Entin
Oral Statement
by Caston E. Thorn
President of EEC - Commission
ENEO IN REG.
plo copy
(566)
Bet
ik. Clifr Hery hay cho Came ECD (E)
06th Nov., 1983
Kexi
HONG KONG
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ALTRY
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CX
The question of Hong Kong has been raised by the Chinese authorities during my talks with them.
I am going to disappoint you : it is not intention to comment the Chinese or British attitude in these negotiations. Indeed, this is a bilateral issue in which the Commission of the EC does not intervene.
This being said, there is no doubt that the ongoing negotiations are being followed in Europe with great interest and even more so as the interests of a member state of EC are involved. Many people consider this as how a difficult question between a member state of the EC and the P.R.C. can be settled in a satisfactory way.
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Moreover, Hong Kong is an important part of international trading system and all its trading partners, including the EC, attach importance to the preservation of these links.
This is what I have stressed to the Chinese authorities during my visit to Peking. For the rest, I do not hide the fact that I am optimistic about the future of Hong Kong because nobody, and certainly not the Chinese. Government, has an interest in putting at risk, the prosperity of this place.
It would be counterproductive in view of the ongoing negotiations to add anything more.
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