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MOVEMENT HAD NOT, REPEAT NOT, BEEN CAUSED BY ANY CONCESSION ON
OUR PART. IN SPITE OF SOME TOUGH TALKING OVER THE PAST NINE
MONTHS, WE HAD GIVEN NOTHING AWAY. WE AND THE CHINESE HAD
OATIENTLY AND CAREFULLY MANOEUVRED, BUT NEITHER HAD DEPARTED FROM
BASIC PRINCIPLES.
4. ALTHOUGH THINGS WERE STILL MOVING SLOWLY THEY NEVERTHELESS
SEEMED TO BE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. WE SEEMED NOW TO BE
APPROACHING A NEW PHASE OF MORE SUBSTANTIVE DISCUSSION AFTER A
LONG PERIOD OF PRELIMINARY TALKS, AND I THOUGHT THAT BEFORE LONG
IT MIGHT BE POSSIBLE FOR THE GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG TO VISIT PEKING
TO TAKE PART IN THE TALKS ON THE BRITISH SIDE.
5. BUT THE CHINESE STILL NEEDED EDUCATING ABOUT HOW HONG KONG
WORKS, IN PARTICULAR ITS FREE MARKET SYSTEM, THE BASIS FOR THE
HONG KONG DOLLAR AND THE FACT THAT BRITAIN DOES NOT EXTRACT HUGE
PROFITS FROM HONG KONG. ANYTHING THAT COULD BE DONE FURTHER TO
EDUCATE THEM ON THE VALUE OF THE BRITISH LINK WOULD BE WELCOME.
6. I DREW ATTENTION TO THE RELATIVELY MODERATE REFERENCE TO HONG
KONG MADE BY PREMIER ZHAO AT THE NATIONAL PEOPLE'S CONGRESS IN EARLY
JUNE, IE 'THAT CHINA WOULD RECOVER SOVEREIGNTY OVER HONG KONG AT
AN OPPORTUNE MOMENT AND WOULD TAKE APPROPRIATE MEASURES TO
MAINTAIN HONG KONG'S PROSPERITY'. SOMEWHAT CONTRARY TO OUR
EXPECTATIONS, THERE HAD BEEN NO PUBLIC REFERENCE TO ARTICLE 31 OF
THE CHINese consTITUTION ABOUT SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGIONS.
THESE SIGNS WERE ENCOURAGING AND, ALTHOUGH IT WAS STILL VERY
EARLY DAYS, GAVE FURTHER CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM THAT THE CHINESE WISHED
TO REACH A PEACEFUL NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT, AND WERE AWARE OF THE
DAMAGE WHICH HARD LINE PROPAGANDA COULD DO TO CONFIDENCE IN HONG
KONG.
7. FINALLY, I POINTED OUT THAT THERE WAS LIKELY TO BE
CONSIDERABLE PRESS INTEREST IN MR HAYDEN'S VISIT. ANYTHING HE
COULD DO OR SAY TO HELP CONFIDENCE AND TO SCOTCH THE MORE
ALARMIST RUMOURS WHICH CIRCULATED IN HONG KONG AND ELSEWHERE
WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
HOWE
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