TNAG-1262-FCO40-1602-MPs--letters-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 127

30.

Whitewater House,

Budleigh Salterton,

Devon.

26 July, 1983

HONG KONG: A BRITISH RESPONSIBILITY

Dear Mr.Bear.

"Hong Kong is British sovereign territory and its people are the responsibility of the British Government.

Defence Minister Heseltine has warned Moscow of the Falklands lesson in the following words: 'The Argentine Government miscalculated our ability and resolve to defend our territory and our people. The result was war.' Will a similar -message be addressed to Peking?" (Intelligence Digest Weekly

Review, July 20th, page 2).

When considering this it should not be forgotten that over and above Britain's ability to defend the Falklands the Argentine Government had reason to doubt British resolve to do so from the moment (in December 1965) Britain consented to negotiate their "decolonisation".

Now we are doing the same with Hong Kong, negotiating with the Chinese Communists, and the $64,000 question is:- Can Britain learn a lesson from the past and demonstrate a resolve no longer to work with the Communists towards terminating its effective presence there by terminating the negotiations

instead?

Yours sincerely,

+

Luck

R.B.M.

R.B.M. Levick

!