TNAG-1253-FCO40-1586-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 21

CEORET

643)

GRS 560

SECRET

FM CANBERRA 150335Z AUG 83

TO IMMEDIATE FCO

TELEGRAM NUMBER 409 OF 15 AUGUST

INFO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG AND PEKING

TOP COPY

(242) YOUR TELNO 250: FUTURE OF HONG KONG: MR HAYDEN'S VISIT TO

CHINA

SUMMARY

MKK040/5

RECEIVED IN REGISTRY

AUG 1983

DESK OFFICER

PA

INDEX

PARSONS' DEBRIEFING FOLLOWED CLOSELY THAT IN PEKING JEL 777. THE AUSTRALIANS STILL BELIEVE WE ARE SHORT-CHANGING THEM! AND RESENT IT.

!

Acton Taken

1. ON 15 AUGUST PARSONS BRIEFED ME ON MR HAYDEN'S TALKS IN PEKING ABOUT HONG KONG. BEFORE DOING SO, HE SAID THAT HE ASSUMED THAT I HAD RECEIVED A REPORT OF MR HAYDEN'S TALK WITH SIR E YOUDE. I SAID THAT I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR HIS ACCOUNT. PARSONS SAID THAT THE DISCUSSION WITH SIR E YOUDE HAD BEEN BRIEF, ABOUT 25 MINUTES, AND QUOTE NOT PARTICULARLY SUBSTANTIVE UNQUOTE. SIR E YOUDE HAD EMPHASISED THE CONFIDENTIALITY AND SENSITIVITY OF THE ISSUES, AND HAD GONE ON TO REPEAT POINTS WHICH HAD ALSO BEEN MADE IN THE PRESS. PARSONS SAID THAT MR HAYDEN HAD APOLOGISED FOR ANY EMBARRASSMENT WHICH HAD BEEN CAUSED BY HIS FAILURE TO TELL ME ABOUT HIS CONVERSATION WITH MR WU IN CANBERRA (MY TEL 356) AND ADDED THAT QUOTE FRANKLY SPEAKING UNQUOTE, THE MATERIAL WHICH THE AUSTRALIANS HAD RECEIVED FROM US SO FAR HAD BEEN VERY THIN AND NOT VERY USEFUL. I SHOULD BE GRATEFUL TO KNOW WHETHER PARSONS' ACCOUNT ADEQUATELY REFLECTS THE EXCHANGE.

2. PARSONS' BRIEFING ABOUT THE TALKS IN PEKING FOLLOWED ALMOST WORD FOR WORD THAT GIVEN BY THE AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY IN PEKING AND REPORTED IN PEKING TELEGRAM NUMBER 777. PARSONS DID NOT MENTION THE JAPANESE POINT (LAST SENTENCE OF PARAGRAPH 3) BUT DID SAY THAT WU HAD SAID THERE COULD BE NO QUESTION OF APPEALS FROM COURTS IN HONG KONG TO EITHER LONDON OR PEKING. WHEN MR HAYDEN QUESTIONED, AS A POINT OF TRANSLATION, WHETHER WU MEANT QUOTE COULD UNQUOTE OR QUOTE WOULD UNQUOTE THE ANSWER WAS THAT THERE QUOTE COULD UNQUOTE BE NO APPEAL OUTSIDE FROM HONG KONG.

3. PARSONS ADDED THAT IN AN INTERCHANGE AT THE AIRPORT ON THE DEPARTURE OF THE AUSTRALIAN PARTY, SU, WHO I GATHER IS

A DEPUTY MINISTER IN THE CHINESE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, HAD BEEN ASKED BY THE AUSTRALIAN AMBASSADOR HOW AN EVENTUAL AGREEMENT WOULD BE ANNOUNCED. SU HAD SAID THAT THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE SOME SORT OF JOINT STATEMENT BUT THAT THIS HAD NOT YET BEEN DECIDED. FROM HERE, I CANNOT USEFULLY COMMENT ON THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS EXCHANGE.

SEORET

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