TNAG-1252-FCO40-1585-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 77

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Mr Donald

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Mr Elliott, FED

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FUTURE OF HONG KONG: CHINESE PREMIER'S VISIT TO AUSTRALIA

1.

Mr Coles' letter of 30 March authorises us to give the Australians a general briefing about Hong Kong without too much information being passed. Since we put up the recommendation we have received comments from Peking and Hong Kong (Peking telno 278 and Hong Kong telno 437) which support the idea of a fairly restricted briefing.

2.

I submit a draft telegram to Canberra with a line to take. Sir J Mason could draw on this at his discretion either with Mr Hayden or with senior officials. The brief does not give any details about the Prime Minister's talks or the subsequent discussions with the MFA. It refers in passing to sovereignty but concentrates on the difficulties posed by the Chinese ideas put out in their propaganda. With the recommendation in Peking telno 278 in mind no ideas are put forward for messages to be passed to the Chinese.

3.

Sir A Duff is leaving for Canberra next week. I suggest that we send him a copy of this telegram as his background information. We should ask him to talk to Sir John Mason before he sees Sir G Yeend or other intelligence officials but primarily he would be drawing on our

assessments of the Chinese position and avoiding any discussion with the Australians about our strategy.

4.

Hong Kong telno 437 asks that the Governor and the Ambassado be given discretion to speak similarly to the Australian Commissioner and Ambassador respectively. We have been chary of this in the past but I think that it would be impracticable and probably counter-productive not to give this authority. The two Australian Missions are bound to get reports of what is said by Sir J Mason and we would gain nothing by being unhelpful with them. The last paragraph of the draft telegram to Canberra deals with this.

THIS IS A COPY

THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN

CLOSED FOR

40...YEARS UNDER FOI

EXEMPTION NO....761) 0(2)

30 March 1983

Dip

RD Clift

Hong Kong and General Department

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