TNAG-1251-FCO40-1584-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 6

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GRS 310

SECRET

FROM PEKING 0205052 MAR 83

TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG

TELEGRAM NUMBER 17 OF 2/3/83

SECRET

TOP COPY

HKK 040/5

Н

9 MAR 1983

REPEATED FOR INFO TO ROUTINE FCO WASHINGTON (PERSONAL FOR AMBASSADOR)

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WASHINGTON TEL NO 463 TO FCO AND YOUR TEL NO 87:

FUTURE OF HONG KONG:

US DELEGATION

1. JOHNSON AND HIS DELEGATION CALLED ON ME LATE

LAST NIGHT FOR A DRINK. THEY ARE WORKING ON A PROJECT

**CHINA IN THE NEXT TEN YEARS''. JOHNSON DID NOT SEEM WELL

BRIEFED ON HONG KONG AND HAD HAD ONLY A VERY

INSUBSTANTIAL EXCHANGE ON THE SUBJECT WITH WANG BINGNAN.

WANG HAD SAID THAT THE PROBLEM WAS SIMPLE: HONG KONG

BELONGED TO CHINA AND CHINA WOULD HAVE IT BACK. HE HAD HAD NO

ANSWER WHEN JOHNSON ASKED HOW THEY WOULD DO THIS AND AT THE SAME

TIME MAINTAIN CONFIDENCE.

2. I GAVE JOHNSON A GUARDED BRIEFING, SAYING THAT

WE WERE NOW TALKING TO THE CHINESE ABOUT THE FUTURE

AND THAT WE HAD A COMMON INTEREST IN FINDING A SOLUTION. BUT I

EXPLAINED THAT THE CHINESE WERE DEEPLY IGNORANT ABOUT HOW THE

ECONOMY WORKED AND THAT THIS WA A MAJOR PROBLEM. ANOTHER PROBLEM

WAS THE SERIES OF LEAKS FROM THE CHINESE SIDE TO HONG KONG VISTORS

AND THE PRESS, WHICH HAD CAUSED CONCERN IN HONG KONG. THAT SAID,

THE ECONOMIC BAROMETERS IN HONG KONG LOOKED BETTER NOW THAN THEY

DID SOME WEEKS AGO.

SECRET

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