TNAG-1262-FCO40-1602-MPs--letters-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 138

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6.

Mr Adley spoke in much the same vein on the BBC 2 Newsnight

programme on 11 July and in a recent radio interview with

Hong Kong. He also told Mr Luce that he had been asked to write

an article for 'The Guardian'. In the circumstances, and given

Mr Adley's position as Chairman of the British Chinese

Parliamentary Group, it would be useful if the Secretary of State

was able to see him and explain:

(a) that HMG is confident that an agreement will be reached

over the future of Hong Kong without detriment to our

bilateral relations with China, and

(b) that we are taking a realistic approach based on the need

to look to the future rather than the past, but that

(c) confidence in Hong Kong demands that we are seen to

negotiate for an arrangement which genuinely preserves a guarantee against Chinese interference, which we do not believe would be provided by Peking's public proposals.

Бир

R D Clift

14 July 1983

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Hong Kong Department