TNAG-1263-FCO40-1606-Parliamentary-contacts-on-the-future-of-Hong-Kong-1983 — Page 177

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benefits would accrue to the UK.

DSR 11C

3. Mr Luce asked Mr Adley whether he thought the Chinese

fully understood the factors on which Hong Kong's

stability and prosperity were based. Mr Adley thought

that by and large they did.

Furthermore the Chinese

fully understood that public opinion in Hong Kong

generally favoured maintaining the status quo.

However,

it was crucial for the Chinese to regain some of the face

they felt they had lost as a result of Mrs Thatcher's

remarks in Hong Kong. They also needed to be seen to be

leading the negotiations. This undoubtedly posed a

delicate problem for the British Government vis-a-vis the

people of Hong Kong, but facts should be faced and the

Chinese position on sovereignty accepted. The people of

Hong Kong, themselves of Chinese ethnic origin, need not

necessarily feel that in accepting the Chinese premise on

sovereignty the British Government were letting them

down.

4. Mr Luce said that the sovereignty problem might not

be difficult for Britain and China to resolve provided

that there was clear mutual understanding of the factors

which constitute Hong Kong's stability. In this context,

Sir P Cradock in Peking had an excellent understanding of

the Chinese mind. He was a key figure in the talks now

proceeding.

Mr Luce also said that he would do what he could to

ensure that grass roots opinion in Hong Kong on the

Territory's future would be fully sounded out.

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