morris o.r, HKD (WH 305)

"Satsim 12/7. (379) I coby to Mr Donald 3. Bu

Bu Mrs Priest OR 18.7

Ente

FUTURE OF HONG KONG: PUBLIC AND SEMI-PUBLIC CHINESE STATEMENTS

1.

11

I attach the promised summary of Chinese statements. By "semi-public" I mean ones which the Chinese have made to visitors other than officials. Many but not all of these have been published in Hong Kong newspapers. Extracts from a few of the more important Hong Kong Communist press commentaries are also included.

2. There is a fair degree of consistency in these Chinese comments. The main points are that the question of sovereignty is not open to negotiation; that Hong Kong would become a "special administrative region" under Chinese sovereignty, which would be administered by "Hong Kong people"; and that it would continue thus for a long time. On one occasion (20 November 1982) Liao Chengzhi went as far as to say that this might last for "a century or two". There have also been occasional statements (eg Liao, 20 November, and Szeto Keung, 22 December) on the lines that China would not interfere in Hong Kong affairs. More recently Xi Zhongxun (19 May 1983) spoke of

'guaranteeing" the continuation of present conditions there. But the Chinese have not explained in detail the operation of the system they envisage.

3. The statements include one (Wang Daohan, 3 November) saying that, unlike sovereignty, 'management and administration are negotiable'. This is out of line with the general tenor of Chinese comments, especially those by more authoritative spokesmen.

4. In his statement at the National People's Congress (June 1983) Xu Jiatun said that China had 'taken into full account' the views of people in Hong Kong: this may mean that the Chinese consider that they have now completed the process of consultation with Hong Kong representatives on the main elements of their proposals for the territory's future.

5.

The general impression given by this sequence of statements is one of increasing firmness on the main points of the Chinese proposals, coupled in the last two months or so with some signs of a more conciliatory tactical approach.

6. For ease of reference I have side-lined what I consider to be the more important statements.

6 July 1983

Cc:

Mr Clift, HKD (WH 307) Mr Thomson, FED (K 258) Mr Joy, PUSD (E 203) Dr Wilson, SED (W 72)

Medalken

Mr Martin, Cabinet Office

KC Walker

MKK040/1

RECEIVED IN REGATAY NO. 51

18 JUL 1983

DESK OFFICER INDEX

Far Eastern Section Research Department G 59/4 233-3473-

Lt Col R E S Vasey DT4 MOD

R J T McLaren Esq CMG, Hong Kong A C Galsworthy Esq, Peking

CONFIDENTIAL

REGISTRY

PA

Action Taken

(with enclosure)