TNAG-1258-FCO40-1591-Third-countries-and-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1984 — Page 73

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SECRET

VISIT OF CANADIAN SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EXTERNAL AFFAIRS: 11-15

DECEMBER 1983.

ESSENTIAL FACTS

A. FUTURE OF HONG KONG

1. The Secretary of State is aware of the background to the talks on

Hong Kong's future.

B. BRIEFING THE CANADIANS

2. With the Prime Minister's agreement we keep the Canadians

generally up to date as we do the Australians and New Zealanders

and, to a fuller extent, the Americans. The Prime Minister briefed

Mr Trudeau in Ottawa in September, since when senior Canadian

representatives have been kept up to date in Ottawa, London, Hong

Kong and Peking. The Prime Minister was briefed for bilateral meetings with Canadian delegates to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in November but to our knowledge Hong Kong was

not discussed then. It was however raised at the UK/Canada

intelligence discussions which took place in London on 5 December.

3. The Canadians are showing an increasing interest in Hong Kong's

future and on occasions have passed us useful material of their own.

Mr Trudeau wrote to the Prime Minister on 21 October giving an

account of his discussions in Ottawa on Hong Kong earlier that

month with the Chinese Foreign Minister. The Chinese Premier, Zhao Ziyang, is due to visit Canada in January.

DECRET