TNAG-1251-FCO40-1584-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 66

布政司署

香港下亞畢道

本署檔號 OUR REF.: SCR 3/1162/82

* YOUR Ref.:

CONFIDENTIAL

Jone

30

GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT

LOWER ALBERT ROAD

HONG KONG

Rxcept

premnably that Sewing not Laude would hold thereins-and the right to

Szervere!

I thru Dr. M. is more realistic Hanz4 January 1983 , who an we have seen befive,

Ghazali

sumes

R D Clift Esq

as pretty gullible.

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Hong Kong & General Dept Thewan (2)

FCO

Year inck,

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наконо 15

2 8 JAN 1983

FUTURE OF HONG KONG : STOPOVER BY MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER

The Malaysian Prime Minister passed through Hong Kong yesterday when the aircraft taking him to Japan. for an official visit made a refuelling stop at Kai Tak. The Foreign Minister was among those in his party. I spent an hour with them at the airport.

2.

Both Dr Mahathir and Tan Sri Ghazali were in good form. After I had passed on the Governor's greetings the Foreign Minister immediately asked about the state of confidence in Hong Kong. I said that the atmosphere was calmer than it had been in the autumn of last year, but there was still a good deal of underlying nervousness and the difficulties which the property market and the economy generally were experiencing did not help (Dr Mahathir made a wry reference to the Bank Bumiputra of Malaysia's involvement in the property market through its loans to Carrian but did not expand).

3.

In subsequent conversation both Dr Mahathir and Tan Sri Ghazali made it clear that they were keeping a close eye on developments in Hong Kong. The Foreign Minister said that he was optimistic about the prospects for a successful outcome of the Sino-British talks. When he had visited Peking just before HUANG Hua's removal as Foreign Minister, HUANG had told him that the Chinese intention was to "leave everything in Hong Kong exactly as it is". He did not think that the Chinese would risk jeopardising their political relations with the EEC and the United States, or the foreign exchange obtained from Hong Dr Mahathir was Kong by making a mess of the territory. less sanguine. He pointed to the gulf between the economic

CONFIDENTIAL

and social ../