TNAG-1251-FCO40-1584-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 79

Uk Sac

FROM THE AMBASSADOR

The Honorable

George P Shultz

Secretary of State WASHINGTON DC

ERITISH EMBASSY

WASHINGTON, D C. 2008

TELEPHONE:(202) 452-.340

24 January 1983

see 174

HKK 40/5

2 7 JAN1983

Dear fin Secretary,

IN K

Tÿ APY

내

I promised to bring you up to date on our talks with the Chinese on Hong Kong before you go to China. With the recent changes in the Chinese Foreign Ministry. it has not yet been possible for us to get down to substantive talks with them. though there is the possibility of something in the near future. Should anything more happen before you leave. I will of course let you know.

In the meantime. the Chinese have been putting out a certain amount of discreet. unattributable propaganda designed to give an idea of their vision of Hong Kong as a special administrative region. linked not to London but to Peking. They have been stressing, particularly to visitors from Hong Kong. that under this scheme many things in Hong Kong - including standard of living, freedom of speech, the legal system, capitalism etc - would remain unchanged. While this propaganda campaign may convince some Hong Kong Chinese, others, with China's recent turbulent history and record in mind, are of course more sceptical. To say the least Hong Kong thus remains nervous, although the Hang Seng index has gone up, no doubt partly because of the relative strength of the dollar.

So far we have not attempted to reply publicly to this Chinese propaganda. We are stressing that it is the talks that count, and not what is said outside them. This makes it all the more important that. in spite of the differences of view on the main issues of principle, we get down to purposeful talks about maintaining stability and pros- perity without further delay.

You will have many other things to talk about while you are in Peking and we would certainly not want to ask you to press this issue on our behalf. Should it come up, however, and if you thought it appropriate, there are a number of points which, coming from you. we think might have some helpful impact. A way of leading in to the subject might be to say that you had been glad to hear that agreement had been reached with Britain to hold talks on the future of Hong Kong with the common air of maintaining the territory's stability and

UK SECRET

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