TNAG-1257-FCO40-1590-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 150

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Japanese knowledge of China and perhaps for giving them a little more background on the Hong Kong negotiations.

5.

The

The US Embassy in Tokyo have told the British Embassy that in his view the Japanese are well-informed about China and able to follow developments there more easily than other foreigners. Americans had found that when the Chinese had difficulty in understanding aspects of US constitutional practice, the Japanese could be used successfully to explain the position to the Chinese

Government.

6. Hong Kong have added their support to the idea of additional briefing for the Japanese, arguing that the Chinese frequently press their case with Tokyo, whereas we do very little.

7. The experience of the Americans reinforces the argument for a more modest initiative on our part which would give the Japanese an incentive to pass on their information and their perceptions more systematically. It would not however be our intention to use the Japanewse as intermediaries at any rate during the present stage of negotiations. They have their own interests which do not necessarily coincide with ours. On the other hand we can certainly look forward to a time when we might wish to enlist the help of the Japanese (and our other friends) to present an eventual arrangement on Hong Kong in the most favourable light. We should want assistance in giving investors, in the territory and outside, confidence that major governments saw autonomy for Hong Kong as a practical proposition. We might also want the Japanese to indicate privately to the Chinese that they regarded it as essential that there should be no intereference by Peking.

4 November 1983

Ship

R D Clift

Hong Kong Department

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